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what kind of glue should I use to to apply sand texture to bases? GW says to use pva glue, is that the same as regular elmers glue? your expertise is appreciated.

jedi76

Regular white glue. Just like the stuff you ate... errr... used in elementary school.

I use regular old elmers white glue. Water it down (I usually use 1:1 glue to water) and brush over the base, apply sand/gravel/flock. If you use sand, wait till it sets and then brush on a final top coat of glue, I usually do 2:1 water to glue for this. It really helps seal the base together and prevents that eternal sand flake-off you see otherwise.

what i've done to most of my bases is paint the base usualy a brown(because elmers dries clear & the sand I have is VERY fine) paint on the glue, dipp it in the sand, shake off excess, & then spray on a good coat of dullcoat

ah, excellent. Appreciate the info

Teek wrote:I use regular old elmers white glue. Water it down (I usually use 1:1 glue to water) and brush over the base, apply sand/gravel/flock. If you use sand, wait till it sets and then brush on a final top coat of glue, I usually do 2:1 water to glue for this. It really helps seal the base together and prevents that eternal sand flake-off you see otherwise.

Good idea! I was wondering how to stop that annoying base dandruff!

Teek wrote:I use regular old elmers white glue. Water it down (I usually use 1:1 glue to water) and brush over the base, apply sand/gravel/flock. If you use sand, wait till it sets and then brush on a final top coat of glue, I usually do 2:1 water to glue for this. It really helps seal the base together and prevents that eternal sand flake-off you see otherwise.

I've never thought of the final 2:1 coat of glue. Thanks for the heads up.

I use a top coat of 1 part glue, to 2 parts water and a drop of dishwashing liquid. The dishsoap lowes the surface tension, so that the sealer coat covers the sand properly.

Then, when that's dry, it gets a god 2-3 coats of polycarbonate lacquer. The sand/flock doesn't come off that without some work.

damn I like the sealing ideas.

I think PVA glue is a British term.

jedi76 wrote: what kind of glue should I use to to apply sand texture to bases? GW says to use pva glue, is that the same as regular elmers glue? your expertise is appreciated.

jedi76

to answer your direct question, pva glue is not the same a regular elmers glue. it's more like a mix of elmers white glue and elmers wood glue. so, it's stronger than the white glue and not as strong as the industrial (wood) glue.. I just buy wood glue as it seems to be cheaper for what you get.

I also use a wash of 1 part white glue and 9 parts water to help fix the particles of ballast and sanf to the base. It makes it very resistant to shedding rocks and easier to paint imo.

pva - 'Poly Vinyl Ascertate' (i think!).
i use any type of white glue with out problems if it's sealed as described by chromedog.
you can even try mixing the glue with the sand / gravel to form a paste. you get a different finish and it can be made more 3D then just applying sand over a glued base

Close, bubber.

It's "Poly-Vinyl Acetate'. You can get it at hardware stores in quantities of up to 20l (just at my local hardware). A 1l bottle costs about 2.5-3x the price of the small bottle of GW stuff.
It isn't waterproof, and unless you seal it with a waterproof barrier, it will wash off.
It's just a glue for wood/paper mainly (carpenters use it). It dries clear, and even smells different to the regular white craft (elmers) glue that you would have used at school for paper / cardboard.

chromedog wrote:Close, bubber.

It's "Poly-Vinyl Acetate'. You can get it at hardware stores in quantities of up to 20l (just at my local hardware). A 1l bottle costs about 2.5-3x the price of the small bottle of GW stuff.
It isn't waterproof, and unless you seal it with a waterproof barrier, it will wash off.
It's just a glue for wood/paper mainly (carpenters use it). It dries clear, and even smells different to the regular white craft (elmers) glue that you would have used at school for paper / cardboard.

Hate to do it....but close, bubber to you

Elmer's glue, basic wood glue, and other craft glues are ALL PVA based glues.

Don't believe me...look at elmer's MSDS here http://www.elmers.com/msds/me375_c.htm where it says it is a PVAC based adhesive (PVAC, PVAc, PVA are all the same)

Sean

I dont see the point of this post....

Yeah, well, zozo, I was correcting the spelling on the "PVA" - as for the rest, I'm going on what I've heard about elmers.
I've heard it's white and can be used on cellulose based products. That's about it. Not about believing you or not. Don't much care either way, since:

we don't get it here (OZ) where I live, so it's pretty much irrelevant as pretty much every one stocks either pva or a clear glue used for paper/card. I use PVA or construction adhesives for large pieces.