Okay I need help, I don’t understand what is Matte. I know that it is some kind of solution but for what. I see it being used on scenery but why.
Please help me on this one. Do I really need it? Can I make it? What can I replace it with?
Zak[%-)]
What you are refering to is called “Acrylic Matte Medium” It is essentially a clear substance that dries with a flat fini***hat is intended to be iether a. used as a clear coat on paintings. or B. a “medium” to which an artist can mix in his own pigments and make custom colors.
I believe the story goes that Dave Frary, (The defacto god of Model Railroad Scenery) was trying to find a good subtance that can be used for all sorts of bonding things that model railroaders need. He developed techniues and has used it to bond ballast, used it as a scenic cement. And I have also seen it used as water.
Do you really need it? Not really. 90% of the things you can do with Acrylic Matte Medium you can also do with diluted white glue (50/50). It basicly comes down to prefereance. People have reported that white glue can leave a glossy sheen that ruins the effect that your trying to create while Acrylic Matte Medium will not. Personally I can not tell any difference between sections of railroad that have been done with diluted white glue, or acrylic matte medium.
James
The previous answer wast horough but there is more to the story. It is an artists base solution for painting with acrylics. There is also matte gloss and possibly matte dull butI haven’t heard of it personally. It’s original purpose was to help the artist in presentation of his painting and the effect desired. I’ve used it but white glue is cheaper and does the job. It was used as a ballast glue just like diluted white glue.
Non glossy fixative solution artists( yes i’m one) use it on acrilic paintings polymer clay sculptures & wood.
Matte Gloss…that’s an oxymoron
There is matte medium and gloss medium. I use matte medium anywhere I would use glue, for example for ballast (I use an unorthodox approach that works great, namely alcohol and matte medium mixture 15:1 applied directly to dry ballast, no prewetting), glueing down rail to ties, gluing ties to roadbed, gluing roadbed to foam.
Gloss medium can be used to simulate water. It, like matte medium, is a white thick liquid until cured, but it dries clear and glossy as opposed to mostly clear but matte.
The stuff is expensive compared to white glue, but a little bit goes a long way.
george
I think Matte Medium is the psychic news anchor on channel nine on the weekends ;o)
Where would one get this Matte from?
any art supply store.
James
Go to a large paint store and pick up a few small paint sample cards and ask the clerk to explain matte finishes as opposed to other types.
I have used diluted white glue rather than matte medium, but as I understand it, matte medium is not water soluble so if you need to pull up track and remove ballast laid with it, it’s not as easy as with white glue. I also understand that matte medium offers more sound deadening (when ballasting) than white glue which supposedly dries “harder” and less flexible.
Just for reference -
I looked for matte medium and Elmer’s glue in Google. I didn’t shop around, but matte medium was something like $17 a quart, and I saw Elmer’s for $1.78 a quart. Since you mix the Elmer’s 50/50 with tap water, that indicates a factor of 20 in cost.
I think I’ll stick with the Elmer’s…
Matte refers to a non shiney finish. Whether it be spray paint, wall paint or glue. Otherwise described as a dull finish. If your refering to a matte glue, Woodland Scenics makes a ready to apply product as does Scenic Express.You can also go to Wall Mart in the craft section and they have a glue called Mod Podge (in gloss OR matte) You dilute this down with water and a little alcohol and it makles a great ballest and scenery glue. WAY cheaper that buying the pre-mixed stuff.
So is it worth the price, or using glue mixed with water the better choice all around?
If you use glue, does it mix easy with water or do you really have to work at it?
Our local Wal-mart has matte medium in pint containers in the crafts area. One pint of matte, even there, costs more than triple the price of a gallon of white glue.
Matte=Flat, dull Gloss=Shiny. “Medium” refers to the fact that it’s a liquid. (Both matte and medium in these meanings might originally be from French??)
The difference in scenery, ballasting etc. is that matte medium stays somewhat rubbery. If you use Elmer’s glue with water, I’ve noticed with ballast the result is (for lack of a better term) “crunchy” and if bumped into will break off chunks of ballast. The matte medium treated ballast is more like a rubber mat of ballast or grass scenery - plus if you change scenery, the matte medium tends to come off of plywood better, it kinda peels off if you get under it with a knife.
The question was, “is it worth it?”. Who knows? One thing about it is that a little bit of matte medium goes a long, long ways, so it is not really an issue unless you have one of those mega-layouts. And if you have one of those you probably compromise a bit on your materials and methods just so you can get the thing done ‘on time and on budget’.
But if you have a reasonable sized layout like I do, you can afford to try somewhat more exotic materials.
As for me it’s matte medium all the way for ballast and most other gluing tasks. I like the rubberiness of it.
george.
No disrespect to Dave Frary or acrylics but I heard of Matte Medium and used it long before either of these appeared on the scene. The absolute bottom line on it is that it practically disappears when it dries. Is it worth the extra cost? That’s a personal decision. My “personal decision” is that thinned white glue is usually just as effective. Yours might be another story.
Chuck
Used both matte medium and white glue on portions of a large model RR. No problems with matte medium, except a little expensive. Then after 13 years had to disassemble RR unexpectedly. Salvaged almost all track installed with white glue easily by soaking it with water for 10-15 minutes. Just about all track and every turnout installed with matte medium was destroyed in trying to remove it from the roadbed. For me, it’ll be white glue for ballast from now on.
I used several brands of white glue and several brands of matte-medium. If you want to bond light colored scenery material, there is no big difference, but if you want to bond darker colored material (like ballast normally is), and you take white glue the bonded material has a glossy sheen, it is perfect to simulate a rainy day. However, if you take matte-medium the same scene looks dry, better for an arid region. One word of caution: There are different brands of matte-medium. If you do not know the available stuff, purchase the smallest available bottle first. I have a pint of matte-medium in my box (and not the cheapest one) that is as glossy as normal white glue and with a bluish shade as additional gift.
Have fun
René.