Has anyone got tips or tell me how to do the ballast on the tracks thanks
And when u use the Pva glue is it 1 part glue to 4 parts water..
If you go to the "Tutorials" and then "Search" for Ballast, it will give you dozens of ways to fix ballast to your trackwork.
This is just one of them:- http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=6558.msg74598#msg74598 (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=6558.msg74598#msg74598)
There are so many options no one way will be correct but the tutorials will help greatly!
Regards, Peter.
Quote from: norfolkguy83 on March 02, 2015, 06:58:22 PM
Has anyone got tips or tell me how to do the ballast on the tracks thanks
Well... Who's gonna kick this one off then.
I can't really advise you norfolkguy cos I've just read about it and not done it yet...
BUT.... just wait for the queue of people lining up to answer this one!!
Good luck and I'll be interested to be reminded of all the different ways of doing this :beers:
Thanks Austin.. Iv tried to ballast a little of my track but doesn't look right.. Lol
Thanks Peter
Quote from: norfolkguy83 on March 02, 2015, 07:08:42 PM
Thanks Austin.. Iv tried to ballast a little of my track but doesn't look right.. Lol
At least you've got something to look at!! I haven't laid any track yet. You also have the advantage that you've had a crack at ballasting and have a result - so things are bound to improve with a little advice from here and some practice.
:beers:
Yeap thts what I thought Austin.. Lol
Gosh there's just hundreds of views out there on this. Lots of good how to's on here, youtube and rmweb as well.
Few things I found:
I think the glue has allot to do with it. I struggled past few years using old PVA (same tubs used to work fine years ago), buy a new tub.
If you add detergent, you literally don't need any more than 1-2 drops (only) per half litre, any more just creates bubbles.
Get hold of an atomiser OR I've got on exeptionally well with spectacle cleaning sprays (the original fluid is ideal, but when it's used try water / detergent).
If you are nervous around points etc I use a small bottle from Delux containing aliphatic resin. Has a syringe type needle and you can "draw" quite precisely with the resin then drop dry ballast ontop, then build it up later ad-hoc to fill / blend in any gaps. A small bottle goes a long way
The best success I have had this past 12 months is using Woodland Scenics pre-mixed scatter / ballast glue so I'm "sticking" to it now :doh:
Lastly, leave it for DAYS to dry and hoover the track before putting a loco anywhere near it (I also use a little PC keyboard duster / hoover to recover any loose bits and keep tidy). If you're a DCC user I've found I need to leave it EVEN LONGER than on DCC otherwise any moisture left at all seems to disrupt power.
Hope this helps
Rich
Quote from: RST on March 02, 2015, 07:32:53 PM
Gosh there's just hundreds of views out there on this. Lots of good how to's on here, youtube and rmweb as well.
Few things I found:
I think the glue has allot to do with it. I struggled past few years using old PVA (same tubs used to work fine years ago), buy a new tub.
If you add detergent, you literally don't need any more than 1-2 drops (only) per half litre, any more just creates bubbles.
Get hold of an atomiser OR I've got on exeptionally well with spectacle cleaning sprays (the original fluid is ideal, but when it's used try water / detergent).
If you are nervous around points etc I use a small bottle from Delux containing aliphatic resin. Has a syringe type needle and you can "draw" quite precisely with the resin then drop dry ballast ontop, then build it up later ad-hoc to fill / blend in any gaps. A small bottle goes a long way
The best success I have had this past 12 months is using Woodland Scenics pre-mixed scatter / ballast glue so I'm "sticking" to it now :doh:
Lastly, leave it for DAYS to dry and hoover the track before putting a loco anywhere near it (I also use a little PC keyboard duster / hoover to recover any loose bits and keep tidy). If you're a DCC user I've found I need to leave it EVEN LONGER than on DCC otherwise any moisture left at all seems to disrupt power.
Hope this helps
Rich
One question Rich - what is aliphatic resin and its relevance to points? :thankyousign:
Hopefully this image off the net works OK. It's called Super Phatic! (sorry from Deluxe not Delux).
With the very small hypodermic nib you can draw round things very accurately easily (imagine drawing round your hand planted flat on a piece of paper). Draw round / inbetween point blades and round the little arms on either side, you draw round the areas with the resin then drop a small amount of ballast on. It doesn't take long to dry, once it's set, or near set you can go in with PVA and a brush, or dry ballast and drop PVA solution onto it. The original ballast glued down with the resin stops you from gluing any moving parts because it forms a shoulder (the small keyboard hoover helps suck up precise ballast grains as you go). I don't have any pics of the process, but it's very easy and really very accurate. You just have to remember Aliphatic resin dries very quick (and very hard so takes some practice) and drop the nib into a cup of water as soon as you're not going to use it for a few mins.
(http://www.rcmadrid.com/images/32221.jpg)
...By the way, I tried the same method with an old empty bottle filled with diluted PVA and it doesn't work. The PVA is too thin and runs everywhere, and takes too long to dry.
The generally accepted way of loose ballasting is a solution of PVA/water (I used a 50/50 mix) with 1-2 drops of washing up liquid, which breaks down the surface tension and allows the glue to run through the ballast. I found this works fine and 48 hours later it was dry. I then picked off any ballast that had found its way onto the insides of the rails and vacuumed everything to remove loose particles. Finally I sprayed the whole lot with Railmatch sleeper grime which gives a nice shade of brown.
This method has only been used on plain track, not points/crossings!
