model railroad ballast

Posted by Charlie Jones on Feb 27, 2006

sand from your local hobby shop makes a great no skid. I use it on varnished steps on the boats I build. ( I build boats for a living)

Lay on a coat of varnish and while that is wet sprinkle the sand onto the surface- if you will be sitting there, don't use too much. When the varnish is dry, gently vacumn any loose stuff off, then lay on a another coat (or two) of varnish, depending on how agressive you want the non skid to be.

The grit sold by Interlux is good also, but costs a good deal more than the ballast sand.

On the last boat we did we non skidded the decks using Interlux Interdeck which is excellent, but that's all paint so the wood will be covered, which you don't sound like you want.

Go with the ballast sand.

Oh and by the way, I used the same technique on the captains ladder leading to the loft bedroom in our house- 12 years ago- still going strong.

I fly fish also - but in salt water usually.

In Response to: non-skid surface by Jerry Robillard on Feb 22, 2006

Replies:

• Re: model railroad ballas by Jerry Robillard on Mar 1, 2006