Any of you users of matte smedium as a fixitive

Dave Frary recommends putting it in a jar after mixing and let it sit for a day, then pour off the liquid to use as a bonding agent. The sediment is the white film.

John H posted:

Dave Frary recommends putting it in a jar after mixing and let it sit for a day, then pour off the liquid to use as a bonding agent. The sediment is the white film.

Thanks John. 

I think I read  the white stuff is talc so that makes sense. Probably read it in Dave Frays scenic techniques book laying around here somewhere. I'll call Scenic Express and see if their ready-mix is already separated.

joe

Our whole layout is done with Matte Medium, as I purchased it by the gallon from Scenic Express. Simply thin it to the consistency of whole milk, moisten the are to be glued with cheap 70% alcohol first, then using  a pipette, flood the whole area with the diluted Matte Medium. Our whole layout is glued that way: ballast, scenery, trees, buildings, everything!

I switched from white glue to matte medium several years ago and prefer it. I use artist matte medium that I buy in a craft store (it is not a concentrate). I find that a mixture of 50% matte medium and 50% water works well. I also add a few drops of dish detergent to break the surface tension so that in flows on easily. A higher percentage of water also works (60% or 70%), so the 50/50 mixing doesn't need to be exact. Because I add detergent, I don't pre-moisten the area to be scenicked.

Occasionally I do get the problem with white residue. It is due to using too much matte medium mixture. When it can't adsorb down into the scenic material and stands in pools on the surface, those areas will sometimes have the white residue.