Quote from: newportnobby on March 02, 2015, 09:36:31 PM
This method has only been used on plain track, not points/crossings!
So whats the advice for points and crossing then captain???
:thankyousign:
Quote from: austinbob on March 02, 2015, 09:39:54 PM
Quote from: newportnobby on March 02, 2015, 09:36:31 PM
This method has only been used on plain track, not points/crossings!
So whats the advice for points and crossing then captain???
:thankyousign:
I can only advise what I intend to do when I have fitted the Seep point motors, Bob.
Loose ballast carefully between the sleepers no higher than the tops of the sleepers.
Use the same mix of glue/water but applied with a pipette or hypodeemic nerdle.
Ensure no ballast gets between the switch and stock rails.
Ensure all tiebars move freely.
Mask off switch/stock rails before application of the paint, or maybe even hand paint.
I'm happy to be told if that is not going to work!!
Quote from: newportnobby on March 02, 2015, 10:00:59 PM
Quote from: austinbob on March 02, 2015, 09:39:54 PM
Quote from: newportnobby on March 02, 2015, 09:36:31 PM
This method has only been used on plain track, not points/crossings!
So whats the advice for points and crossing then captain???
:thankyousign:
I can only advise what I intend to do when I have fitted the Seep point motors, Bob.
Loose ballast carefully between the sleepers no higher than the tops of the sleepers.
Use the same mix of glue/water but applied with a pipette or hypodeemic nerdle.
Ensure no ballast gets between the switch and stock rails.
Ensure all tiebars move freely.
Mask off switch/stock rails before application of the paint, or maybe even hand paint.
I'm happy to be told if that is not going to work!!
Thanks - I'm sure it will work - cos you've done it before. Just not looking forward to doing it myself
:thankyousign:
Quote from: austinbob on March 02, 2015, 10:03:57 PM
Quote from: newportnobby on March 02, 2015, 10:00:59 PM
Quote from: austinbob on March 02, 2015, 09:39:54 PM
Quote from: newportnobby on March 02, 2015, 09:36:31 PM
This method has only been used on plain track, not points/crossings!
So whats the advice for points and crossing then captain???
:thankyousign:
I can only advise what I intend to do when I have fitted the Seep point motors, Bob.
Loose ballast carefully between the sleepers no higher than the tops of the sleepers.
Use the same mix of glue/water but applied with a pipette or hypodeemic nerdle.
Ensure no ballast gets between the switch and stock rails.
Ensure all tiebars move freely.
Mask off switch/stock rails before application of the paint, or maybe even hand paint.
I'm happy to be told if that is not going to work!!
Thanks - I'm sure it will work - cos you've done it before. Just not looking forward to doing it myself
:thankyousign:
Last time I did it (and the ballasting) was about 25 years ago, Bob :-[
I was much bolder then. Now I'm just much balder. :'(
Thanks ppl.. Some great suggestions..
Quote from: petercharlesfagg on March 02, 2015, 07:04:10 PM
If you go to the "Tutorials" and then "Search" for Ballast, it will give you dozens of ways to fix ballast to your trackwork.
This is just one of them:- http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=6558.msg74598#msg74598 (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=6558.msg74598#msg74598)
There are so many options no one way will be correct but the tutorials will help greatly!
Regards, Peter.
Thanks for the link, Peter. If it hadn't been for that I'd never have seen that video of the mad guitarist!! Improved my state of hilarity no end! ;D
Chris
Quote from: Papyrus on March 03, 2015, 09:52:53 AM
Quote from: petercharlesfagg on March 02, 2015, 07:04:10 PM
If you go to the "Tutorials" and then "Search" for Ballast, it will give you dozens of ways to fix ballast to your trackwork.
This is just one of them:- http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=6558.msg74598#msg74598 (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=6558.msg74598#msg74598)
There are so many options no one way will be correct but the tutorials will help greatly!
Regards, Peter.
Thanks for the link, Peter. If it hadn't been for that I'd never have seen that video of the mad guitarist!! Improved my state of hilarity no end! ;D
Chris
Mad guitarist, what mad guitarist?
The video in reply 4??
Chris
If it's not too late I would suggest ballast before fitting point motors. It just might save yourself some frustration when you have to remove point motors later to dig out the small piece of ballast that's found its way into the mechanism to stop the motor from throwing the point.
Which ever method of ballasting you choice to use, don't try and adjust errors after you've applied the pva until everything is dry and then go back and correct the errors or fill in the places you've missed. It won't matter if the repair patch is slightly different to the rest, look at the 1:1 scale railway track.
i hate ballasting.
I am never happy with it when I do it. depth, colour, weathering, width, craters, shoulder or lack of etc. etc. I always find some problem! of course I am looking at it up close for inspection, and no 'normal' person is ever going to view the layout so close up...
avoiding the glue mix from disturbing the ballast is the key trick I think, you don't want it to destroy the shoulder or leave craters in the ballast... esp. after having painstakingly arranged all the tiny grains of ballast so nicely!
best of luck!
tim
Quote from: Jack on March 03, 2015, 06:15:48 PM
If it's not too late I would suggest ballast before fitting point motors. It just might save yourself some frustration when you have to remove point motors later to dig out the small piece of ballast that's found its way into the mechanism to stop the motor from throwing the point.
A fair point, Jack, and one that I was undecided on. I was working on the hypothesis that the smallish hole/slot for the Seeps could be masked off before ballasting but may now reconsider :-\
Looking at that guitar thingy makes the arthritis in my fingers ten times worse ???