Minor Ques. Re Spraying/Misting w/scenic glue.

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I don’t use “official” scenic glue. I use Modpog diluted 50/50 or more which I understand is what the official scenic glue really is. I also don’t have the “official” scenic glue spray bottle. Is that what is wrong?

I can’t get my glue to mist or spray fine. It streams out. I know it is a result of the consistency because the little eyeglass cleaner spray bottles I use do a perfectly good misting job with plain water.

Does the official WS Scenic Sprayer S192 actually mist the official WSScenic Glue S190? If so I guess I will have to drive down to the city to get some. Darn!

[^o)]

2

I’ve never seen any compelling reason to spray glue on a layout. It is hard to control, and makes a mess of everything you don’t want glue on, particularly trackwork, walls and floor.

Get an Elmers bottle with the orange top, fill it 1/4 with glue and the rest with water, shake well and you’ve got a dispenser that is easy to use and lets you put your glue precisely where you want it for ballasting, etc. If you are going to coat a large area prior to adding turf, use the same bottle and an old paintbrush to spread the glue. No overspray, no mess, no waste.

For “wet water,” use a pipette and isopropyl alcohol straight from the bottle. The straight alcohol will work better and evaporate much faster than soap-based wet water.

3

Do not spray the glue.

Mix the glue and water in a squeeze bottle (like a diner mustard or ketchup bottle).

Spray water on the scenery to wet it, then dribble glue onto the wet scenic material.

4

What Dave said. [:D]

The WS spray bottle is going to do the same thing any spray bottle will do with thinned scenic glue–clog. Spray the area you’re going to scenic with water, then use the WS (or thinned Elmers) right out of the bottle and drizzle it on. It’s much more accurate, and you don’t have stray spray shooting all over the layout.

Tom [:)]

5

I don’t spray diluted glue on scenery often, but when I do I use Elmer’s diluted with about 60% or more water, and spray with a high-quality (or at least higher than your average disposable item) plant mister, which I thoroughly rinse after each use. Try the garden section of the big box store. I can get a fine spray consistently, but any sprayer will deliver poor results with too thick a glue mixture. Also note that products like Mod Podge and matte medium are not intended to be water soluble when dry, so they are more likley to clog applicators than plain old white glue that remains soluble.

6

Thanks, gentlemen.

I don’t have much desire to spray around either, but some of the WS fine leaf foliage tends to fall off the little branches. I don’t use this product to glue onto armatures because it is perfect as is for arid land brush…but one has to pull it apart a bit and that loosens the foliage soemwhat.

A little spray on the branches holds them together better.

Drizzling like I do for everything else, does not have a good result on fine leaf foliage

7

I get my sprayers from the dollar store. You may need to get a couple to get one that works best. Spray bottle season is upon us, btw. I’ve never had a Woodland Scenics sprayer that didn’t toss large drops out along with the spray. Avoid them like the plague. The best sprayers I’ve had were from Scenic Express.

Martin Myers

8

You can always dip.

However, I’d say your basic problem is that your mixture is too thick. I dilute matte medium to 20% (1 part medium to 4 parts water). It does spray.

Also, matte medium usually contains talc as a dulling agent. Letting this settle out and then decanting the mixture might also help.

9

Now, I had forgotten this about the talc. I’ve been shaking it up to get all the bumps out and I probably shouldn’t.

10

You can also use unscented hair spray to attach/secure foliage. But that’s laquer so mask/shield stuff you don’t want sprayed.

If you are doing fruit trees or flowers get the scented spray. :sunglasses:

11

The talc is necessary if you’re using it to mix paint, not so for use as an adhesive. It may not be causing trouble, but it might be plugging up the little holes in the atomizer of your sprayer. Doesn’t hurt to get rid of it.