6.5mm Silflor Grass, Track, and concrete

[Zox]

Face it--to get the "perfect look," you'll have to paint and weather the ballast, just like any other model.

(And I seem to recall seeing an article where someone did exactly that, though I don't remember where or when.)

[Sokramiketes]

Tile grout comes sanded or unsanded.  Try the sanded if you go this route.

That's exactly what I don't want!  Up close, it looks like little glass beads!

Yes, sand is not a good ballast or filler material. Too much quartz, which creates bright glass-like specks everywhere. Even the colored stuff is too faceted for close-up photography.

Yikes, this got off on a tangent quick.  Sanded tile grout is hardly "sand".  How many quartz specs do you see in the seams of tile? 

Well, Mr. Mike, I leave you to do the counting.



I didn't have to go very far--this is a random bit of sanded grout in our foyer, a few feet from my workshop.

Hmm... all the sand particles I can make out look like they're the color of the grout.  I don't see any quartz obviously pressed into the grout/mortar...  Are you sure the white particles arn't just debris on the floor?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

...Here are some highball cinders I just kinda sprinkled around... It's still a little to textury though for what I'm going for.

Ed, that's looking really good. Perhaps if you added some very finely-ground material (almost powder) and brushed it into the existing ballast--especially making sure to fill in the voids along the inside of the track, below the rail (you can see some ahead of the loco)--you might end up with what Tom needs, albeit much darker. I'd also take the time to strip away anything stuck to the sides of the rail, as well as carefully remove any material piled on the tops of the "spikes."

Yeah, I just have to find that smaller stuff. It's what I've realized I need to do for the effect I'm going for. I just don't know WHAT smaller stuff to use. I'm liking the grout idea. I also heard concrete dye was good for that use too, but I haven't had any luck finding it.

That pickup truck is sure a sad-looking specimen, though...

Most def. They're from plastruct and were something like 6 for $3.

[DKS]

Tile grout comes sanded or unsanded.  Try the sanded if you go this route.

That's exactly what I don't want!  Up close, it looks like little glass beads!

Yes, sand is not a good ballast or filler material. Too much quartz, which creates bright glass-like specks everywhere. Even the colored stuff is too faceted for close-up photography.

Yikes, this got off on a tangent quick.  Sanded tile grout is hardly "sand".  How many quartz specs do you see in the seams of tile?  

Well, Mr. Mike, I leave you to do the counting.



I didn't have to go very far--this is a random bit of sanded grout in our foyer, a few feet from my workshop.

Hmm... all the sand particles I can make out look like they're the color of the grout.  I don't see any quartz obviously pressed into the grout/mortar...  Are you sure the white particles arn't just debris on the floor?

You are welcome to stop by any time and examine the grout for yourself. Since the specks appear in any portion of the grout, including the relatively clean vertical surfaces, and since they change in brightness and location according to the angle of view, I think it is safe to say that they are sand particles. And since sand is primarily quartz, I also think it is safe to say that it's the faceted surfaces of the sand that reflect the light, making the myriad of various-sized white specks throughout the grout--unless you have an alternate explanation for the bright white specks, other than really shiny dirt. I've been installing tile on a semi-professional basis for a few decades, so it's not something new or unique, at least to me.

[Philip H]

Yeah, I just have to find that smaller stuff. It's what I've realized I need to do for the effect I'm going for. I just don't know WHAT smaller stuff to use. I'm liking the grout idea. I also heard concrete dye was good for that use too, but I haven't had any luck finding it.

Ed,
Home Depot sometimes has oncrete tint or dye in its concrete aisle.  You might also try a more "professional" building supply place - they usually do retail even when their preferred customer is the trades.  For that matter, tile and grout places often have tints for use in grout mixes . . .

[wm3798]

On N scale track, the shiny bits could be beer can tabs.  But only if you model pre-1976. ;D

Lee

[Philip H]

On N scale track, the shiny bits could be beer can tabs.  But only if you model pre-1976. ;D

Lee

Or you have abunch of Cajuns drinking old Dixie they have had in the back for a decade or two (which never seemed to affects its quailty) . . . . .