Foliage frustration


A

AllenB

Member
My first "real" layout. I've got the base painted and ready to put foliage on it. So I spread some 50/50 white glue/water mix, sprinkle some Woodland Scenics turf down, spitz some rubbing alcohol 50/50 mix and then another glue mix spritz. However, my glue either blows away the turf, or doesn't come out of the bottle in a spray but a stream. I've tried other bottles and thinning the glue way down to about 30/70 and no luck...still blows the turf all over the place. What am I missing here guys?
Thanks!
Allen
 
I use an old pump-type hair spray bottle and spray a fine mist OVER the area and let the mist fall gently over the scenery. but your 2nd glue spritz isn't necessary as the alcohol will wet the material and cause the 1st glue wick back up and secure the foliage from underneath.
 
What i always do is the first layer of turf goes on before the paint dries, then spray it down after the paint dries . on the second coat it is always wetted down before i apply any thing so that it sticks and wont be blown away by the stream . Make sure you spray over top of the work not directly on .

Hope this helps......:D
 
AllenB said:
My first "real" layout. I've got the base painted and ready to put foliage on it. So I spread some 50/50 white glue/water mix, sprinkle some Woodland Scenics turf down, spitz some rubbing alcohol 50/50 mix and then another glue mix spritz. However, my glue either blows away the turf, or doesn't come out of the bottle in a spray but a stream. I've tried other bottles and thinning the glue way down to about 30/70 and no luck...still blows the turf all over the place. What am I missing here guys?
Click to expand...

Here's what I do.

Paint the area with dirt color latex paint. Sift a layer of base turf color into the dirt. Let it dry. If desired vacuum off the first coat. I put a sock over the end of the vacuum hose with a little pushed into the hose to catch the foam for recycling.

Apply a layer of ground foam.

Gently mist the area with wet water (water/alcohol or water with a couple drops of dish detergent) until the foam is wet. I apply a mix of 50-50 water and white glue with a ketchup/mustard dispenser (one of those old style plastic ones with the pointy spout), dribbling the glue gently onto the foam. Add any additional foam and let dry.

I never spray glue mixture.

Apply the last coat of foam if desired. Gently mist the area with wet water (water/alcohol or water with a couple drops of dish detergent) until the foam is wet. Apply a mix of 50-50 water and white glue with a ketchup/mustard dispenser, dribbling the glue gently onto the foam. Let it dry.

Vacuum off any excess foam.

This method will withstand a lot of abuse. I transported my modules 40 miles in the back of an open pickup going 75 mph down the highway and didn't lose any foiliage or ballast.
 
Sounds like you need to find a better spray bottle......I use a cheap $1 bottle from the Walmart pharmacy, but it has a screw adjustable nozzle, so you can adjust it down to nothing, and then slowly open it till you get a fine mist of water. The bottles come in several colors, so I use blue for water, orange for glue mix and green for alchohol (but I seldom use alchohol). Sprinkling a coat of cover on the wet paint isn't a bad idea, but I generally don't do it. I use many layers and colors when I put down my ground cover.....nature seldom does large areas of one color, so neither do I. When I get the look I want (that's why I don't use any glue prior), I use the finest mist of water (or alchohol) I can get, and REALLY soak the foam.....seeing standing water is not bad and the foam soaks it up.....you just don't want the have the foam float around. At this point, the foam shouldn't move when you apply the glue mix...again using the finest spray you can get. But again, the key is finding the right bottle. If your bottle sprays fine enough it's 90% of the battle.
 
the spray bottle will make or brake you!

go to Home depot or ACE truevalue etc... and get a good spray bottle.

I do it EXACTLY LIKE DAVE and have great results. I dont like to spray glue out of a bottle on grass but will spray on rocks or clump folige. The glue spray mist tends to collect into droplets after it leaves the bottle and "bomb" the surface.
 
Trent, if your glue forms droplets, your mist isn't fine enough and your mix doesn't have enough water. You may also want to add another drop or two of detergent.

Bob
 
Place three or four 1/4" pebbles inside your spray bottle. Use them to make the bottle a rattle-can. ;)

I do my ground foam essentially as the others do. Spray first, sprinkle, or use a piece of cardboard with a valley-bend in it oriented toward the target. You pour your finer ground foam onto the bent cardboard 'dispenser' and gently blow across the top of the small amount you pour onto it to get the finer foam flying against more vertical surfaces. Let it dry. Then overspray once and that should be lots.

I use a solution for both scenicking and ballasting that is one part wood glue to six parts water, with a drop of dish detergent or two.

Last thing, and omit this step at your peril....remove the spritz head and tube and insert the tube into warm water...and give about 12 good sprays on the trigger. You want to remove all glue from the mechanism before you place the spritzer on the shelf for a few weeks or months.

-Crandell
 
For an alcohol solution I use the spray bottle for artificial butter; I think it's Smart Balance. It has a very fine spray. But for glue I use a simple eye dropper. It's tedius but precise. I agree with Dave H; never use a spray bottle for glue if for no other reason than it's a pain to have to clean the nozzle after each use.

Ray
 
to keep the spray bottle from drying shut, simply invert it in a heavy mug of water. works for me!
 
To clean my glue bottle,I run a pan of warm clean water, and then just stick the spray gun feed into it and pump till the water sprays clean......only takes a few minutes.
 
kenw said:
to keep the spray bottle from drying shut, simply invert it in a heavy mug of water. works for me!
Click to expand...

Doesn't that have something to do with radioactivity? Oops, sorry I read that wrong; that's, "heavy mug of water," not, "mug of heavy water."

Ray
 
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