I have my homebuilt static grass applicator almost completed and can't wait to try it. Many are "upgrading" foam or other textures to this method to the point it has become the new standard for many. Since I am starting from new, I'm going to experiment with the old dyed sawdust as the initial texture with the static grass over it to avoid the double expense of both foam and static fiber material.
Cal
Rangerover Welcome to the wonderful world of model railroad scenic's. OK, I don't use the WS sprayer and agree with all you said. I use a plastic ketchup bottle like the ones in a diner and hold it close to the surface and sort of drizzle the glue on. I use the same method after I put the turf down and wet it good, it takes a day or 2 for it to dry. I use the same technique for ballast using alcohol and water and then the glue .
Welcome to the wonderful world of model railroad scenic's. OK, I don't use the WS sprayer and agree with all you said. I use a plastic ketchup bottle like the ones in a diner and hold it close to the surface and sort of drizzle the glue on. I use the same method after I put the turf down and wet it good, it takes a day or 2 for it to dry. I use the same technique for ballast using alcohol and water and then the glue .
I use same type of plastic bottle with cone shape nozzle to apply my glue mixture after my "wet" water has been applied with the same type of bottle.
To put my ground foam / ground mix scenery down I pre mix it dry in a old coffee mug, spread it with a spoon with a sprinkling motion. With the spoon I can control the ground foam mix quite well.
For grass and small clump ground cover, I spread Elmers on the ground with a small foam brush. Then I sprinkle with a shaker that originally held cheese for sprinkling on spagetti. For heavier ground cover I use my fingers to sprinkle it. Then diluted Elmers over the top.
I have two small Elmers bottles. One is unmarked and the other is marked "dilluted". I refill them both from a gallon Jug of Elmers. They work well for controlled application.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
MisterBeasleyI don't spray either glue or wet-water. For the wet water, I use a pipette (hobby-store version of an eyedropper) which gives much much more precise control of where stuff goes. For glue, I just keep re-filling the small size Elmers bottle with 1 part glue (from a gallon jug) to 3 parts water. I apply all my ground cover by hand. I prefer a more mottled, "camouflage" pattern of greens and browns, so the uniformity you get with a shaker doesn't suit me. I just pour some turf in my left hand and then put down pinches with the right. My layout is small, though, and I don't have any very large areas to put turf or ground cover on. I can see where a shaker might work better on a big open space.
I don't spray either glue or wet-water. For the wet water, I use a pipette (hobby-store version of an eyedropper) which gives much much more precise control of where stuff goes. For glue, I just keep re-filling the small size Elmers bottle with 1 part glue (from a gallon jug) to 3 parts water.
I apply all my ground cover by hand. I prefer a more mottled, "camouflage" pattern of greens and browns, so the uniformity you get with a shaker doesn't suit me. I just pour some turf in my left hand and then put down pinches with the right. My layout is small, though, and I don't have any very large areas to put turf or ground cover on. I can see where a shaker might work better on a big open space.
MisterBeasley's technique is what I do. My eyedroppers came from a pharmacy. I work in n-scale, and just do a limited area at a time. I use old plastic bowls my wife no longer needs in the kitchen, and put the scenery material in them, and just grab some of whatever kind I want to put in a particular area.
I've tried the plastic spoons, shakers, etc. and found just applying by hand works the best.
mrnimble Man, I'm frustrated. I've started working my way now around my new layout in the scenery detailing stage and I'm finding myself spending more time trying to unclog scenery cement sprayers and getting shakers to uniformly distribute ground foam materials than I am at creating meadows and mountains. The WS sprayer bottles are about worthless with their tendancy to spew globs along with the fine spray. The generic bottle sprayers from HD and others is like working on your layout with a fire hose. The WS shaker bottles aren't much better as they clog just as you're in a tight area trying to achieve a uniform covering of turf materials. I've tried old hairspray bottles and other, smaller condiment shakers without much better luck. Does anyone have a line on some good tools in this area. Thanks, Geoff.
Man, I'm frustrated. I've started working my way now around my new layout in the scenery detailing stage and I'm finding myself spending more time trying to unclog scenery cement sprayers and getting shakers to uniformly distribute ground foam materials than I am at creating meadows and mountains. The WS sprayer bottles are about worthless with their tendancy to spew globs along with the fine spray. The generic bottle sprayers from HD and others is like working on your layout with a fire hose. The WS shaker bottles aren't much better as they clog just as you're in a tight area trying to achieve a uniform covering of turf materials. I've tried old hairspray bottles and other, smaller condiment shakers without much better luck. Does anyone have a line on some good tools in this area. Thanks, Geoff.
When I scenic large, open areas, I spray diluted white glue on the ground foam. If you remove the spray mechanism and stick the siphon tube in a cup of really hot water, then pump the hot water through it, it will flush the glue out of it. Then, the next time you use it, it's not clogged. For scenicking (sp) in close quarters, I use a children's medicine dropper to presoak the scenery material, then apply the diluted glue with one of those translucent ketchup bottles like you see in burger joints. I used to use mustard bottles, but I couldn't see inside the bottle. Sometimes the glue settles to the bottom; a couple of shakes, and it's mixed up again.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I've has similar problems in the past, especially when trying to apply coarse ground foam. What seems to work really well is an old yogurt container with a bunch of holes in the lid placed there via a standard paper hole puncher. You can put as many holes in it as you want to control the amount of material distributed. Cost is only that of a single yogurt!
The shaker, I made my own, one each for fine, medium, and coarse. I used a lot of durham's water putty. I bought 3 of the smaller cans with the metal lid and when empty I drilled holes that suited me with the amount it dispenced. I sometimes also use a plastic spoon in hard to get places, a tiny bit and just tap it. No matter what you do, take your time, it does get tedious!