Trains.com

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Buffalo Grass - Do you really need to glue it down?

1167 views
4 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Los Alamitos, California
  • 322 posts
Buffalo Grass - Do you really need to glue it down?
Posted by Oakhurst Railroad Engineer on Thursday, July 2, 2009 11:28 PM

I just bought some of the Scenic Express Buffalo Grass sheets.  I've peeled off a bunch of the tufts and just pushed them down on my existing scenery.  The surface varies from plaster cloth with ground turf to rock castings to plywood with ground turf.  The instructions say to apply glue to each tuft, but they seem to be staying put using only the light gel adhesive left over when you peel the tuft from the plastic sheet.

Do you think I'm going to have to reglue all of these tufts or do you think they will stay put?

Thanks,

Marty

 

 

www.oakhurstrailroad.com

"Oakhurst Railroad" on Facebook

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Lilburn, GA
  • 966 posts
Posted by CSXDixieLine on Friday, July 3, 2009 7:34 AM

They probably have just enough tackyness to keep them stuck to the sheet they are packaged on. Seems to me this tack will wear off after a while on the layout, but if the tufts are staying in place, what difference does it make? You can always leave them as-is and go back and glue them later if necessary. However, if you are not going to move them around, why not just add a tiny dab of glue now and not have to worry about it later? Jamie

  • Member since
    February 2008
  • From: Sunny SoCal
  • 423 posts
Posted by Margaritaman on Saturday, July 4, 2009 2:19 PM

All mine are glued Marty.  One drop of CA on each one.  Tedious, but worth the effort.

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Los Alamitos, California
  • 322 posts
Posted by Oakhurst Railroad Engineer on Saturday, July 4, 2009 10:16 PM

I've now glued some with diluted white glue.  Single tufts seem to do just fine ... with small patches of multiple tufts, the trick seems to be to get them to conform to the shape of the terrain.  CA would stick fast in that situation and would work better than white glue.

In any case, both unglued (only the sticky from the peel from the plastic) and glued with white glue (and I would guess CA also) seem to work OK if you have a good surface ... bare wood, glued turf, clean foam, and plaster casting.  Loose turf or ballast is a bad surface to attach the Buffalo Grass ... maybe scrape of a small patch and then attach ...

Marty

You can take a look when you visit ...

Marty

www.oakhurstrailroad.com

"Oakhurst Railroad" on Facebook

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Canada, eh?
  • 13,375 posts
Posted by doctorwayne on Sunday, July 5, 2009 1:51 PM

I'd glue 'em down.  Sooner or later, your layout is going to get dusty, and the vacuum cleaner can't distinguish between "details" and "dirt". Smile,Wink, & Grin

Wayne

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Users Online

There are no community member online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!