Hi everyone, I am a rookie and have been doing well with my 4x8 layout until now. Yesterday I tried to ballast my Kato Unitrack and it turned out bad. I made several mistakes and only about 30 percent of the ballast took the glue. Not only that but the ballast turned out to be a color I didn't like. It doesn't end there. I also ballast a large area of track including 7 turnout and a cross over. I tried to vacum the ballast up and clean off the remaing ballast, but I haven't been able to get the track clean. In the cleaning process i actually got some of the ballast and glue in the turnouts. I know I messed up, but does anyone have any suggestion for cleaning the track and the turnouts. Thanks
What kind of glue ya use? hopefully a water soliable? Ya might try one peice to see if it works, but soak it in a alcohol and water solution for an hour or so, then wipe dry?
If you're really smart about dissassembling the switch, you could remove the innards, soak the roadbed/track in water-alcohol overnight then rinse in the morning. Reassemble and pray it works. I don't know the innards of Kato switches well so my advice should be taken with caution. Tim
I don't suggest taking Unitrack turnouts apart for a new modeler. That will lead to disaster.:lightning::lightning: Stay cool and run steam....
Welcome to Trainboard When you do get the track cleaned up here is a Link to BOBS - [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Georgia, Verdana]Powersteamguy1790[/FONT] Blog on putting ballast on Unitrack. http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/blogs/viewblog.php?userid=3206&entry=55 Time well spent and a worthwhile read.
I suggest you soak the straight and curved sections in warm water. This will loosen the ballast from the track. As for your turnouts, you'll have to scrape the ballast from the turnouts. If glue dripped into the mechanism, you have to manually free the mechanism by sliding the mechanism back and forth till it frees itself. You can't soak the turnout in water. After you clean everything up. try spreading the ballast on a few pieces of track that aren't on your layout, till you develop some kind of feeling for the technique of ballasting Unitrack. My suggestion is just to do two or three sections at a time. It's too bad this happened but you can rebound from this experience. Stay cool and run steam......
1. Welcome. 2. Luckily, you used Elmer's white, which is soluble in either water or alcohol. An overnight soak is not needed, just about 20 minutes and then use a toothbrush. It will come right off. Now, for the turnouts- No soak, be careful and do what PSG has suggested.
Welcome to TrainBoard!!!!!!! As you can see there is always people here to help with everything you ever have trouble with. :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: :thumbs_up:
Thank you everyone I'm on the road for a week so I won't be able to try this for a week. I know I will rebound, but I can't believe I was so stupid. I model CSX, NS, Conrail, and Amtrak 1992 to present.
Hey, Trying to do something new that will make your layout better,is not being stupid. Read Pete Nolan's posts on Stupid Mistakes. Your feel better about yourself in no time !!!!!!! BTW Welcome Aboard.:shade: Don't run your engines over the ballast. A piece can get sucked into the trucks & wipe out the gears.
Life Happens Trust me, we have all done something "stupid" and you know, we will do it again someday when we least expect it. :teeth: :teeth: :teeth: :teeth:
Boy C&B - That first pic really got me. My first unitrack was a huge box of used stuff that looked like that. Most of the switches were DOA. I think they used woodland scenics glue to do the deed. There was ballast and ground foam all over the track. The alcohol will work. Just watch out because you will lose some of the cross tie color in the process. When I re-used the track on my old layout I only ballasted the sides. Not the top. Take some track to the hobby store and find a nice color match. If you get desperate or have nothing else to lose and you do soak the switches. Use straight isopropyl. NO WATER! Good luck. RICK
I would say that next time you should work slowly and practice on just a small section till you get it down right. Most of us do test sections whenever we are doing something new. If it makes you feel any better, I destroyed half a dozen turnouts by overspraying when trying to weather with spray cans. We've all been where you are right now and it's the painful part of the learning curve.
Don't worry about stupid. At Trainboard, we range from novice stupid to accomplished modeler stupid. We have all done such things.
