Plaster help

[cpNscale]

What does everyone use to spread their plaster mix on the foam/plaster cloth terrain features with?
I am using a paint brush and the mix seams to harden on the bristlesof the brush long before the mix in set.Causing it to spread rather poorly.
Any tips you vetrens can offer me would be great!!!

 

[Will_annand]

At our club, they use one of two things, an old butter knife for the plaster and good old fingers for the plaster cloth.

 

[ezdays]

Two things, a putty knife to get a fair amount down, and I bought some plastic painter's knifes in the Wal Mart crafts dept. to do the fine detail work. There are about three different shapes of knives in the package for under $2.00 (US), and if you wanted metal, you could probably find them at an art store, but plastic works just fine.

 

[zedob]

This is a little OT, but has anyone used a spray type system for applying plaster?

I know there are spray systems for applying thick paint and was wondering if they could be used for such an application. I wouldn't expect individual modelers to go out and buy a system to do a 6 x12 area, but for a club or large layout one could theoretically blast down alot of area quickly.

I have no idea what systems are out there, or if it would even work. It was just an idea that popped into my head.

Any Pro painters out there who can give insight?

 

[Matthyro]

I use spatulars that I get at the local $ store. An interesting thought zedbob. I have watched commercial painters using those big spray units to paint ceilings. If one is lucky enough to know a painter with one of those sprayers then I suppose plaster could be sprayed on in thin layers. Very time consuming I would think.

 

[zedob]

seems like it would be quicker, for large areas, but would require alot of scenery substructure to be inplace before spraying began.

The plaster may need to be thinned so much that it may be crumbly after drying.

Ahh, I'll do it the old way. But, for the sake of the original thread, I like to wander the kitchen stuff and auto parts aisles at the "Ace is the place of the wealthy hardware man". There's always some plaster smoothing tools there.

 

[ezdays]

Let's see,you're gunna need to prep the equipment, mask off the areas you don't want plaster on, and plaster-proof the floor and walls.

Now you're ready to spray.....spray...spray...spray...finished (assuming the sprayer worked without any problemsops:.)

Now you need to clean the equipment, take off the masking, remove the papers from the floor and walls, explain to you wife that you're not responsible for that overspray that drifted into the hallway, and put your equipment away.:cry:

Isn't that fun? Isn't that a time saver? Uh, I'll stick with the putty knife thanks...

 

[zedob]

Couldn't agree with you more.

That's why I said I'll do it the old way.

It would only be usefull for large areas for the same reasons you stated, prep and cleaning. If the quality of application outwieghed the hassle it might be worth it, but for my shelf layout, nah!

It was just one of those off the wall, "think outside the box" paradig'em shift ideas. Hey, I've seen some strange and unique techniques come out of MRR's.
Watch, some guy is gonna do an articale in MRR "Plaster Blaster Appplication for Your Layout", or "Splat Texturizing"

 

[Pitchwife]

If you knew a contractor that was doing ceilings in a construction/remodel job and if you had a module or three ready for plastering that could easily be moved...Yeah, I know, a lot of ifs. But IF...

 

[zedob]

Alright, all we need now is a paint contractor who's a model railroader who's willing to sacrifice his paint rig.

Don't forget the vinegar.

Could you imagine what would happen by waiting too long? probably have to throw the whole rig away, or spend 2-3 days trying to clean out hardened plaster.

 

[ezdays]

Watch, some guy is gonna do an articale in MRR "Plaster Blaster Appplication for Your Layout", or "Splat Texturizing"

Now that you mention it, I do have a can of spray ceiling texture that I've been itching to try as soon as I'm ready to finish up a couple of hills on my layout. Oh, they've already been plastered, just that I'm not happy with the way they look right now.

 

[seanm]

I tendto use my hands and LOTS of latex gloves when I am plastering. I keep a sponge or two handy and some cut up pieces of old tupperware as shovels and trowels.

Spraying might be a good idea for a HUGE club size layout, but in a small home layout... it seem the setup , take down and cleaning would not be worth the trouble.