Ballasting...beyond white-glue & water....

[ChrisNH]

my first order for Smith and Sons ballast b

Where are you getting that? I am very pleased with the ballast i got from Scenic Express at the NMRA show but would like to find something with a little more in-between color then their light and dark limestone. There was a company that just released a granite ballast I want to try.

The best thing I have seen used but have not done this yet myself is too use a water based polyurethane with a satin finish to it.

I agree his ballast holds down nicely.. but I have concern about the permanence. With white glue I can soak it then pull it up if I need to.* I find the white glue seems to hold nicely if I come in for a second soak. I also tried going from 3:1 to 1:1 water and white glue but the thicker mixture gave an undesirable sheen to the ballast..

Still, next op night I will look more closely to compare what he has put down with what I have put down. I would be interested to see if it has less of a darkening effect.

Chris

 *In fact, I did just that when I switched from Woodland Scenics to Scenic Express ballast and after a good soaking was able to vacuum up most of the WS crud.

[Chris333]

Smith & Sons is the stuff from Scenic Express, but I have ordered direct as well.

Edit:
Smith & Son Ballast, 13630 G.A.R. Highway, Chardon, OH 44024. Phone is 440-286-4890 between 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME.

Email address is Dale Smith dhsmith73 @ alltel.net [no spaces]
BE SURE THAT SUBJECT LINE READS "MODEL RR BALLAST" [No quotes]

[DKS]

A possible problem I've noticed with granite ballast is color-shifting. In my experience, it tends to shift color much more than limestone or other ballast materials. This may be due to the quartz content, as quartz goes from opaque to semi-transparent when wetted, and seems to stay slightly transparent after the glue as dried.

[lashedup]

I'm with Ian and David in the camp that uses a pump-mist bottle (the misting kind is the trick) with straight alcohol about 12-15 inches above the rails followed by an eyedropper with a 50/50 mix of elmers white glue and warm water. I've found that the warm water seems to dilute the white glue a bit better. I use the eyedropper to apply glue down the center of the track and try to do it sparingly to avoid any floating stuff. I then use the capillary method of applying the glue to the outside edge of the ballast on each side of the rails. I should do an experiment to see if the capillary method will work to get glue all the way to the center of the track. If I could avoid having to directly apply glue between the rails, I'd have a few less miscellaneous floating rocks that I'd have to clean up later.

[John]

What an awesome scene .. I wish my ballast looked that good .. rocks or woodland?

[lashedup]

Rocks.

Arizona Rock and Mineral - http://www.rrscenery.com/azrock3HO.html

[Chris333]

I used alcohol to wet my Z scale ballast and it left chalky marks in the paint I used on my roads:


Similar to what happens if you use alcohol over Dullcote, but I didn't Dullcote the roads.

[John]

Rocks.

Arizona Rock and Mineral - http://www.rrscenery.com/azrock3HO.html

Thanks .. the only problem I have with AZ or Highball .. 6 bucks for 9 ounces .. I am still looking for a good source of crushed granite or limestone locally .. I figure a 5 gallon bucket full is about what I need

[amato1969]

I spoke recently with scenic express, and they are carrying their own #50 ballast -- light grey and dark grey.  It's listed at 1/2 gallon for $21.98 -- any idea how many ounces that is?

[Ian MacMillan]

I used alcohol to wet my Z scale ballast and it left chalky marks in the paint I used on my roads:

Similar to what happens if you use alcohol over Dullcote, but I didn't Dullcote the roads.

Chris, I have noticed this happens sometimes when I use certain paints on items as well and then you get the chalk effect sans Dullcote. I've been covering my roads, or just hitting them with Dullcote afterwards. ModelFlex dark colors are the most frequent offenders for me.

[DKS]

I used alcohol to wet my Z scale ballast and it left chalky marks in the paint I used on my roads:
Similar to what happens if you use alcohol over Dullcote, but I didn't Dullcote the roads.

It's possible that the alcohol was attacking the paint (alcohol is, after all, frequently used as a paint stripper). The test would be to spray the areas with a little Dullcote--if the color returns, then it was just some chalky stains; if the stains remain, it's a good bet the paint was damaged.

[diburning]

down at the club, we use an old windex bottle to hold the wettin agent, while we brush on light coats of watered down glue to the layout and then use that same paintbrush to move the bits of ballast around.

We use Woodland Scenics so it probably works because the ballast is a tad too big  ;D