working on my first layout and have a question for ya'll. i have the ballast laid in between the rails pretty well, glued down using a water-glue mix as i have seen in n-scale magazine and in several books. however on the outside i'm having a devil of a time to try and get it to look right on the cork to taper down and make it look right. any suggestions? thanks!! [ 22. August 2003, 18:43: Message edited by: beast5420 ]
This works for me. I carefully spread the ballast with a brush to the desired contour. I then carefully mist the area with wetted water (water with one or two drops of dish soap per quart/litre) until it is saturated. I then carefullydrip my diluted mixture of matte medium onto the area until it appears a milky white throughout. I use a billows type bottle for this. One has to be very careful not to squirt to hard or some erosion happens. An eyedropper or old white glue bottle should work as well. I have seen others put undiluted white glue directly on the cork and then sprinkle the ballast onto it. Best of luck on your layout. [ 23. August 2003, 16:52: Message edited by: Grantha ]
Beast- The method outlined by Grant, is the most common used these days. It works very well. You'll pick up on how this works best after a little practice. Don't worry. As you can easily go back, and add more ballast to thin areas. or those places that didn't come out looking as you'd originally desired. Boxcab E50
tried coating the cork with white glue and then sprinkling the ballast on top. works great!!!! now i just have to find the spare time to get a bunch more done (after doing some honey-do's to get more space cleared out in the garage). thanks again!
Make sure you sand the edge of the cork where it starts to slope down next to the tie ends. Ballast can't stick very well if the little ridge is still there.
