Thanks for sharing, great tutorial !!! I just bought some E-Z track I was going to use for testing some locos and a shadow station, now I'm considering using it for a visible section of the layout. And I'm sure I can use this method for my Marklin M- and C-tracks as well...
I have a ton of Bachmann e-z track. Tbh, I’m not a huge fan of them. But I did take the track off the plastic roadbed, and it looks a lot better. I can’t be even happier. To bad I can’t ballast my track. Lol Great video.
Kinda late to the party...but...a great formula for ballasting is get you some ModPodge Matte (has to be matte, NOT gloss,shiny ballast does not look too good) You can buy ModPodge at Walmart or Michaels (but pretty pricey as they do not accept coupons for ModPodge…...go figure !!!)In the US ,Hobby Lobby has it too and they DO accept coupons.Mix your Podge 1 (one)part to 3(three) parts water and a few drop of dish soap(breaks the surface tension of the water) Then as Harrison does ,spread your ballast then soak with IPA (isopropyl alcohol)which acts as a surfactant to break the surface tension of the liquid, and let set for a couple of minutes allowing the IPA to soak in.Then take your dropper and drip your thinned ModPodge mix onto your alcohol soaked ballast.You can buy the big jug of ModPodge ,which may seem expensive ,but you are getting 3 times as much when you factor in adding water (4 times actually)Let the soaked ballast sit for at leat 24 hours, works every time ...GUARANTEED !!!! BTW-the ModPodge mix will soak into the ballast almost right away and dry hard and flat,no shine. FYI- Woodland Scenics sell stuff called "scenic cement"....which is watered down matte medium.Guess what ModPodge is ???? Go price a bottle of Scenic cement then figure out how much the Modpodge mixture will cost you .That`s a major no-brainer. Paul T in Wpg
Great video , only one thing many people have there E-Z track on on their layouts already , this ballast looks quite coarse but then again , preference for ballast size is up to the person who has the layout !
Another video said it was "very important" to use fine ballast on ez track, and I was wondering why? Is medium that horrible? I want it too look like gravel, not dust lol.
The Rubbing alcohol is just to help the adhesives to sink into the ballast better, scenics cement will definitely hold the ballast down well but I'm not sure how well it will sink into the ballast, maybe do a test on a small square of tinfoil to see how it works before experimenting on your track because once it goes on, not much can take it back off.
If you don't use the alcohol the glue wont melt into the ballast, instead it will roll off and make a mess. A mixture of dish soap and water will have the same effect as alcohol, I just prefer alcohol because it evaporates quicker. Double sided tape should be able to hold some ballast although it probably will not work as good as glue.
I think I might have added 1 parts water 3 parts glue, however this was because this glue was slightly more thick then most. You can probably water down most glues to a 50/50 ratio however I've found that if you water it down too much, it comes off real easy and wont last vary long.
Thanks for sharing, great tutorial !!! I just bought some E-Z track I was going to use for testing some locos and a shadow station, now I'm considering using it for a visible section of the layout. And I'm sure I can use this method for my Marklin M- and C-tracks as well...
I would recommend a dark colored ballast for the black ez track, and a lighter one for the gray. Makes any gaps harder to see.
Mmm, shake n bake track. Set oven for 350 and wait 30 minutes for a delicious treat. Sorry, a scrumptious treat.
Thank you this is very helpful. Best UA-cam channel ever
I have a ton of Bachmann e-z track. Tbh, I’m not a huge fan of them. But I did take the track off the plastic roadbed, and it looks a lot better. I can’t be even happier. To bad I can’t ballast my track. Lol
Great video.
Very cool, Good job on the ballasting looks pretty good
Kinda late to the party...but...a great formula for ballasting is get you some ModPodge Matte (has to be matte, NOT gloss,shiny ballast does not look too good) You can buy ModPodge at Walmart or Michaels (but pretty pricey as they do not accept coupons for ModPodge…...go figure !!!)In the US ,Hobby Lobby has it too and they DO accept coupons.Mix your Podge 1 (one)part to 3(three) parts water and a few drop of dish soap(breaks the surface tension of the water)
Then as Harrison does ,spread your ballast then soak with IPA (isopropyl alcohol)which acts as a surfactant to break the surface tension of the liquid, and let set for a couple of minutes allowing the IPA to soak in.Then take your dropper and drip your thinned ModPodge mix onto your alcohol soaked ballast.You can buy the big jug of ModPodge ,which may seem expensive ,but you are getting 3 times as much when you factor in adding water (4 times actually)Let the soaked ballast sit for at leat 24 hours, works every time ...GUARANTEED !!!! BTW-the ModPodge mix will soak into the ballast almost right away and dry hard and flat,no shine.
