I'm doing trials at the

I'm doing trials at the moment and I'm mostly disturbed by sound and have progressed but I want to mostly paint my track before gluing and then I have avoided the white stuff but I will touch up with pan pastel

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/sounds-of-silence-continuing-with-new-12210897

One Solution

I have seen some folks using an eye dropper, putting a drop in-between ties. Slow going and takes some patience.

You need to be careful squeezing it out because you can flood the spot and it can run over the tie tops.

Maybe someone else has a different idea. I have always used the spray bottle method and your right it leaves a coating on the ties.

Jack

That is what I use but you

That is what I use but you need to get rid of any white residue.  It is all to with the glue (type) and wetting recipe.

Try Mod Podge Matte

I use Mod Podge Matte diluted with water(1:3 ), no residue at all. I have found though the ballast could still be a little crumbly after one application of the glue mix, maybe I didn't apply enough, however a 2nd application does the job and is very quick to apply with eye dropper.

@James B,

I'm following your thread on noise control. I have found the quietest running was on Masonite spline, the noisest; track on on foam /track on cork on foam.

Regards,

Steve.

Noise

Well, yeah... not exactly an apples to apples comparison though... the foam board is like a drum head, a large, stiff but slightly flexible tympanic surface resonating with the vibrations of the movement of the train. The spline is a knife edge, with little to no resonating surface, and in many cases barely attached to the surrounding scenery. The spline is most rigid in the direction(s) of highest vibration. 

If you were to make a spline of foam (a stiff, narrow strip isolated from the sounding board of the surrounding scenery), I'd wager you would see a significant reduction in sound from the "foam prairie" slab approach of track on cork on foam. I'm equally sure that if you laid a piece of masonite flat as is usually done with foam, it would be as loud or louder when trains ran.

I use foam anyway for several reasons.

1) It's extremely lightweight, an especially critical property for my circumstances.

2) It requires no power tools... since I'm in a small apartment in an assisted living center, this is also critical. I can assemble an entire T-Trak module with nothing but a knife and a hot glue gun.

3) I can get it in manageable sizes. Lowe's offers "project panels" of one inch green foam in two foot by two foot squares.

Mod-Podge

I've been happy with the results of my ballast work using the Matte Mod Podge as well.

One thing I've gotten in the habit of doing is to use only distilled water for my wetting solutions and for thinning both paints and PVA-type glues. Generally only a dollar-or so a gallon in most areas. You may have just enough mineral content in your tap water to make a residue form.

Good Luck, Ed

gmpullman

Good point on the distilled water. A gallon lasts me for close to a year........and it DOES make a positive difference.

Yes, interesting point about

Yes, interesting point about distilled water.

I'm on tank water, so never really thought about mineral content.

Or alcohol..

I use 1 pt Mod Podge mixed with 3 pts 70% alcohol plus a few drops dish soap. I have not noticed any white spots or such. I suspect that distilled water is also acceptable, since you've now mentioned it. But I chose alcohol mainly because I had some. I would have to go out and buy distilled water. So, I guess this is a matter of choice. The spots might be caused by the hardness or softness of the tap water. I remember years ago when I had to soften my water, that there were occasional problems, sometimes by the soft water and sometimes by the hard. Not sure about all this since I'm not an expert. Just my input as to using alcohol instead of tap water. (Another thought would be if you filter the water. Such as a Brita. That might factor in too.)

  "after the ballast is laid

I wonder if this area could be fixed by spraying a thin layer of Dullcoat over the white residue? or maybe a dusting of chalk or pan pastels?   It will be interesting to see if switching to distilled water solves it as you move forward....DaveB