Painting Lightweight Spackle

[BCR751]

I'm using construction Styrofoam as a base for my scenery.  I planned to fill in the seams and other areas with lightweight spackle.  I wanted to mix in some dirt color acrylic paint with the spackle but I think I've hit a snag.  The only brand I can find locally is a house brand (Home Hardware) called Beauti-Tone.  It is water soluble but out of the can it's pink and turns white when dry.  Pre-mixing wouldn't work I don't think.  So, if mixing the paint in prior to application is out, how does this stuff take paint when dry?

[wazzou]

It takes paint well as that is how it is intended to be used on the walls of your house.

[Mike C]

 I don't see why pre tinting wouldn't work . You may be guessing a bit more on the final color , but its mostly going to be hidden anyway , right ?  Just don't go too dark the first time and see what happens .  I'd probably use some cheap "oops" paint if you can find something suitable .

[BCR751]

It takes paint well as that is how it is intended to be used on the walls of your house.

I live in a log house so no need to use the stuff  .  I'll try mixing in some of my dirt color in an area I know won't show and, I'll also let some dry and see what happens when I paint that.  Just trying to avoid additional steps if possible.

[JMaurer1]

I ONLY use foam for scenery...not the 'popcorn' ball foam, but the pink or blue extruded foam. Sand to shape and then I go to the local big box hardware store and buy the gallon bucket of lightweight spackle. I use the cheap bottles of water soluble paint from the local big box hobby and crafts store (but only if it is on sale), otherwise I use whatever brown or tan marked down paint I can find in the big box hardware stores paint department. I usually premix some paint into the spackle so that any chips will still have some color in it, but on the N Trak modules I don't always do that (lazy). After the spackle has dried, I then paint whatever paint I am using over the spackle, add some diluted water based glue and then sprinkle on the ground foam. Spray with 'wet' water and add some more glue...done. Easy peasy...

[arbomambo]

I finally used lightweight spackle in a group of modules so I feel I can actually voice an opinion on this!!!!

my experience: I decided I'd try the lightweight spackle approach ( after hearing some folks here talk about their experiences using it over their shaped foam...) IF I did anything other than painting the foam and/or carving rock shapes into it, I had always used precolored sculptamold if I felt I needed to apply something over the foam...
My opinion...don't use the spackle...uncolored, it dries 'white' and re-shapes itself under the wetting needed to apply ground foam and/or static grass...it's doesn't 'pre-mix' with color well, so you just have to paint over it before applying scenery...if it 'chips', then white can be seen...
I used it to blend highway sloped shoulders...it sands beautifully, to a feather edge...but I could have achieved the exact same thing with well mixed sculptamold AND in the color I wanted by adding paint to the sculptamold in the mixing phase...lightwiegh spackle dries lightweight, but so does sculptamold...no worries, for me it was a 'lesson learned'...I certainly wanted to try the lightweight spackle, but, for me, I don't see a real advantage over what I'm already using...
just my opinion, it certainly can be used to good effect-I prefer the sculptamold-
Bruce

[Omatrack]

I created a large intermodal pad with lightweight spackle that I tinted to get to a concrete color.  It worked great.   It does take a little guess work since it starts pink.
I added color tinting (turns the stuff a weird color) and then took some out to let dry and then made adjustments.   It turned out great and I was very happy as there was mostly uniform color but some variations on the surface that looks like it was poured concrete.
John

[wazzou]

I've never seen pink lightweight spackle.  It is commonly available in white.

[Omatrack]

I've never seen pink lightweight spackle.  It is commonly available in white.

There are some spackle products from DAP and others that are pink or blue when wet and then they dry to white.  It allows you to tell what areas are wet.

[x600]

I've never seen pink lightweight spackle.  It is commonly available in white.

Here ya go Bryan, now you can cross this off that list.


Greg O.

[wazzou]

Looks like taffy.   

[peteski]

Looks like taffy.   

...tastes like chalk...
 

[Doc Frankenfield]

weighing in on spackle. good only for making roads.. pretitning the pink stuff is fine but I wuols try and get just regular spackle, the difference in weight is negligible for your needs and the regular weight stuff has better flow and work time. the pink is for an indication that it is dry, something that will change as you add scenery.. stick with the sculptamold previously mentioned, it sets up fast, has good texture and you can literally dump whatever water based coloring you want into it.
I used spackle for some old modules and the damp eventually will degrade it.

[kelticsylk]

I've been using drywall compound colored with Rit dye. I found it works pretty good but a power paint stir is needed to get the dye ro mix well with the compound. The shade can be controlled by using less compound and / or more dye.

Aside from slapping it on thick for carved rock surfaces I've been soaking paper towels in it for my basic scenery. I fashion a support structure by creating a cardboard web. On styrofoam I just drape it over the foam to smooth the contours...

CNJ Train Along The Split River

You can lay it on pretty thick but you may have to patch some cracks after it dries.