FYI- Woodland Scenics sell stuff called "scenic cement"....which is watered down matte medium.Guess what ModPodge is ???? Go price a bottle of Scenic cement then figure out how much the Modpodge mixture will cost you .That`s a major no-brainer.
Paul T in Wpg
I have unitrack and will try this method. This looks a little easier than other methods.
good job...thx for sharing... vinny
smt mainline are you buying more ez track ?
Great video , only one thing many people have there E-Z track on on their layouts already , this ballast looks quite coarse but then again , preference for ballast size is up to the person who has the layout !
Another video said it was "very important" to use fine ballast on ez track, and I was wondering why? Is medium that horrible? I want it too look like gravel, not dust lol.
I used fine ballast on my HO ez-track and it seems to look more authentic. I love his technique, though!!
Awesome video and awesome idea.
Can you mix the glue with the IPA to thin it, and act as sufasent
Thank you very much SMT! This was very helpful for me. Would it be okay if I used Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement instead of rubbing alcohol?
The Rubbing alcohol is just to help the adhesives to sink into the ballast better, scenics cement will definitely hold the ballast down well but I'm not sure how well it will sink into the ballast, maybe do a test on a small square of tinfoil to see how it works before experimenting on your track because once it goes on, not much can take it back off.
@@SMTMainline Ok, thank you!
It good that someone has found a easy way to ballast
E-Z track but in my opinion I would choose atlas snap track with roadbed than that.
Awesome video, thank you for the info! Keep up the good work!
What happens if I don't use alcohol? And also can I use double-sided tape instead of glue on the sides?
If you don't use the alcohol the glue wont melt into the ballast, instead it will roll off and make a mess. A mixture of dish soap and water will have the same effect as alcohol, I just prefer alcohol because it evaporates quicker. Double sided tape should be able to hold some ballast although it probably will not work as good as glue.
SMT Mainline ok thanks for the advice
It’s seems the same as regular track but for some people this would be helpful. Also instead of using alcohol you should use soapy water
That works but water doesn't dry as fast as alcohol does
That makes sense
That is how I ballast my track
Great video. I learned a lot.
I use ez track so this helped
Good video
I Run Lifelike powerloc track it was the Black Edition and Painted the Bed Grey And The Rails Brown That’s what I did And Looks Good.
I have life like power loc track but it looks the same will this still work on it?
I'm sure it would, really the only difference between power loc and e-z track is the connection style
Ok thanks
Great Video hoping to do this in the future with my layout
Is it okay to ballast a layout already put together? Or should it be done one piece of track at a time?
I know that jwii2000 did this and this and his both help alot cause I use e-z track 👍👍👍👌
Very nice, thanks for your help!
Drinking game: take a shot every time he says ballast.
Nice How-To Video!
add this video to my ballasting video,, and i will share the link . that is a easy way to do it ,, thanks for the tip
Is that just normal glue or does it have a water parentage?
I think I might have added 1 parts water 3 parts glue, however this was because this glue was slightly more thick then most. You can probably water down most glues to a 50/50 ratio however I've found that if you water it down too much, it comes off real easy and wont last vary long.
@@SMTMainline ok thanks!
Looks good
Ok only a few hours until the Special Video
Hopefully
You're makin it look too easy man but great work
NowI know how to ballast Bacman track
At the end it looks like kato unit track
This is very tie-consuming
Cool
Wow what a righteous mess I did about 100 seats in 3 hours but everybody has a different method
Easy track looks like it's pre ballasted
Ballast is my least favorite project and I use half glue half water easier to use that way with the alcohol
Noice
First mistake everything you did was say sinew not the camera
Scuse me meant to say was away from the camera