Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Today we are looking at how to glue down your ballast and dirt using either Elmers glue all or a product called Dextran.
Either way it involves putting down your ballast or scenery in a dry form and dispersing it with a soft brush and getting it working exactly the way you want.
In the case of white glue, you can spritz down the entire area with alcohol or water with just a hint of dish soap, added to it and then come back and carefully trip a mixture of 50-50 Elmers glue all and water into those wet areas. This is great for covering small sections and ballast track.
Larger sections can be done using dextrin. In this case, the powder adhesive is mixed with the ballast or dirt ahead of time, that mixture is then dispersed over the railroad and blend it out using the same soft brush in same technique, only this time when you spread it down with water the water activates the glue and you are done. 
Today we are looking at how to glue down your ballast and dirt using either Elmers glue all or a product called Dextran.
Either way it involves putting down your ballast or scenery in a dry form and dispersing it with a soft brush and getting it working exactly the way you want.
In the case of white glue, you can spritz down the entire area with alcohol or water with just a hint of dish soap, added to it and then come back and carefully trip a mixture of 50-50 Elmers glue all and water into those wet areas. This is great for covering small sections and ballast track.
Larger sections can be done using dextrin. In this case, the powder adhesive is mixed with the ballast or dirt ahead of time, that mixture is then dispersed over the railroad and blend it out using the same soft brush in same technique, only this time when you spread it down with water the water activates the glue and you are done. 
