I am at the part where i am adding my turf to the layout. I am doing the paint and sprinkle method. I have painted the foam with the brown paint nice and thick then i have sprinkled the WS turf down and spread it out and then pressed it into the wet paint.
now its morning after my sections. What do you spray down on it to have all of it stick? I dont want it to all blow away.
Thanks
Kevin
Kevin, you might consider adding some more turf and small bushes etc with different grades and colors of ground foam. More layers give texture to the areas. Then, spray the area with wet water (water with a few drops of dishwashing detergent) you want to get it damp, but not soaked. Also the trick is to avoid your spray bottle blowing away the foam and also avoid big drips that disturb things. The drizzle the whole lot with dilute white glue. I make up a batch of white glue and water 50/50 or thereabouts, I’m not very precise with this. I use an old meat baster, the plastic kind with a rubber ball for suction. Let it dry and then add more foam and repeat to get the effec you want.
Gee, it should stick to the then-wet, now-dried paint pretty nicely. If not, I suggest a light spray of diluted matte medium (you can get it at art supply stores) – I think the ratio I have seen suggested is five parts water to one part matte medium, although that is something worth experimenting with. I save old household spray bottles to use for this purpose. Hot water can clean them out afterwards or the matte medium will gunk up the works. Some people insist on using only distilled water for this; I use tap water. During the summer of course my dehumidifier creates “free” distilled water.
This mix is also what people use to secure foam to trees by the way.
Another possibility is cheap cheap hair spray – the cheaper the better. It is almost like a diluted clear laquer, like dullcoat. Of course your layout will smell perfumey for a while, and controlling the spray may be an issue. You might want to spray in a sort of big megaphone of construction paper to control the spray…
Likewise this hairspray is an idea that is sometimes used in tree construction.
I advise testing these ideas (and any others you receive here) on a sample piece of plywood that you painted and applied turf to first before doing anything on the actual layout. Sometimes there can be VERY unpleasant surprises.
And needless to say, neither matte medium or hair spray are going to do any wonders for track, turnouts, structures, rolling stock, pet cats, etc
Dave Nelson
ok,
matt medium that was the term i was just forgetting.
the turf has stuck down, just not as much as i was hoping for, but I may find that enough has stuck down.
kevin
I went and took the bru***hat I used to spread the truff around, and i whiped off the excess, what was left was just the right amount to give it the texture I was looking for. I guess the trick is to have a really thick layer of wet paint and to press the turff into it with the brush.
Kevin
I brush on straight white glue after the paint has dried, sprinkle on the foam, then spray with wet water.
Usually when in the half glued down position, you shouldn’t press and prod the ground foam, unless you need to for certain effects. Mashing down glued/ wet paint areas may give a hold but not the final look you want. The loose layer now on the layout can be bonded as mentioned w/ matte medium (WS scenery cement etc) You will need to wet the area down first. This can be the toughest part. Spraying directly will blow the foam away, you will need a very good sprayer and let the mist rain down. I use wet water with alcohol, then add- drizzle on the glue. This is when I’ll add clump bushes, weeds and other mixed scenery items. Try not to flood the spots especially on hillsides- you will end up w/ “landslides”.
Experimentation and practice will give you your favored technique. Good luck.
Bob K.