Diluting Elmer's glue?

About 50/50, and if you're off by a bit, it really doesn't matter. I prefer to go a little heavier on the glue myself.

50/50 will be quite strong for ballasting, and I use 3/1 or 4/1 ratio (water/glue)for scenery with excellent results.

Hi Gromet, make sure you clean your spray nozzle when done. Even though Elmers is a water based glue it can be a pain to clear out of the tube and spary nozzle when it dries.

Have fun.

I eyeball a guess at 60/40 "wet"water/white glue. Yes,a couple drops of Palmolive liquid to make the water "wet".

I use 60% water, 40% glue with 3-5 drops of liquid dish soap.

A few drops of detergent is supposed to help it flow better. Stir to mix, shaking will cause foaming. There is a newer idea of using alcohol as a wetting agent; maybe someone else knows more about that.

i wet the ballast with isopropol alcohol i like 90%..then 50-50 elmers mixed in their bottle then just carefully squeez it out along the outer edge of ties the alcohol really draws the glue mix in..youll see nothin to it.  work your way out from the ties to the ballast edge..works real well.....conrail john

I feel the alcohol use prior to applying a 60/40 water/glue mixture is the best way to go.  After the alcohol is applied the glue/water mixture flows nicely between each ballast stone.  After using your spray bottle of water/glue mixture be sure to clean it real good - clogging is always a problem if you don't.

I usually have a hard time getting the bottle to actually spray.  It always seems to come out in a stream which of course moves around any landscaping I am working with.  Any suggestions?

Paul Edgar

Paul - I'm experiencing the same problem - I was told the 4-5 drops of dish detergent helps but I still get poor spray results -

Paul forget about spraying the glue mixture and go to your local $ store and buy a few of these - much better.

The only thing you want to spray is the IPA.

Depends what you're doing. We were using 3 parts water to 1 parts white glue for ballast at the club, but I found that 2 parts water to 1 part was a little better. The real key is the application of "wet water" (1 quart of water with a few drops of dish liquid or rinse agent to break down the surface tension.) That saturates the ballast and drags the glue/water solution into it. To glue clumps of coarse turf, you might want to use 50/50.

Hadn't heard about alcohol, but it makes a lot of sense for the same reason -- it breaks the water's surface tension. I'll have to try that out.

By the way, save those empty mustard squeeze bottles. They're perfect for the diluted glue solution. I actually bought a spray bottle from Home Depot's cleaning section for the wet water as they're adjustable.

There is no need to apply alcohol to the ballast in a separate step. Formulate the elmers glue, water and isopropanol together in equal proportions and apply as a single liquid. The product is stable for many months. Ethanol may be substituted for IPA with equally good results.

I prefer to use Matte Medium and I don't spray it.  Instead I use an eye dropper and dribble it in.  Less mess.

.....

Dennis

I pre-mist the ballast with a few drops of liquid dishwashing detergent mixed with water, and applied with a perfume atomizer.  I apply a mix of white glue and water (about 60% water and 40% glue, but no need to be too precise) with an eye-dropper, and work in about five or six foot sections at a time.