Spraying Matte Medium

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B_Kosanda

Member
This is a little frustrating. I'm having trouble (always have) spraying matte medium out of a spray mister. Water sprays fine, but the diluted matte medium does not spray well. The pump never seems to create suction. I have it diluted about 1 part matte medium to about 3 parts water. I added liquid detergent and that seems to help some, but...

Is there a way to keep the spray mister working well? I never let the matte medium dry in the mister. I always claen up after using the sprayer, but still the pump never seems to perform well.

Bill
 

jbaakko

Diesel Detail Freak
I think you need a more robust sprayer, there are some on the market that have a larger pump, and nozzel. But thats just a guess. We had a windex sprayer at work that would spray water, but not windex...
 

RexHea

RAIL BENDER
Bill, I suffered the same problems and finally bought some cheapy sprayers at Wally World...the kind you spray plants with. They worked better than any I tried, but sometimes you still need to dilute to as much as 5:1 which is still good for most ground foam type scenery. With ballast and heavy materials, I usually will use a spout type bottle after soaking it with alcohol. If I am going to cover a flat area with dirt/gravel, I will paint the 3:1 glue on first...sprinkle material...let dry...sprinkle more material...alcohol...spout bottle glue.
 
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B_Kosanda

Member
Thanks for a couple inputs.

I have been diluting the matte medium more and more to try to get it to spray. Eventualky it will be just a couple drips of matte medium and all water ;)

The sprayer I have is from Scenic Express, specifically sold to spray matte medium. It is essentially a plant mister.

Painting the terrain with an Elmer's glue/water mix is what I do in most cases. However, I am using an idea given to me by Joe Fugate on using dirt made of plaster and dry tempera paint as dirt. The glue mixture soaks through and discolors the plaster/dry tempera paint mixture, so I try to avoid it.

I'll get by with what I've got. Just thought I'd like to hear your experiences.

thanks,
Bill
 

B_Kosanda

Member
Thanks for a couple inputs.

I have been diluting the matte medium more and more to try to get it to spray. Eventualky it will be just a couple drips of matte medium and all water ;)

The sprayer I have is from Scenic Express, specifically sold to spray matte medium. It is essentially a plant mister.

Painting the terrain with an Elmer's glue/water mix is what I do in most cases. However, I am using an idea given to me by Joe Fugate on using dirt made of plaster and dry tempera paint as dirt. The glue mixture soaks through and discolors the plaster/dry tempera paint mixture, so I try to avoid it.

I'll get by with what I've got. Just thought I'd like to hear your experiences.

thanks,
Bill
 

RexHea

RAIL BENDER
Yeah, I've seen Joe's method and it works very well. Don't forget the cheapest and most easy to use dirt...is Dirt! Sift it through women's hose, bake it at 450 deg for 1 1/2 hours to kill any critters, and use a magnet to get any metal particles. It works very well. Up/Down side is it dries to be as hard as concrete.
 

B_Kosanda

Member
I'm not sure you can get much cheaper than a 15 lb. bag of plaster of paris for $10. The tempera paint costs a little, but it goes a long way.

I've tried the dirt thing and was not too pleased with the overall color of it. So, I'm tryin' the plaster method this time around.

Bill
 




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