Homemade Groundcover from Foam
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 20 июл 2024
- After posting a few pictures of this process on Facebook, I had many requests for a How-To video.
This is a real easy process that makes "TONS" of groundcover, for pennies on the dollar compared to commercially available products.
Follow the layout progress on the Facebook page / mmandsrr 
Развлечения
Great video Ron. Thank you so much for the tutorial on how to do this. I have already made eight batches and four different colors. I also found that I can put small amounts in a small magic bullet blender. And it runs it up to fine foam. I do this with it dry.
Thanks again
Great to see you practising safety with the blender 👍🏼
Loved the blooper, too 😁
Great vid. Thank you 🙏🏼
I like the color you got from the avacado tint. I made quite a bit of this ground foam ground cover last year. I got a huge amont of foam from the left overs of the apartment next door's new carpet project. I still have several coffee cans full of uncolored foam that I ground in a coffee bean blender (no water for that technique).
I used regular artists acrylic paints for coloring my ground cover. I got that avacado color by adding some burnt umber to the grass green blend I had already mixed for several batches.
Thank you Ron, your tutorial turned out very nice.
I love how people take their own spin on this technique. It helps me learn new ways, too.
Hi Ron, very inspiring. Instead of a mixer I used a simple coffee grinder to dry grind the foam little by little. Then I just colored the 'fluffs' with acrylic paint & water. Just enough, for the foam sucks up the moisture anyway, and put it to dry in our wood burner over for about one hour. Result is the same. Works great ! Thanks for sharing !
Filip 36 Great idea
Love the video Ron, great ideas, your sense of humour is very dry.👍👍👍 You'd do well here in the UK .Thanks for posting .
t34 fan thanks. Everyone has said I have a dry sense of humor. 🤷🏻♂️🌧
FANTASTIC! Thanks for making the 'how to' video Ron. I'm sure I'm not the only one who appreciated this. Again, great video! Now I just need to find an upholstery shop!
~Deryk Glass
Thanks for sharing Ron. and taking the time to make it.
Great tutorial...
I'm on a modeling forum where a member did something similar using spray foam insulation and acrylic craft paint. You spray the spray foam out of the can into a "loaf", let it set fully, then cut off the outer skin (which doesn't take paint well). Cut the "skinned" loaf into cubes, and grind/color much as you have... Not as cost effective, but not super expensive either.
The benefit of using acrylic paint is that it is more colorfast than the "Tints-all" which is just pigment, without any kind of binder.
Tried this but with cheap acrylic paints and just water - no good.
I recently tried again using an alcohol / water mix and hey presto!
The tubes of paint cost $1.50 each the foam was from an old couch so super cheap ground cover/foliage.
Nice video Ron
Woodland Scenics who??? = )) This IS AWESOME, thanks so much Ron!
Great information. Thank you for sharing this. Technical suggestion: Audio levels need to be better balanced. The transition music just blasts our ears. Also, your narration with the blender open was drowned out by the blender motor. Most video programs allow you to do overdubs and/or mix audio channels. Cheers.
Hi Ron, seen your foam video for at least three times.. great job continue to make videos. I have blender will chop. Thanks Richard Gist Clovis, California
Richard Gist thanks.
I’m glad it helped you.
Well done Ron. Definitely worth doing it once I get an old blender.
Not sure where I'll buy the tint locally however as all I have around here is Home Depot and Lowes. Hope they sell it. All the small hardware stores around here were forced out of business by the huge stores unfortunately.
Hi Ron. An alternative method is to grind the foam first with just water or water plus a few ice cubes to help cut the foam into a finer grind. Then, you strain and squeeze out as much water as you can and color with craft paint by hand in a separate bucket (messy, but gets the job done). I've seen some of the war gaming guys add white glue to the paint but I think you can skip that step.
Thanks for the videos. The layout is looking fantastic.
No way, The paint would either leave white spots OR not leave the bushy texture
Great video ! Nice job ! Looks really good ! Thanks for sharing ! Martin
I am going to try this! I am at the point on my layout i can use this! Thanks for your ideas!
I wish I saw this video before I through out the foam I had laying around for years. Oh well!! Great video!! I'm just getting started on my N scale layout. This video was very helpful!!
I'm glad it is helpful for you.
