ok just had a chance to do my ballast. instead of syringes i found some eyedroppers. 1. applied thin layer of glue to the sides 2. pinched some ballast onto the sides by hand to cover it thinly 3. filled in the middle with ballast, brushed off excess 4. eyedropped some alcohol 5. applied glue 6. filled in holes where there were small washaways 7. pressed areas down with a credit card and fingers you can make out the outline of the trackbed now! looks more well groomed this round without little bumps and hills to me. once the glue dries ill pick off the excess ballast on the ties. i should really bust out my SLR and take some nicer shots instead of using my point and shoot. so how did i do this round? you can totally make out the unevenness of the first application on the rail section on the top of this photo
I just want to chime in and say what an incredible level of contribution everyone has provided in this thread! For being a topic that pops up every so often and is fairly well covered through out many other threads, the way everyone dedicated their time and encouragement to providing exceptionally clear input really goes above and beyond the call of duty! My hats off to everyone involved! :thumbs_up::thumbs_up: Comparing to your first photo, you definitely got it down! Now that you have the technique figured out, I think after about another foot or two, you'll have it perfected! Once again, bravo to the level encouragement and information provided by everyone in this thread!
yes mark! i was pretty afraid that i would get bashed down for reposting something like this (hence PMing you and searching first). my stomach even sank a bit when i posted this thread in the how-to and the next day i found that it was gone (i later found out it was moved here hehe). search never works anyways in a forum this big, because if i search for ballasting...it just brings up all kinds of irrelevancy. i am incredibly grateful for all the people here on this board helping me out. ive been to other forums before for other hobbies and tech related stuff and NONE, absolutely NONE have been as welcoming as TB. utterly amazing. this is proof in the pudding that there is something wonderful going on here at TB.
That looks even better! When I suggested to paint the rails first you answered to do it later. I would recommend to try that "later" method now. The reason why is that it is mostly much more painful to paint rails after ballasting than upfront. You should go with the "later" method only if you tried it and be sure it can be applied for the entire layout with reasonable effort.
Hi, Looking good. Like me it looks like you have many more feet to go. Here are a couple things that were mentioned in other threads about ballasting Gary
as for weathering the rails...doesnt denny (the dude in the vid shown in the first few posts here) do it afterwards with pigment?
That looks very good, the method I use contains the wet water with the glue. Just apply it slowly, so the ballast dosen't run with the gule/wet water.
Weathering the rail? Take some cammo dark brown rust-oleum and spray paint the track, tape the switch points so they will still work. then clean off the rail heads with a brightboy or whatever you prefer, then once it is dry try the ballast technique... It should work! I have sprayed some spraypaint into a makeshift bowl of aluminum foil until it had just enough liquid paint to dry brush the point rails the paint will dry like the other paint applied before. just be carefull not to hinder electrical contact!
That's it. Fast and simple. He has something complicated in his mind to be done after the ballast job has been done. You can do it with an airbrush or with a simple brush. It is very easy and effective BEFORE the ballast is done...
What Denny weathered after ballasting was the ties and the ballast stones that receive grease and oil drips. The rail sides would require a different technique as powders and pigments do not stick to metal. From my observations, painting the track before ballast seems to provide the best results, however there are products to get those rails weathered after ballasting and looks just as good. This thread covers the use of paint pens. Just uncap and run it along the rail! From reading, the pens will probably hit the rail tops more than frequently, and the best result for removing that appears to be wiping the rail tops with a rag soaked with isopropyl before the paint dries.
yea i dont think i want to be spraying anything of any sort. those pens may be something i look into. i wonder if the color comes out that golden as in those photos in that thread...maybe its just the pics. if these are anything like sharpies or magnum44 markers. they leave a sort of purple or inky sheen to them...that wouldnt be desirable kind of like the ball point pen inks, they arent truly black. not sure if that makes sense.
I think you did a fine job the first go-round, and an even better one the second time. A couple of thoughts: only once you have your track debugged, and running reliably the way you want it, paint your track. I used Polly Scale railroad tie brown, thinned 20% with 91% rubbing alcohol, airbrushed straight down on the ties. I followed up with PS rust in an airbrush, thinned 20% with 91% rubbing alcohol. I sprayed it at a sharp angle to only paint the rails. I used Atlas Code 55 on my layout. Be sure to cover the sitch points with tape. You can hand paint them later. I cleaned the railheads, and this is the result: (before) http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/1014/SPS_first_train_1.jpg (after) http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/1014/DRGW_5508_last_light_SPS_3.jpg Another thing I use when ballasting is a paint trimmer. In the N scale world, it's loosely known as a "Dick Billings ballast tool" Get them at any paint store, hardware store, etc. Here's a link to what they look like: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1272782&cp=2568447.2624818.2624892 They make the ballast application much easier. Soaking the ballast in rubbing alcohol is a good idea for a couple reasons: 1. It allows the ballast to stay in place before the glue is applied. 2. The glue much more readily soaks in, and doesn't make a floaty mess. If you do the soak before glue application technique, and I'm sure you already found this out, be sure to have adequate ventilation. You have the technique down, but a couple low-tech tools makes the job easier. Great job!
Just a quick comment - I think that the "damage" to your grass mat looks better - the grass mat is too uniform in appearance!
thanks for all the tips! and yea im not too worried about the mat, it will be covered up anyways debugging the track is the biggest headache especially since im not using longer flex track and have more connection points. which is why i only did two sections of track. im thinking about just wiring feeders all over the place i have basically decided to go dcc with a simple digitrax zephyr and forget all the insulated rail joints. i hope its just as simple as that otherwise ill need to bust out that multimeter and poke around
To make things easier in the long run since you will have the soldering iron out, solder the rail joints and make longer sections of track for each feeder. Just a thought Gary
Here is a first time ballisting of a pice of kato track. I used full strenght ws glue, and the middle between the tracks was 50/50 ws glue. kenny
Lots of good info here. Lots of formulas for wet water and scenic cement too! I watched a ton of videos before I started and I think each presenter had a different formula. I mix my cement at about 50% Elmers white glue to 50% water, with a few drops of 70% alcohol and a few drops of Dawn detergent. My wet water is simply water with again a few drops of alcohol and detergent. After spraying the ballast with wet water (from a distance in a fine spray) I apply the cement with a common eye-dropper. It's slow but I have maximum control and after awhile the speed goes up too. I weather the rails and ties beforehand with paint marker pens. I use a small plastic cup to pour the ballast down the center and along the edges. Grooming the ballast - patience and a couple of good brushes work wonders. I have a soft angled brush I got at Lowe's for house painting touch up that is excellent for groming the edges. A smaller soft brush for brushing ballast off the ties and filling empty places. Use the wide flat brush to gently tap down the various hills you get while grooming.
I use masking tape alongside the track so the ballast edge isn't so scattered. After you put down the ballast and 50/50 you can pull up the tape. Don't wait until the ballast dries or you'll glue the tape down and can't get it up. I use a plexiglass cutter that I got at lowes to run down the inside of the rail web. It it shaped perfectly for the task and breaks loose any ballas on the inside of the rail.
