I have a plaster base to which I need to affix some ground cover (sand ballast, ground foam, etc). Should I just sprinkle it on the dry plaster and spray with a 70/30 mixture of water and white glue? Or do I wet the groundcover with water and dish detergent, then spray with the glue mixture? Should I add the dish detergent to the glue mixture? Thanks in advance for any help.
Hi Justin, No need to add the detergent to ground cover glue, just use a 50/50 white wood glue mix and use a big brush to cover the area first, then add your cover material, it will dry overnight and clear, no glue will show.
Justin, Have you painted the plaster a earth color? I'm hoping you're not refering to unpainted plaster. Paul's tip works for painted plaster in which the paint has dried. If you paint the plaster with a latex type house paint you can shake the ground foam or dirt onto the surface before the paint dries. Then to bond any excess material, mix a 50/50 solution of white glue & water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid to break the surface tension. Put this into a spray bottle and soak the area. 2slim
Yes, the plaster was prepainted a sand color and then washed w/india ink and water. The paint has been dry for some time, so I had to brush on glue to hold the groundcover (straight white elmers) and then sprinkle the ballast or whatever with the groundcover. I then wetted it with water and detergent, and while it was still wet I added the 50/50 mix of water and glue with an eyedropper. That is slow going, but with the spray bottle all my groundcover was being blown away. Some areas are locked solid, but others are still a little "cakey" and need another helping of diluted glue. I was still surprised when adding the diluted glue to a dry spot...it mearly set on top. A little water and detergent first, and it grabs the glue mix and sucks it into the ballast.
You could use Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement, which I hear is just thinned Matte Medium (available at art supply stores). This stuff sprays on well, and doesn't leave things "cakey". If things like ballast and sand are "cakey", it means you didn't presoak it enough first. Try using rubbing alcohol instead of water to presoak, then spay or dribble on the thinned Matte Medium. Keep soaking the stuff till it starts puddling.
Although I have never done a mountain or hill scene, I have good results with my method on flat ground. I "brush" a thin layer of pure white glue down with my fingers, lay the groundcover, then spray or carefully go over it with the 50/50 mixture of water/glue after it has dried completely. I always lay the groundcover thick. The glue is pretty flat so it doesn't bunch up dirt or grass. You just need to cover the glue completely. Dustbust the excess off and then spray. The thin uncut glue will hold the cover as you spray. If any white shows through, I just patch it up. Let me tell you that this methods resists the suction of a large Dustbuster at cleaning time. The extra spray doesn't seems to affect the groundcover at all except make to make it just a little darker. I've also used Life Like Scenic Cement in the same fashion. My layout gets dusty fast and needs constant attention. I don't have time to even finish new projects let alone repair old ones! My ground cover literally needs to be "cemented" down!
