Plastic Ties and Ballast Glue


J

jkrider

New Member
Hi,

I'm new to this forum and model railroading in general. I did do a search for this topic, but couldn't find a specific answer. I've started to glue down the ballast as suggested by first spraying with a water / detergent mix and then I've spread out a mixture of 50/50 white glue and water using an old glue bottle. The glue seeps in ok and all goes ok for far. The problem is the next day I checked the ballast and while the ballast cemented in ok the plastic ties were very shiny and when I when to look closer I noticed that the glue had also dried on the ties. Now a week later the glue is starting to come apart from the ties and flaking off. The ballast itself is still cemented fine. It's the ties that are the problem. Does anyone have a solution for this?

Thanks in advance,

James
 
Hmmmm! you're supposed to dribble the glue between the ties not over them. White glue doesn't stick to plastic very well so it flakes off when dry.
What I do is spray the whole thing with soft water (couple drops of liquid detergent in a quart of water). Then I dribble ( eye dropper, nasal spray bottle whatever) of 50/50 mix of white glue and water on the ballast. The glue will make its way all through the damp ballast and be solid the next morning.
Try it, you'll like it :D

Cheers Willis
 
There has got to be some other explanation, although I don't know what it is. I glue down ballast using straight 70% alcohol to wet the ballast instead of water and detergent, followed by the 50-50 mixture of white glue and water. I use an eye dropper to apply the glue and I simply run it down the middle of the track and the edges and it gets on everything, except the tops of the rails. After almost two years, I have never had a problem with the glue flaking off the ties. I would suggest that you use a good grade of white glue like Elmers, not the cheap white glue sold to be used by children. As far as the shiny ties, weather your track, something that is a good thing to do anyway.
Ray
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Use Elmer's Glue all, not standard children's white glue. It works much better. Or buy the Woodland Scenics pre-mixed stuff.
 
I agree with Josh.....white glue will almost always dry shiny, especially on a hard surface like ties. And with Ray.....use an eye dropper to apply the glue between the rails.
I prefer the woodland scenics Scenic Cement to white glue mixes. If you read the bottle, they not only recommend it as a glue, but also as a "final coat" to seal painted scenery and such...... I've sprayed it on virtually EVERYTHING and it always dries clear anfd dull, even on buildings , bridges, ect. Just be sure not to spray it till AFTER you've done any painting or weathering.
 
Hi,

Thanks for all the replies. I went out today and bought the Woodlands Scenic Cement and did some practice ballasting on some spare track and cork roadbed. The Woodlands cement seemed to work much better. I was using Elmers White Glue in my 50/50 glue mix and did go back and try to just apply the glue using an eyedropper between the ties on just the ballast itself, but while the glue soaked in ok, it still spilled out over the ties. I did notice that the Woodlands Cement was much thinner and thus soaked in even faster.

Thanks,

James
 
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