Recomendations for making a dirt/gravel parking area.

[Power Stroke]

This is a stumbling block for me, as well as path ways. I've tried using very fine ground foam but when I apply adhesive (lightly spray wet water, then use white glue solution), it spreads and/ or gets grainy, and generally looks like crap. What am I missing/doing wrong, and what can I do?
Thanks,
Stephen.

[carmelmodelrr]

For a gravel parking lot I mixed white glue with the appropriate color of fine sand that I bought at a LHS.  It was messy, but if you work with it enough, the end result is more realistic than using Woodland Scenics or other gravel IMHO.

carmelmodelrr
Dick Wroblewski

[Santa Fe Guy]

Tile grout works very well. Lay down a layer of diluted white glue including some alcohol (to release the water tension) then dust on a layer of tile grout. Use an old tea strainer. It comes in a range of colours and is very fine.
Rod.

[arbomambo]

I use a combination of materials, just as in the real world, because 'gravel' isn't uniform.
I mix Highball z scale 'limestone' ballast, Woodlands Scenics 'gravel',and Arizona Rock and Mineral 'Earth' pigment powder, all in equal amounts...very realistic effect.
Bruce

[unittrain]

I use tile grout cant beat it I use a mixture of Natural Gray and Charcoal usually for lighter dirt I use haystack. All from HomeDepot.

[Angus Shops]

I use some sand that I dug up in a backyard of a house slated to demolition. It is extraordinarily fine, much finer than typical sand and with no contamination. The owner of the house worked at a foundry which leads me to surmise that the sand may have been used for foundry casting molds. Keep in mind that Woodland Scenics ballast (or equivalent), even their 'fine' grade, represents fairly chunky ballast, too coarse for gravel roads. I use my usual ballast application technique (sift into place, spray with alcohol, spray with diluted white glue), but in this case I often sift a little more of the sand after the glue application for a more even surface. I paint the finished surface rather than rely on the colour of the sand. It sand the surface texture of 150 grit sandpaper.

Geoff

[LIRR]

These are some dirt lots I've made, but they're not the best photos...I use mud colored paint and cover it with woodland scenics blended turf. Then when it's dry, I paint over it again with the same paint in any area where it would be packed down by vehicle or foot traffic. Some of the turf texture will show thru, which is good. Then when it dries, I dry brush it with a sand color. In the areas I don't paint the second time, I spread some diluted white glue and apply some mixed green ground foam where weeds would grow.   

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Another vote for grout. Use a mix of sanded and unsanded.

[nkalanaga]

I'm with Geoff:  Dirt from the back yard.  Since my dirt has a lot of clay, I usually do the basic scenery in sand, which doesn't shrink.  Once it's dry, a thin layer of dirt can be rubbed in, then glued just like ballast.  Once it's dry, any cracks can be filled with a repeat layer, and if one wants a well worn lot or road, the final result can be sanded to make a dusty "tire tracked" surface.

Yes, I'm cheap, but the technique has worked for me for 35 years (no clay in the sand in Pasco, so not needed there) and is older than that.  I don't remember where I read it, but it was in an OLD magazine, probably from the 50s or 60s.

[Hamaker]

I formerly lived in the great southern San Joaquin Valley of California.  For N scale dirt, I would gather the dust of the drawbar of farm tractors and their implements.  I still have a LOT of it in a big jar.  Should last me the rest of my life

[Philip H]

Depending on the particle size/material you are aiming for I'd suggest either Arzona Rock and Mineral "Earth" in the right shade, or grout. I will have to do an attempt at crushed oyster shell at some point.

[arbomambo]

here are a few pics of my recipe; I use it for gravel roads, parking lots, and highway shoulders...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'm with Geoff:  Dirt from the back yard.  Since my dirt has a lot of clay, I usually do the basic scenery in sand, which doesn't shrink.

I STRONGLY disagree with this advice in most cases. Grains of dirt in real life are boulder sized in N. This may not be the case everywhere (especially if there is a high clay content), but you really want something with just a HINT of texture. Anything more and you're looking at gravel sized pieces or larger.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Here is another method I use.
Stone dust is very fine and I used this sifted over diluted white glue with some alcohol added to release the surface tension.
Once dry I gave it a rub with a small block of wood then dusted on weathering powders to simulate dropped oil etc for my new construction company site. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]
It seems to look okay.
Rod.

[nkalanaga]

Ed:  You're right that not all dirt will work, but if one has dirt with a high powder content it works fine.  Clay or silt fills the gaps between the larger grains, and if it's all about the same color, little texture shows.

Now, the sand in Pasco, WA doesn't work well, although properly screened it makes good ballast, because it's nothing but ground up Rocky Mts - granite, basalt, limestone, you name it, with a definite salt-and-pepper color, and an overall brownish tint.  It was laid down in an ancient lake bed, then the surface graded by wind for a few thousand years, which removed the smaller particles from many areas, leaving deposits in just about any size range one wants, with a lot of searching for the right one.  Or one can take the common surface dirt and screen it.

No clay at all, so even the ordinary "dirt" doesn't expand and contract when gluing, making it ideal for scenery, but it's also magnetic.  Any magnet will pull natural iron filings from it, so it shouldn't be used for ballast, and MUST be solidly glued anywhere.  The brownish hue is actually rust