You know it’s funny about two weeks ago I just started doing almost this exact thing except I was using acrylic paint from Walmart for around $.53 a bottle. The Kelley green looked really good. Except I was taking larger chunks and cutting them up with the scissors, consistently over and over again and I often try to figure out what would work to make them finer. Thank you for the video. This helps a lot!!!
You’re welcome. I’m glad it was helpful.
I do my grinding and chopping up dry but I am going to try your method, as I don't have access to hobby supplies apart from on line making our own has always been the way, thankyou from Wairoa in New Zealand
Thanks Ron, great help for Granddaughters project of Angel Falls.
Thomas Bowser I’m glad this helped out.
Hi Ron great video am in the uk England and I'll be doing this to my layout thanks for the video I think RUclips is great for stuff like this cheers Paul
I watched your video and was captivated on how this can be achieved with a minimal outlay of cash.. the best part for me is that rubbish,( trash) is being used, off cuts etc...great video.. well done and best wishes from the UK..
Ray Esposito I’m glad you enjoyed it and had good results.
Thx. Been having difficy,type in finding tintsall. Found some spring green at Amazon and their price was 16.00 + for one tune . Still trying to locate product, I like your concept. Thx again
that a awesome how to video ron awesome video too!!!!
One last tip. You can reuse the dye left over after one blend, it just makes it lighter, and it looks good.
thanks ron you just saved me a whole lot of money went to walmart spent pennies compared to if i bought a bag from woodland scenics!!!! thank you thank you!!!
Ramone Stubblefield no problem. I made this video because many people asked me how I did it after seeing pictures of the scene.
Keep model railroading!
Ramone Stubblefield no problem. I made this video because many people asked me how I did it after seeing pictures of the scene.
Keep model railroading!
Absolutely brilliant vid! Thank you!
Thanks Ron definitely going to try this!
Great how to Ron. RT
Great Vid Ron!
Yea buddy! That's great to save money! Thanks for posting.
Very nice !!! Great video,thanks a lot !!!
I do the same thing but use an electric coffee grinder and use cheap acrylic paints from Walmart. I believe the coffee grinder is much faster. Got my coffee grinder at a yard sale for $1.00.
Thanks very useful and clear instructions
Thanks Ron for your advise. Regards, Gopal Daga/India
Thank you Ron.
Momoi Sausau No problem. 👍🏼
Loved it sir....pls suggest on making statics grass...homemade?
I tried sponges .... chop them up to small cubes but it gummed up my blender and the blender burned out. It seems upholstery foam is the best to use then? Can any other type of foam be used? The blender cost me 10 bucks so maybe I got what I payed for!
Took my eye of my blender for a few seconds and the foam blew the top right off it. What a freakin mess! Well, it’s a learning process right? Thank you for the video it’s gonna look great on my grandsons Zelda shrine diorama
To save even more money, don't forget to go through local thrift stores for old blenders, electric knives, etc.
Ron, could one use RIT Dye instead? I think I can get that here in Canada. I just went looking for a used blender and found one for $15. I passed but then went to Canadian Tire and got one on sale. Reg. $55 for $20 brand new.
Is this better than using sawdust? You know what? I'm going to do both.
Hi Ron, Made up a batch of flock sawdust in about 10-15 minutes. Paint, water, and sawdust. Super easy and super cheap. How do you adhear your stuff to the mountains? How do you adhear the very fine stuff as grass to your benchwork - with elmer's?? or modge podge?
Bob
Robert Schworm I glue florist moss to the hard shell scenery base with white glue or Modge Podge. I sprayed it with Rustoleum camo brown, and while the paint was still wet, I pressed the dyed foam I made into it. I follow that up by spraying cheep Aquanet HD hairspray all over it.
Robert Schworm 5
Ron, Another utuber covered his hard shell with low loft batting, used in quilts - from Walmart. He then painted it and added scenery products. I think i will test this, but then use your process and see what the results look like. Bob
also thrift shops have cheap, nice, blenders. Make sure they have a tight lid, you don't want your re dye going everwhere
Thank you.
Another source of foam to grind up is that old lounge someone is throwing out. I use it all the time.
Cool and usefull vidio! Im trying to figure out a way to do this and mince it real fine for grass but im still watching your vidio maybe you cover that but awesome vidio!!
