I just put a couple of small stones in the "diluted" bottle. A marble would also work.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
All really great suggestions. I think I will try several and see what I get.
Thanks again,
Paul
Living in Fernley Nevada, about 30 miles east of Reno, also lived in Oregon and California, but born In Brooklyn NY and raised on Long Island NY
modelmaker51 A pipette is too slow for me, I just reuse an elmers glue bottle, you can adjust the out flow of the bottle.
A pipette is too slow for me, I just reuse an elmers glue bottle, you can adjust the out flow of the bottle.
I use those condiment bottles found at mom and pop diners. They're translucent so you can see inside of them. I noticed that if let set long enough, diluted white glue will separate, leaving thick glue at the bottom of the bottle. When I mix up a fresh batch of diluted glue, I drop some of the larger fishing weights in the bottle. It acts like the steel ball in a rattle can to mix the glue/water mix back up. For really fine control, I found that a medicine dropper holds more than a pipette. And, since the squeeze bulb come off, it's easier to clean inside the bulb and the tube.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Paul,
I saw a post where the guy said he cuts one side of a drinking straw and them slips it over his rail to protect them while he is working on the layout. I have not tried this yet but I plan to. It sounded like a good idea to me.
Thayne
modelmaker51 A pipette is too slow for me, I just reuse an elmers glue bottle, you can adjust the out flow of the bottle
A pipette is too slow for me, I just reuse an elmers glue bottle, you can adjust the out flow of the bottle
Me too.
I use an eye dropper I got from Walgreens. I use that for ballast and scenery.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
Thanks for all the replys and info. I will try the pipette method, which is what I use when doing ballast. I just never thought about usingg them for other scenery.
Joe,
If done wrong, it will be a Royal PITA. So I can see being leery based on past bad experience. And I do use a pipette when I need precision or have just a small area to deal with.
On the other hand, I've got somewhere north of 300 SF of scenery/100+ turnouts that I've sprayed following my methods and the issues have been surprisingly minor and mostly the result of not following my methods in detail, all easily fixed.
In the end, experiment, don't take my word for it. You'll know soon enough whether it works or not for you. This is one of those cases where I feel secure in saying, "Hold my beer and watch."
I won't say, "Let me hold your beer and you try something dumb." I understand. If you think it's a dumb idea, then don't try it.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I don't like to use any kind of tape - removing the sticky tape residue can be as bad as removing the glue. On my old layout I had used "ribbonrail", upsom board roadbed pre-cut in straight and curves sections. I didn't use on this layout (I'm using Unitrack) but still have a lot of the pieces left over. When working near the tracks, I've just set the ribbonrail on top of the tracks. Normally you're spraying down rather than sideways, so that seems to be all you need. I imagine you could cut reuseable cover pieces yourself out of cardboard or say 1/4" Woodland Scenics foam sheets with a hotwire cutter.
I agree that you should do yourself a favor and stop spraying glue. It causes more problems than the supposed convenience gets you. I've found that, regardless of how well I mask there will always be residual glue where it's not supposed to be.
Joe
For me this is one of those 'it depends.' If I am working on a large area near track I will cover it will fresh blue painters tape before I spray anything - then remove it and clean the track once the spray has dried. If it's a small area or ballast, i will use a pipette. If I am neaany track, i don't cover anything except maybe the floor. It depends.....
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....
All very sound advice...
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=5959
If one could roll back the hands of time... They would be waiting for the next train into the future. A. H. Francey 1921-2007
I only sprayed glue once. I will not do it again. I paint white glue, full strength, with a brush. I then sprinkle the ground cover, spray alcohol to wet it thoroughly, and dribble on white glue diluted with alcohol.
I protect the track with blue masking tape.
Fresh 3M blue tape should stick enough for this job. Worked for me, anyway. Needs to be no wider than needed to cover the rails, but wider is OK if it doesn't interfere. Yeah, could've dried out and caused your problem.
As for matte medium, I spray it for large areas. Definitely protect what you don't want stuck. Dilute to 50% and you may have to filter it to not clog the sprayer in some cases. I use 90% alcohol misted on as the wetting agent, which can be controversial; I've never had an issue, but some other scenicking materials, weathering, etc is subject ti damage by alcohol, so caution is in order. Add material before or after spraying with matte, just makes sure you get a good coat over it. When done, be sure and rinse the sprayer to flush all matte medium out.
For ballast, same thing, except no tape except over the throw bar on the turnouts and possibly small bits of tap elsewhere on them depending on if anything will get stuck. If you haven't painted track yet, this is a good times. Then ballast, mist with 90% alcohol, then spray with matte. Use a plain towel to daub/wipe matter off top of rails, then a 90% alcohol misted wipe. Finish with Bright Boy or whatever methods you use for cleaning track.
I have used masking tape or 'blue' painters tape when doing plaster scenery work. I never spray diluted Matte Medium or diluted while glue all over for the scenery - Too Messy! I paint the area to be covered with a soft bristle brush(about 2" wide for most applications) dipped in diluted white glue. Then I sift on the ground cover. I do spray some isopropyl alcohol with a small mister to 'wet' the surface so that the ground cover adheres and then use a pipette to flood the areas that need it with more Matte Medium. I have found that cleaning a sprayer after running glue through it is a 'hit & miss' chance of actually getting it clean. They can clog up real easy.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Ok I am not a novice at building layouts and doing scenery. In the past I have used masking tape, wax paper, newspaper, aluminum foil, and I can't remember what else to cover track when spraying diluted white glue or Matte Medium. I recently tried the "Blue" tape, which did not stick to well. I am not sure if it was because it was several years old or just not right for the job.
So I was wondering, what does everyone else use?
Thanks in advance.