If only I could think of one
This Christmas I finally replaced my 5-generation-old mobile phone, whose screen-protector sticker had become a critical structural support over a year ago. After migrating its data over to the new, only-one-generation-out-of-date phone, I decided to weed through the old photos to clean out what I don’t want to keep. In the process I discovered a few photos of the my efforts to make home-made grass flocking during the summer, which I had somehow neglected to post here.
The base of my flock material is sawdust, acquired by means of walking into Home Despot and asking them if it was OK for me to scoop up some dust from around the saw in the lumber department. There are potential down sides to this – the sawdust from the store is not sterile, and could potentially contain chemicals from treated wood products. Bags or buckets of sawdust purchased online might be better for those who want that extra margin of safety.
I also picked up a flour sifter from the dollar store. I used this to fairly efficiently filter out the larger particles, which I set aside in another container in the assumption I’d find a use for them at some point.
Once I had a bin full of fine sawdust, I split some of it out into separate containers for coloring.
Painted Grass
I picked a few craft paint colors I wanted to use for my flocking and squeezed some into each of the three containers. I still had a bin of some commercial flock in a medium green, so I decided to do lighter and darker batches, as well as some in a yellowish color that would be used to either simulate areas of dead grass or sprinkled lightly over green regions to represent tiny flowers.
I squeezed some paint into each tub and then started to stir it in. Keeping in mind the dangers of adding too much water to a project, I very gradually dripped in water to help the colors mix into the sawdust.
The results were a little clumpy but the colors were evenly mixed. The mix was spread out onto parchment paper and allowed to dry for several days in the summer heat, stirring occasionally, to make sure they were dried thoroughly. I probably should have dried it a little longer before putting back into the containers, though, as the light green started to get a little fuzzy after being sealed up. I scooped out the bad bits, then left all the bins to dry some more. Before sealing them up again I threw in some of those silica gel packets to stave off any further moisture accumulation, and that has so far seemed to be enough to prevent any more problems.
I’ve been using a mix of this flocking – usually sifted through a little dollar-store strainer to break it up – and some of the commercial stuff I also had on hand. It’s been applied to trees, terrain, and mini bases and I’m happy with its appearance, though I don’t have any comparison photos of pure home-brew vs pure store-bought results.
If you want to be certain that it is completely dry, bake it at 220 F, for 45 minutes: will dry out any moisture in the fibers, as well as kill any biological life present within the fibers. This will not harm the paint, nor the wood fibers. Just make certain not to run the temperature too much higher! Any temperature above 400 F, would risk combustion of the wood fibers.
I picked up some reddish-brown, course sand, from the northern shores of Lake Superior, for basing my 54mm Army Men figures, for games. Before I used it, I had to kill any life-forms existing within it, which were giving it a lake odor, as well. I spread it out on a cookie sheet, dedicated to crafting, then I baked it, at 375 F, for 45 minutes (silica/sand melts well above 1,000 F, so it was perfectly safe). The smell disappeared, and it has never exhibited any odor, or other issues, since. I’ve kept it sealed in a clean ziplock bag, for 3+ years, without issue.
I’ve used baking methods to cure Minwax Polyshades urethane-stain applied to mini’s, as well (commonly known as, “The Dip Technique”). It will take 2-4 days to fully dry/cure, if left at room temperatures. I bake it inside of a $20 crock pot, dedicated to the purpose. I set it to Low (175 F, on average), and bake my mini’s in it, for around 45-60 minutes. They come out fully dried, fully cured, ready to game with. Cheers!
Yeah, I considered trying to bake it a bit but I was worried about it getting charred or set on fire. Next time I make some I’ll try at 220 and see how it goes – I have an old toaster oven I can plug in and sit on concrete away from the house, which I’ve used in the past to sterilize some old potting soil to use in basing.