I'm thinking for grass it would be finer to use sawdust -- not plywood sawdust because it has glue residue, but real wood sawdust.
I took a bit different tack. I had a defunct refrigerator. I got the molded plastic parts and shelves out, then removed the motor and heat exchanger as a unit right out the back of the freezer. I then stripped the plastic coating off the inside and beneath that is about 2-3" of rigid foam.
I actually wanted the steel for car body repairs (it's a bit thin, but works in a pinch), but I also kept the foam. I started by grinding the foam right in the "box", but it soon filled up and started flying around. I then cut the fridge shell apart and removed the foam with a flat wrecking/crow bar.
I shred the foam with my angle grinder and a wire cup brush. This raised a mess and a lot of waste, so I just recently cut a hole in some plywood for the tool arbor, fashioned a guard out of part of the metal from the fridge bottom, put that plywood into a large garbage can, and started shredding.
The rigid foam grinds REALLY fast - a 6X6 inch chunk a few inches thick in a matter of a minute. But I warn you - this is VERY messy. You will need a filter mask, eye protection, and hair protection (a knit hat works fine). That stuff comes off the wheel and sticks to EVERYTHING.
So a smallish fridge (14-16 foot) yielded 3 large trash bags of foam chunks. I'm through most of one bag and have created about 6 gallons of medium-grind foam. I feel much better about putting that into my blender. It should tax the motor much less than the soft stuff.
I think I'll have to shoot a video on this.
jdcunnington that sounds great. Now I need to hunt down an old frig.
So I got through 2/3 of the foam chunks and it all shredded down to about half a yard bag (~16 gallons). It chops really well in a blender, but getting it from bag to blender is a messy process. Do NOT do it in the kitchen of SWMBO will be on your case. That further chops its volume by about half from what I can tell.
So it looks like a 16 cubic foot fridge will yield about 16 gallons of shredded foam, which will in turn yield about 8 gallons max of chopped foam, perhaps less. It's all really just a matter of a few pounds, perhaps 5, no more than 10.
could you put the ground cover back in to the blender after it was dry to chop it up finer
Jennifer White absolutely. I've done that before. It worked fine.
thanks for the info
Would this make a decent looking topsoil if chopped fine enough?
Really impressed. Thank you very much. One question: Is the colouring paint acrylic?
iancpulpo Thanks.
I’m using Tints-All to color the foam. It’s water soluble, but I don’t think it’s acrylic.
Thanks.
Can you offer some tips for applying the ground foam to a nearly vertical surface?
I was thinking trying, dyed quilt batting. Can be found ar Walmart for about $3 to $5.
What could be an alternative to Tints all? I'm in Canada and have never seen it here. Blenders must be the number one wedding present everyone gets but never uses, see them at second hand stores and yard sales all the time.
What's the best way to apply the groundcover to your scene? Glue?
I would spread some kind of glue on the scenery base. Usually Elmer’s (pva glue) or Modge Podge that are diluted approximately 50:50 with water.
H Ron, Nice tutorial.
For what I need the 93% alcohol? I Can't buy in our country 93% alcohol in the pharmacy or etc. Can I replace with wodka :) or some color thinner ?
David Veres that is funny. You can use any percentage rubbing alcohol. I wouldn't want to waste vodka like that. 😉
It can be done with plain water, it will just take longer to dry. No big deal.
NICE!
Can I take Polisch Alcohol - Wódka 52% ? Great tutorial !!!
Hi Ron, I am currently interested in making miniature models. May I know if we can use styrofoam to make the ground instead of foam? Thanks!
@Enscript...
I don't think styrofoam would work for you - especially not the white stuff. I have never tried it, though, so what do I know? If you were going to give it a shot, I'd recommend trying it outside!
Very nice model
Rajveer Jaiswal thank you. I still have a lot of work to do.
Okk brother make a more attractive model of real solar system
great hints. ron tintsall available through amazon
kind of worked,some crumbled,some stayed square,after 20 minutes.maybe pieces too large,1 in cubes.used acrylic,couldnt squeeze until dry,or original look.would appear?
Excellent...could you put it back in the blender to get a finer result?
+Southern8099 I don't see why not.
