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Removing Track Ballast
Tony asks:
“Is there a quick way to remove the ballast from sections of track? I inherited the layout and I assume my Dad used some kind of PVA white glue. Can it be dissolved without making too much mess?”
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I have a canister vacuum and what I did to clean up the track is this :
Buy at least 6 feet of flexible rubber hose and make a reducer out of duct tape. Turn on the vac and chip away at the roadbed while holding the rubber hose next to your work. The vac will suck up all your used roadbed.
try water on the ballast. If it was white glue it would loosen up. Using a vacuum with a womens stocking in the tube to catch the ballast it could possibly be reused.
White vinegar will dissolve PVA glue. Use sparingly if you want to try this. You will still have to scrape it out but it should be able to be removed with less aggressive scraping..
What was used to hold the track before ballasting. If pliable caulk, just pull the track off with ballast and soak. If permanent glues were used, the ballast is the least of one’s worry.
A mix of warm water and isopropyl alcohol (50/50) has always worked for me.. In my opinion it’s not worth trying to save the old ballast. Just spray on the mixture, wait about 5 minutes. Carefully lift the track up using a scraper underneath.. Afterwards, use scraper to clean up board/base. Warm water in a pan will help finish cleaning removed track..
Try warm water in a fine mist spray bottle. That’ll dissolve PVA white glue like Elmers. If a no go, then either vinegar or 70%+ rubbing alcohol (IPA) should work in a spray bottle.
The bottle lets you best control the amount of liquid used.