Sanded Tile Grout for ground cover?

Yesterday I picked up some Az Rock Ballast and some Cajon Rip Rap I wanted to get some Cajon Pass Sand and Gravel but they sold out...

I had one of the Guys in the shop tell me that He used the sanded tile grout for his N scale layout and that they had many colors that come very close to the Cajon colors.
What I'm thinking is to use it over the Blue/Pink Foam Anyone???

 

You'll like working with the Arizona Ballast. I don't think it looks that much different than WS but it does not float away quite so easily. It still will so stick with your normal ballasting practice as you would with WS ballast.

I like the colored grout, but it does require that you seal it with white glue or Mod Podge as some use. If you do not it will continually give off an annoying dust. I have tried a few but when I joined a club they had the answer to the basic colors.

• Base color is Ceramcoat Trail Tan(very hard to find) order some online and have it matched at your local big box store.
• Play sand. I agree. It looks to big. Read on.
• Base color that ties all our modules together is Haystack from Mapie Opticolor.
• Straw(Mapei) is very light in color but makes a nice sandy wash. I mixed in a little of some other colors as I still thought it was to white.
• I also use Harvest(Mapei) which is a warm tan creamy color.
• I tried Chamois(Mapei) but it is a bit to red for Victorville/Hesperia. It only needs to be toned down slightly.
• Charcoal(Mapei) is good for a yard.

I cannot guaranty results but only share my efforts and results. I do not simply paint the foam unless there is absolutely no seem between it and any wood. I like to add a layer of joint compound mixed with a little Celuclay which makes the mix less likely to crack if someone leans against an unsupported fascia or the like. You see the grout will crack unexpectedly unless you can give it a solid base, and glue is not enough. After the goop, paint with cheap latex paint matched with the base color of choice(Ceramcoat, as mentioned before) and add a 50-50 mix of play sand mixed with the sanded grout color of choice. It will come out a bit rough looking and if you desire a finer look allow it to dry and simply take your hand and run it across the area you want smoothed out and knock off the excess. You may end up with a lot of waste, I did. If you have doubt experiment on a piece of scrap wood. In fact add your weeds and grass to this experiment to get the big picture. I had four different experiments going before I settle on this.
Heres a result on a module I was shooting for Cajon colors.




Dirt roads are even a snap. Just add a little of a lighter colored grout and rub in with your finger.

Here is a module I did which shows the dry Santa Anna River in Colton CA. The wash was made with Straw mixed with Sand and the excess knocked off. I did add little Haystack here and there to tie it into the rest of the scenery.



The final step should be to hit the entire area with diluted glue and add your static grass.
Hope this helps.

 

Here's sanded grout with AZ Cajon sand and rocks applied

 

Wow Thanks John and SD75 those pictures look great!

GuyZ I have seen both ready to use sanded grout and the powder in the box.

My question is............
Do I first mix the powder with water then put it on my ground/Blue Foam or
do I spray the area with the 50/50 glue then sprinkle the powder on?

With using 50/50 will I still need to use Mod Podge??

 

I add grout mix to water, then spread over the foam. To erase inperfections in the grout application, I use a damp sponge (which is used in tile laying) and stipple the grouted area. After the grout is dry, I add the AZ products and to cement the AZ product, spray the area with whatever fixative you wish (I use WS cement).

Once the grout is mixed properly and dried, I don't get any dust from the grout

 

Mike, I like to paint the area with the latex paint then add the powdered grout mixed with sand (dry) into the wet paint. I vaccum off the excess. Remember this is not the final layer, but it does look good. You will add some varying colors, plant, trees, weeds, etc. I lock it all together with 50-50 white glue. On one of the modules I went overboard with the static grass, but next time I think I will leave more bare ground to show through. If you look closely at any embankments you will see the grout and sand effect best.

 

I picked up some of the ready to use sanded grout just to get an idea on how it would look with the color of the Cajon Rip Rap

Should I go one step lighter in color??

 

I've had great luck with the grout. I've used it for all of my roads/ground on my shelf layout:

sorry guys, it's N scale

Picasa Web Albums - diezmon - shelfLayout

 

Your color actually matches very well, but you need to get a couple different colors to create some verity in the soils and rocks for that matter. Take a closer look at some bare ground and you will see there are subtle shadows, light reflections, wet and dry spots. Even though Cajon is dry for the most part you can see some moisture runs in the cuts and small landslides from excessive rainfall.
Where do the tiny holes in the scenery come from in the above photo? It looks like foam. This is another reason I like to seal it up with a layer of joint compound and Celluclay. I know this was a simple experiment but just want to make you aware of it.

I would go with at least two darker colors and one lighter color to add to this base. Layer it. Although I like to mix my colors I do go back and dust on various colors until I get what I want. I think they called it "zip texturing" in the past. I just get a little of grout between my fingers and allow it to fall from about 12" above the scene. This can be tricky as you change it with slight variations you may not notice much change so add a color and walk away for a spell then re-assess while your a bit fresh.

I think your on the right path here.

Inspiration;

 

Myself I'm using some sand I caught on a beach. After setting it in place I airbrushed it but maybe too dark. I'm wondering if I'm not going to airbrush a brighter colour.


With flash.




Without.


Dom

 

John will you be in Pomona in two weeks?

I added some of the Cajon powder to the base color and some rip rap and fixed some of the holes that showed up on my first try still playing with colors................

 

Dom, which photo is more true to the actual color. It looks like you have a good base, but a wash with with both lighter and darker colors would add a lot to it. Darker for shadows of course.

Mike, yes our group was finely informed that we will be included at the GTE Pomona show. I will have one more module to add that will include a #10 left crossover, cantilevered signal bridge, and the Fogg St over crossing with the big faded yellow "NO TRUCKS" sign hanging down the side from the tracks. Unfortunately I may not be able to fit the Fantasy Topless bar across the street.

Mike, what type of vegetation will you be adding to this. Static grass, weeds, and bushes will help hide the uniformity of the base color. Since this is an experiment divide the area in half or thirds and add varying amounts of vegetation.

Keep us posted. I think your base color is good.

 

How is it progressing Mike?