Water temperature

Hi, the paint he is using is latex house paint in a light tan color. Try stopping by hardware store and getting the oops paint at a fraction of the cost. The exact shade of tan/light color will vary slightly with each manufacture but will not affect the outcome. I can check temp for plaster when I get home tonight. Good Luck,

Bob

Just a thought, but I have used the plaster cloth with room temp and cool water with no problems.

Bob

I also used the plaster cloth for the first time doing scenery and had no problems using water at room temperature.........Paul

Went Googling about this and most info concerned using cold water. However, I did find this:

"Delaying is invaluable in hot weather or when you have a shortage of workers, when you often need more time to work the plaster before it sets. To do this without adding harmful agent, Fritz-Pak Corporation produces a unique product Plaster Delay-Set.

Dipping paper towels in Hydrocal and the pre-impregnated Plaster Cloth are kind of two different animals when it comes to creating that first shell in scenery.

If I understand your original problem...Having a single bath of Hydrocal 'soup' from which you're dipping paper towels means that the 'soup' is starting to set up as it sits there, and each successive paper towel dip becomes more problematical.

However, with the plaster cloth, you only apply the water (pass the cloth piece through the water) on the way to immediate placement on the layout. So, in effect, the Hydrocal is freshly 'mixed' for each piece.  Ergo, water temperature really has little to do with plaster cloth usage.

Nonetheless, there perhaps is an old trick that someone remembers from the paper-towel-dipping era that will answer your question....if you would continue to dip towels.  My guess, though, is that once you've tried the plaster cloth, you'll never go back!

Our store layout (4X8) scenery base is just as you're projecting....woven strips of cardboard with a layer of plaster cloth.  Woodland Scenics will tell you to overlap each piece of cloth by about 1/3 to gain strength and integrity of the shell.  More is better, but not too much so.  After the initial shell was dry we followed up with a layer of Sculptamold...another great product! 

Have fun!

KD

The proper modern substitute for "scenery black" is "Home Depot 'oops!' black".  

Honestly, the natural scenes you are trying to emulate contain so much variability in color that you just can't go wrong. Painting scenery isn't the same kind of situation as trying to precisely match PRR Tuscan when painting a GG1.  In scenery, realism comes not from selecting precise colors, but in the layering and variety of dry-brushed highlights you apply over the blackish base. Actually, IMO, the very best base is camo ultra-flat black.  You are going to cover 99% of it anyway, but you want that last 1% to simulate dark shadows.

If you try Structolite, 50 lb bag, $11 at HD. It will set up over night and dry with a a nice rough texture.

I just started using Woodland Scenic’s plaster cloth on my n-scale layout. I use room temperature water and a small storage container I picked up from Home Depot.  It’s about 12 X 16 and about 10 inches deep.  I cut my cloth to the length I need.  Usually longer then the recommended because I wanted to avoid seams on the track portion.  I found that using only about a ½ inch of water in the bottom of the container and folding the cloth back on itself making sure to keep track of the end edge.  When the cloth is fully saturated, I drag it over the edge of the container which I line up with the area I want to cover and use my other hand to support it before it all comes out of the pan.  I sort of balanced on my hands like pizza dough.  It dries really quickly.  I found that using a paint brush dipped in water helps smooth out the plaster where using my fingers left little raised lines.

On my O-scale layout I used Struckolite and FibaTape 36 in x 150' Crackstop Wall Repair Fabric produce that I found at Home Depot.  It’s listed as a crack stop material.  The Crackstop is like the fiber drywall tape, except it is 36 inches wide.  I covered the layout with the roll of material.  Like the 2” tape this stuff is sticky on one side.   For unsupported large areas you will need to put something like balled up news paper under the mesh as it will sag.  I was able to fill in areas where the base boards were a different height and make ramps.   I used a 5 gallon bucket to mix in and one of those paint stirrers that you put in a drill.  I mixed up about 8 scoops of the Struckolite using a plastic two cup measuring cup (about half a bucket full)and added enough water to allow for a creamy mixture.  I then used a cement trowel and a large wooden paint stirrer spread the mixture on the prepared surface.  I split the areas I covered between batches and came back and covered the areas between a couple days later.  It takes a couple days for the stuff to dry completely, but once it dries it’s like cement.  Once the complete layout was dry I painted the service with oops paint.  One other thing I tried since I had some laying around the house was fiberglass window screen.  I tried to use this to create a sloping hillside to finish off the side of the risers.  I had to use staples to hold the screen in place and the Struckolite would not adhere to the screen.        

 Thanks for all the tips guys.  I will post how it goes.  How about GYPSOLITE.  I have some of that also.  I think it is supposed to produce an earthy texture.  Anybody used it?

This last batch of scenery I built I used Gypsolite on plaster cloth on pink board for the first time. Yes it does produce a gritty surface. To me it is more porous but I liked that. I used the leopard spotting technique for coloring and to me it seemed to absorb into the plaster better. My opinion though.........Paul

taylorra,

Structolite and Gypsolite are basically the same product - different manufacturers. Some hobby sources carry the Gypsolite in smaller quantities, but the best deal is the Structolite in the large bags - about 25c a pound.

Jim

I saw a container at a trainshow two weeks ago and they wanted $12.00 for it.  That's a higher price than I paid for a fifty pound bag.  The unfortunate thing is I proably need that amount to finish the last little tiny area.  So far I have used 100lbs.

Per Frary's book - when he was doing plaster, he said 1 tablespoon of vinegar added to approx four cups worth of mix(2 water, 2 plaster) would slow down hardening of the mix for 5-10 minutes.  To speed it up, add teaspoon of salt to the water.  He only mixed small batches since it hardens up in five minutes normally.

Plaster has potential for danger. It is an exothermic reaction, (releases heat).  Material can cause skin burns with pro-longed contact. There should be available MSDS sheets for these materials.    

Plaster cloth is the way to go, but if you put some white vinegar in the plaster it slows down the set up time.

I use a base of cardboard lattice covered with brown paper (grocery bags) and plaster cloth on that.  I try to get at least 2 or 3 layers of pc for strength.  The brown paper keeps drips off of the track or anything underneath.  After the pc is dry I put a layer of sheetrock mud on top to cover the grain and provide texture.  I use the 45 minute, mix your own stuff from Lowes.  It is inexpensive for a large bag.  I mix about a quart at a time and can apply it all in 20 - 30 minutes.  I use a 2 -3-inch chip paint brush to brush it on and create texture.  It can also be carved if built up in thickness.

After an overnight dry the mud can be stained with the acrylics from Michaels or AC Moores.  I make a stain with a lot of water and keep adding coats till I get the color and density I want.  The basic colors are black, raw and burnt umber and raw and burnt sienna. A grey and blue are helpful in small amounts.

Mix each color in a butter tub or sour cream tub and use a 2" chip brush to apply.

Have fun,

George Lasley

Put your ** Sheetrock mix ** , on also with a Paint stirrer.   Thick as you want, paint it

when you want.  3 rows of un used, cheap,  5 inch floor laminate,  hit it with adhesive,

lay, torn sheet strips across, shipping peanuts at the top with, card board strips, layer

the sheetrock mud, paint it once wet, come back in about 3 days ( its Thick)., cover

any small cracks, and just keep painting,   Hard as the house!!!

  Oh Yea,  real, easy clean up, the hands have not gotten , dirty or messy

      no rush on the drying schematics

This diorama was done with plaster cloth that adheres to the wood frame.