No need for an eye dropper with Elmer’s. I use a half used bottle and simply mix with water and a drop of dish detergent in the same Elmer’s bottle. Easy enough to flow the 50:50 mix on to the ballast. Simple and fast
I also do what ScottR outlines above. It works great using a 1/2 empty bottle of Elmer's as the applicator. I typically add more rubbing alcohol, and also have added India Ink and other pigments (Craft Paints in Burnt Umber) to tint the ballast. I am around 30% ballasted at this point, and I would estimate I have between 400 and 500 feet of wood tie track in total. In my case I sift all my own ballast out of granite mix I got at a local yard, and tend to mix in some smaller quantities of other ballasts I have accumulated over the decades. The granite can tend to have a "cold blue" tint to it, hence my experimenting with tinting the glue mix.
After the first few sections of "test ballasting", I also ended up putting down an initial application of about 75% glue/25% water/alcohol/dish detergent then applying the ballast over it. Had too many sections coming loose, and I felt like I was drenching the track and ties with too much water that was taking a long time to dry out.
So I run a ribbon of 75% glue down each side, and then squeeze drops of it between the ties not too precise, then apply the ballast mix over that. Once that's complete and I have brushed any granite off the rails and ties, I go in do final 50/50 application. My Ross and Gargraves is installed on top of MidWest Cork Road Bed.
