Can anyone tell me what is the consistency to make my plaster for dipping towels, dryer sheets etc into for making hills and mountains.
I use 2 to 4 ratio I use 2 cups of water to 4 cups of plaster of paris. If the plaster mix is too thick just add 2-4 tablespoons of water to thin it out enough to be able to use. Get a cheap metal whisk and use it to mix the plaster of paris like pancake batter. Let it rest for about 3 mins to get the air bubbles to calm down and then you can start dipping your towels into the mix and applying them to the layout. I have used this methods for years. Hope this helps
Ray
How much of an area will your "recipe" cover?
An alternative to plaster is a white glue mix called "glue shell". I have several articles and a couple of threads on it. It is a 50:50 mix of water and white glue. Dip your towels or cloth in this mix. It would not start to set like plaster will so you have a longer working time per batch. Though I haven't used either, yet, it appears to be less messy and easier to clean up drips and spills.
Good luck,
Richard
Or why not make it as the custom car builders, Use speaker carpet felt and dip it in cheap epoxy resin. Super-strong, super-light but not super cheap...
Maybe more suitable for Modules.
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Balloon Dude How much of an area will your "recipe" cover?
Almost forgot, you are better off only doing a 2'x3' section at a time otherwise the plaster wit set up on you before you can cover the whole 4'x6' section. Use a multiplier of 7 instead of 15 in order to do this.
I usually mix my batches using the same formula (2:1, plaster:water) in a large bowl. Then, add about a tablespoon of vinegar. This slows the plaster from setting up, giving you more time to work with it. Personally, I gave up on the paper towels dipped in plaster and just coughed up the extra money and bought plaster cloth. It's a LOT less messy. If you can find a medical supply house (even online), you can buy larger quantities for less.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
B&O SteamDemon I use 2 to 4 ratio I use 2 cups of water to 4 cups of plaster of paris. If the plaster mix is too thick just add 2-4 tablespoons of water to thin it out enough to be able to use. Get a cheap metal whisk and use it to mix the plaster of paris like pancake batter. Let it rest for about 3 mins to get the air bubbles to calm down and then you can start dipping your towels into the mix and applying them to the layout. I have used this methods for years. Hope this helps Ray
I desire a consistancy about the same as the broth in Cracker Barrel's Chicken and Dumplins so I have developed a 2.25:5 ratio; this is just a mite thicker than yours is going to render.
I would say this to forummember woodman: you need to experiment until you find what you are comfortable with. Based upon something I thought I had read someplace I started off with a 3:5 ratio but found that too thin for my comfort: someone suggested I try B&O SteamDemon;s 2:4 ratio but I also found that too thin. By adding a quarter of a cup of water and one cup of Hydrocal I came up with the 2.25:5 formula which, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, turned out to be "Just Right!"
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
R. T. POTEET B&O SteamDemon: I use 2 to 4 ratio I use 2 cups of water to 4 cups of plaster of paris. If the plaster mix is too thick just add 2-4 tablespoons of water to thin it out enough to be able to use. Get a cheap metal whisk and use it to mix the plaster of paris like pancake batter. Let it rest for about 3 mins to get the air bubbles to calm down and then you can start dipping your towels into the mix and applying them to the layout. I have used this methods for years. Hope this helps Ray I desire a consistancy about the same as the broth in Cracker Barrel's Chicken and Dumplins so I have developed a 2.25:5 ratio; this is just a mite thicker than yours is going to render. I would say this to forummember woodman: you need to experiment until you find what you are comfortable with. Based upon something I thought I had read someplace I started off with a 3:5 ratio but found that too thin for my comfort: someone suggested I try B&O SteamDemon;s 2:4 ratio but I also found that too thin. By adding a quarter of a cup of water and one cup of Hydrocal I came up with the 2.25:5 formula which, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, turned out to be "Just Right!"
B&O SteamDemon: I use 2 to 4 ratio I use 2 cups of water to 4 cups of plaster of paris. If the plaster mix is too thick just add 2-4 tablespoons of water to thin it out enough to be able to use. Get a cheap metal whisk and use it to mix the plaster of paris like pancake batter. Let it rest for about 3 mins to get the air bubbles to calm down and then you can start dipping your towels into the mix and applying them to the layout. I have used this methods for years. Hope this helps Ray
Dang, and we were just at Cracker Barrel. Are their C and Ds good??
I think I will try your thicker "soup" mix and see how it does, I recently switched from paper towels to using gauze strips you can buy, the same type used to wrap wounds, this seems to work well especially in smal and tight areas.
Medina1128 Personally, I gave up on the paper towels dipped in plaster and just coughed up the extra money and bought plaster cloth. It's a LOT less messy. If you can find a medical supply house (even online), you can buy larger quantities for less.
Hear, hear!
I got a giant box of plaster cloth from the big auction site for about $25, IIRC. Do a search for plaster gauze. It'll cover acres and acres (at least HO scale acres), is super easy, and there's hardly any mess at all. I'll never go back to plaster soup dipping.
Jim
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
Thanks for the info. I'll have to try the vinegar trick because it seems the plaster of paris sets way to quickly.
On another note I read somewhere that aluminum foil works great as a mold so I tried it, and am amazed at how you can get it (the casting) to look like shale.
I found a roll of plaster gauze at Amazon.com; 4"x270'.. Yes, 270 FEET! Plaster gauze
Medina1128 I found a roll of plaster gauze at Amazon.com; 4"x270'.. Yes, 270 FEET! Plaster gauze
B&O SteamDemon Medina1128: I found a roll of plaster gauze at Amazon.com; 4"x270'.. Yes, 270 FEET! Plaster gauze Very interesting, how long are the strips?
Medina1128: I found a roll of plaster gauze at Amazon.com; 4"x270'.. Yes, 270 FEET! Plaster gauze
Very interesting, how long are the strips?
I read that as one strip, 4 inches wide and 270 foot long.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
They don't come in strips. It's one big roll.
Medina1128 I usually mix my batches using the same formula (2:1, plaster:water) in a large bowl. Then, add about a tablespoon of vinegar. This slows the plaster from setting up, giving you more time to work with it. Personally, I gave up on the paper towels dipped in plaster and just coughed up the extra money and bought plaster cloth. It's a LOT less messy. If you can find a medical supply house (even online), you can buy larger quantities for less.
Great tip about the vinegar!!