Static grass sprays - are they worth it? And can you make your own?

[Silly Moo]

I have a gift voucher burning a hole in my pocket and was thinking of investing in a static grass applicator. It is recommended that basing and layering glues are used for the best results but they seem to be quite expensive. I wondered if they are really necessary and whether you can make your own homemade versions. Has anyone tried this? 

[gwrrob]

I use both of the WWS products and highly recommend them . I hadn't used one before being put on furlough in the summer of 2020 and following the instructions had some decent results as shewn here. If you are applying grass over existing scenery you might get away from using the basing glue. If you use the WWS product get the aerosol version of the layering spray.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by gwrrob
detail.

[Re6/6]

I totally agree with Robin that the WWS spray (and the Peco one come to that) is excellent and that I can highly recommended both. For years I've been using the usual strong hold supermarket hairsprays to good initial effect but after time they lose their 'hold' as I discovered to my horror on our large Balcombe layout that a large amount of the static grass (2mm basing)  after a couple of years storage had failed and fallen off after the second layer was applied with cheapo stuff.

 

To lesser degree using hairspray for fixing the ground foam/leaves on the trees (I use the larger specimens on different layouts) upon getting the stock out of store there was some depletion of applied foliage having used hairspray as a fixative.

For any new tree making the WWS stuff will be the order of the day!

 

It will pay dividends in the long run to use the 'proper stuff' albeit more expensive. That comes from a self-avowed cheapskate!

 

With regards to to basing glue I've used ordinary PVA for years thinking "why pay the extra for 'proper' glue?" until I bought some WWS basing glue and this gave much more successful results. I don't know why but it is a different composition to ordinary PVA, more akin to 'school glue'

 

Because there's a vast amount of grass to do on Balcombe my 35kv RTS 'Greenkeeper' machine has served me particularly well. For smaller amounts a conventional 15kv machine from various makers would suffice.

 

 

 

[ikcdab]

On 31/12/2022 at 13:41, Re6/6 said:

I totally agree with Robin that the WWS spray (and the Peco one come to that) is excellent and that I can highly recommended both. For years I've been using the usual strong hold supermarket hairsprays to good initial effect but after time they lose their 'hold' as I discovered to my horror on our large Balcombe layout that a large amount of the static grass (2mm basing)  after a couple of years storage had failed and fallen off after the second layer was applied with cheapo stuff.

 

To lesser degree using hairspray for fixing the ground foam/leaves on the trees (I use the larger specimens on different layouts) upon getting the stock out of store there was some depletion of applied foliage having used hairspray as a fixative.

For any new tree making the WWS stuff will be the order of the day!

 

It will pay dividends in the long run to use the 'proper stuff' albeit more expensive. That comes from a self-avowed cheapskate!

 

With regards to to basing glue I've used ordinary PVA for years thinking "why pay the extra for 'proper' glue?" until I bought some WWS basing glue and this gave much more successful results. I don't know why but it is a different composition to ordinary PVA, more akin to 'school glue'

 

Because there's a vast amount of grass to do on Balcombe my 35kv RTS 'Greenkeeper' machine has served me particularly well. For smaller amounts a conventional 15kv machine from various makers would suffice.

 

 

 

My understanding is that PVA dries from the outside in.  It forms a skin on the wet glue that prevents the static grass fibres sticking.  Basing glue, on the other hand, dries differently with no skin being formed, so the fibres stick much better.