Thanks
I did try putting some back in the blender, dry. It did chop up pretty small.
great...will give this a try
I have a question, could this same way be done for flocking
Pamela Fowler I’m not sure what type of flocking you mean. I have chopped my groundcover real fine and have used it on tree armatures, or over bushes.
thx dude.. brilliant
arif gunawan no problem. The best part about the hobby is the people/community and sharing what we learn.
Ron Klaiss : your idea good for my job 😊
Blend cheap car cleaning sponge in a little WATER. then you can SEE the scale of the chopped sponge. Colour with acrylic paints later!
Could you use Acrylic paints to color the foam?
I would think so. Just the dyes are not as concentrated. Also, the latex part of the paint might make the soft sponginess a little stiffer after it dries. This is just my thoughts. No scientific evidence.
Can you get texture and size down enough to use for N-Scale?
The batch that I made in this video is the finest I've made so far. It could be used for N scale. The longer you blend, the finer it gets.
Cool. I am getting ready to roadbed my layout and then on to the scenery and I want to use your techniques as WS is so damn expensive.
the cops are gonna be like uhm sir, lets roll one up
Quick question...can i use RIT die inplace of the tints all? Thx
Tim Hanson I’ve tried Rit with not good results, but I only did it once before switching to TintsAll
Ron Klaiss. Ok, thx for the heads up. Tints all is pretty pricey around here. I think ill try some acrylic paint then. Any concerns with that maybe? Thx for your advice. Tim
You don’t use a ton of the TintsAll, so it goes a long way.
Ron Klaiss. Ok, ill give it a shot and if not using much then it pays for itself pretty quick. Thx again
GOOD
How do you make your mountains? Also, Can I sell this stuff?
Trainman46 I have earlier videos showing how I made most of my mountains. I think it's back in 2007 or 2008.
I don't see why you couldn't sell it.
Whats a cheaper kind of ballast? For HO
I might try sweep lock paver sand. I just need to check it with a powerful magnet to make sure it doesn't have metal that could be picked up by engine motors.
you could put it back through the blender while its dry to make it even finer .
moebius absolutely. I want to try that soon.
The cc on this video said blend for 83 minutes. Was that seconds I hope?
Patricia Morrish it’s definitely seconds. I don’t think I could stay in one spot for 83 minutes. Lol
What product do you use to apply the groundcover foam?
George Seward several ways. Elmers glue, earth color paint, spray adhesive, hairspray, etc.
@@MineMountModels thank you
Can you use this outside ?
Rhonda Iannuzzelli
I’m not sure how colorfast the dyes would be outside. I’m curious though, what would you use this outside for?
Here in Canada we don’t have Target
KingCookieCat - ROBLOX criminey, man. You have STORES. jeez.
Josh Johnstone Movies
KingCookieCat - ROBLOX u
The Maple Leaf Super store should have it. Hey
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍
Was wondering if anyone has used fabric dye for this process?
50+ years ago we did this with saw dust and Rit fabric dye
Nice job! Of course you need a full beard and to ramble a bit more, but I'm sure you'll take care of that in your next video ...
Hi I copyed what you did part from the paper it took days to dry next time am going to you paper cheers Paul
Brentlea Junction Paul Knowles yeah, you need something to absorb the extra moisture. Also, be sure to squeeze out as much of the extra water back into the blender.
What can be used instead of Tints-all?
matthew stone you will have to check out fabric stores or art supplies for different dyes.
Ron Klaiss ok thanks. They don’t sell Tints-all in Vegas. So any kind of paint dye should do?
TY, Woodland Scenics is a ripoff! The BLENDER is the one issue I could not figure out.
I found a good blender at Goodwill for $4.
I have used craft paint. It works better than Rit, which I understand is pretty crappy dye.
I never used Rit dye before, but I haven't heard good reviews.
Dihydrogen Monoxide
blender 13.00 foam very cheap acrylic paint dirt cheap!!
The best thing to do with politics, cover it up with green goob. Hahaha :))
Enjoy the hobby but PLEASE always use a mask and do this in ventilated place away from others. The chemicals and fumes from foam are so bad for you. My father loved to fix things/make things with his hands but he never protected himself. Later in life he developed Leukemia, a type that is linked to chemical exposure to paints, foams, benzo, gasoline, etc. Please take precautions.