This didn't work well


Dan Lawler

Dan Lawler

Member
I want to share something that did not work too well. This was an experiment using actual garden dirt, sieved through a fine mesh to keep the particle sizes small, and glued down with a heavy soaking of hairspray. Now I'm finding great chunks of it not staying adhered. Next time I'll try diluted white glue, but the hairspray gets a thumbs down.
 

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I used sand from Sedona, Arizona on areas of my layout and it needed a lot of wet water before using diluted white glue to hold it in place. Once dried it looked okay. I'm afraid that hair spray doesn't penetrate the soil well enough to hold it in place.

Greg
 
I always overspray with 70% isopropyl alcohol, and then drizzle in a diluted yellow glue mix. I still add a couple of drops of dish detergent to the glue mix even though the alcohol destroys the surface tension.

If the glue mix is too dilute, it will run out of the soil/ballast and pool and dry where you don't need it to be. About 1 part glue to 4 parts water is the most you'd want to dilute the glue.
 
I am probably a clutz when it comes to mixing glue, because my home made one's never satisfy like the woodland scenics "scenic cement"

I have tried, with some success, making my own with Elmer's, dish soap, alcohol, you name it. But compared to scenic cement, I always come up short.

For ballast, I usually use a eyedropper and keep glue off the ties. For general scenery work, the mist .

Dave
 
Bruette said:
Ok, I'm curious, what purpose does the dish soap serve?
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Soap tends to act as a 'surfactant', the technical term for a substance that greatly reduces or that eliminates surface tension. Our lungs need a surfactant in them, produced by the body, to absorb oxygen in the alveoli. Breathing some compounds reduces surfactant or its ability to accomplish the requirement, and people will slowly starve of oxygen. I believe some gasses and aerosols do this.
 
Dan Lawler said:
I want to share something that did not work too well. This was an experiment using actual garden dirt, sieved through a fine mesh to keep the particle sizes small, and glued down with a heavy soaking of hairspray. Now I'm finding great chunks of it not staying adhered. Next time I'll try diluted white glue, but the hairspray gets a thumbs down.
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Have you tried 50-50 glue and water I sometimes put a little drop of dish soap in it making it get things wetter....... easier...
 
Other way to adhere real soil is by sprinkling it over still wet brown latex paint.....

PS. Did you ever change/reinforce the 1x2s you were using for supports/other things ? 🏨🏭 🛤️ ☀️ 🌵
 
PowrCab said:
Other way to adhere real soil is by sprinkling it over still wet brown latex paint.....

PS. Did you ever change/reinforce the 1x2s you were using for supports/other things ? 🏨🏭 🛤️ ☀️ 🌵
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I pent time today setting up the first of similar shelves, but using 2x4s instead of 1x2s. I have over 30 old ratty-looking used 2x4s, so why not use them. Here's a quick pic. I'm going to post some pics after I get some more of it up. Going to put 1/4 ply under 1" foamboard on top.
 

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i did on a wild hair(no pun intended) try cutting a green scratch pad into strips soaking them in 50/50 white glue and rolling in Fine green foam and made some hedges, that worked pretty well
 
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