04-08-2012, 02:14 PM
I use white glue for affixing the ballast and pre-wet using water with a few drops of dish detergent. I have also used matte medium, and the only difference is the cost, with matte medium being almost four times as expensive. You've obviously ballasted before, Bruce, but for others who haven't yet done so, here's a link to my Procedure for ballasting.... It's not the only way to do it, of course, but works well for me.
I also get that "tarnished" appearance on the rails when ballasting, and it doesn't seem to be restricted to any one brand of track. Here's a "before" photo of an area where I changed the track lay-out:
![[Image: Freightcarphotosandlayoutviews018.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/some%20layout%20views/Freightcarphotosandlayoutviews018.jpg)
...and the same area an hour-or-so after re-working it and re-ballasting. Note how yellow the rails are in the re-done area:
![[Image: CameraTwopix006.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/structures%20and%20a%20few%20b%20and%20w%20photos/CameraTwopix006.jpg)
The trains were in place only for the photo and were then removed. The track was cleaned the next day, but the discolouration returned, and continued to do so until the entire area had completely dried - it took a few days, as I always like to soak things completely to get a solid bond right down to the base (bare plywood in this area). Once the area was dry, the track was cleaned and has remained clean. Indeed, the only time I have to clean track is after ballasting or installing ground foam nearby, and my suspicion is that the yellowing is attributable to the wet water, as no glue is applied near the track when adding foam - the glue is applied locally with a plastic squeeze bottle, while the pre-wetting is done with a spray bottle, which does allow some overspray.
Like my good friend Charlie, I solder all of my rail joiners, so there's never any worry about power connections.
Wayne
I also get that "tarnished" appearance on the rails when ballasting, and it doesn't seem to be restricted to any one brand of track. Here's a "before" photo of an area where I changed the track lay-out:
...and the same area an hour-or-so after re-working it and re-ballasting. Note how yellow the rails are in the re-done area:
The trains were in place only for the photo and were then removed. The track was cleaned the next day, but the discolouration returned, and continued to do so until the entire area had completely dried - it took a few days, as I always like to soak things completely to get a solid bond right down to the base (bare plywood in this area). Once the area was dry, the track was cleaned and has remained clean. Indeed, the only time I have to clean track is after ballasting or installing ground foam nearby, and my suspicion is that the yellowing is attributable to the wet water, as no glue is applied near the track when adding foam - the glue is applied locally with a plastic squeeze bottle, while the pre-wetting is done with a spray bottle, which does allow some overspray.
Like my good friend Charlie, I solder all of my rail joiners, so there's never any worry about power connections.
Wayne