Hi all,
I'm planning to use dry, powdered tile grout as the 'dirt' groundcover on my HOn3 layout, and I've been reading up on a few threads in the forums. I know I need to get the sanded version. Most of the threads I've seen talk about mixing it with plaster to get the texture right.
My ground shape is formed from 'glue shell' (PVA/water soaked sheets) over wire. I was planning to either paint the glue shell with appropriately coloured paint, or spray it with a mix of PVA glue and water, and sprinkle the grout over it. Would this approach result in a realistic dirt texture? This won't be going under grass, it will need to be dirt in its own right.
From what I've read in other threads on this forum, it seems that tile grout powder also has a 'pigmenting' effect - that it colours other stuff with it. I was planning to mix two or three shades of grout together to get a variation in dirt colour - would this work or would I end up with some sort of blended colour?
Thanks in advance,
tbdanny
The Location: Forests of the Pacific Northwest, OregonThe Year: 1948The Scale: On30The Blog: http://bvlcorr.tumblr.com
Why not just use the real & free stuff outside? I think it looks great, and there's lots of it available.
This is just some good ol' dirt I found near my house.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Motley Why not just use the real & free stuff outside? I think it looks great, and there's lots of it available. This is just some good ol' dirt I found near my house.
Real is real, fake is not so real.
If you do use the good real stuff free outside your house or even in a paid bag from "Home Despot" {yes spelled "correctly"} be sure you: spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake it in the oven at 500* for a half an hour; then cool it and make sure it is dried out; and run a magnet through it to get any metal fragments in it out; sift it thoroughly for other "missives" it might contain and to size out the small rocks it may contain {good for tallus later}.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Hi guys,
I have tried using the real product on a previous layout and I wasn't that satisfied with the results. I've been doing some experimenting with the tile grout, and the results are looking promising. Just got to get the colour correct.
Thanks for the advice, though.
Cheers,
I used real dirt. Found some clumps thanks to the water company. They made a mess out of my front yard. Sanded with 40 grit and here you go.
I hate Rust
Real dirt works just fine. As far as baking and using a magnet, eh, IMO not required. I built three different grade sifters and away we went. Half a tank of gas and a couple of hours and more than I could use in a lifetime. .
San Dimas Southern slideshow
Hi tbdanny,
Do you want your dirt to look like dry sand or just a brownish cover?
I wanted a dry sand (dusty) look but couldn't get it unless I just let the grout sit on dry paint which was not any use as it would blow away and get into all the wrong places.
Sprinkling the dry grout onto wet paint resulted in the wrong look, more like wet ground or mud and not what I wanted. I was using water based paint. Must try it again with oil based paint.
If you try it please let us know how it turns out.
cheers
Alan J
Alan Jones in Sunny Queensland (Oz)
I don't right now remember the exact issue, but one of the reason issues of Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette had an article on using grout for dirt/sand. IIRC the editor said he used it both wet (just mixed with water and brushed over scenery shell) and dry (sprinkling in areas he wanted it then spraying with 'wet water' to seal it down). Based on the pics it looks like it worked great. I believe he got the idea while visiting an F scale layout that was in a recent issue.
Look up Zip Texturing in an older scenery book....Mike