My snow is going dull and yellowing :(

[Luxor Moonprince]

I have a bit of a problem which I\'m hoping you guys maybe able to help.

I\'ve followed the guide about using PVA and Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda here in the UK) and adding a little blue to the mix to keep the colour of the snow Like this..
http://www.livewiregames.net/members/number9/images/snow.pdf

Applied it to a unit of peasant bowmen who really looked class. After about 5/6 months things started to go wrong with the base and the snow colour began to seriously fade and yellow.

Ouch.. not good.

I didn\'t varnish the models at all, which I suppose potentially could be the problem.

However I\'m just wondering how people have got on with their models using this snow making technique over a period of time. Has your snow yellowed at all? What varnish did you use etc..
I also tried this technique here

http://www.dysartes.com/model/modelling/snowbase.htm

The snow seems to go a bit too white and undefined when you start covering the pva/soda mix with another covering of pva/glue/water.

I\'ve hacked it off the models and I\'ll be starting again to reapply the mixture. Any suggestions how to improve the colour are appreciated.

Also, In the UK what would be my best Matt varnish spray to go for to protect my models. I\'d like Testors obviously but it looks like that\'s not going to happen. What\'s a good alternative?

Thanks!

 

[Trevor]

You don\'t have a dog or a cat do you?


Sorry I\'m no help whatsoever... :innocent:

 

[Luxor Moonprince]

hehe, yes a cat and I know what you mean.


Thanks for trying to help anyway.

I\'m going to try again anyway and see what happens this time. Perhaps it was the white glue I was using, or a dodgy batch of soda.

I have yet to hear of anyone else with problems so it\'s probably just something I\'ve done.

 

[supervike]

if life gives you yellow snow...

Make lemon snowcones...



I had seen that baking soda article and liked the results, but haven\'t yet tried it.

I think varnishing would have helped, but I am not sure if it is the baking soda or the glue. I have seen PVA glue yellow with age, but I have had the same box of baking soda for 2+ years in my fridge, at it looks fine.

Just on a side note, I have used both Woodland Scenics snow and Techstar Snowflakes, and neither has \'turned yellow\' on me yet. It has been well over 2-3 years since I put it on my bases.

 

[james9487]

Sorry but all I know is that you aren\'t supposed to eat yellow snow.

Let us know what works because I haven\'t tried out snow bases yet. You could buy the fake snow(I think there is some for sale at the CMON store)

 

[Frustrated Father]

It likely was the glue that did it for you, especially if you left them in an area with high sunlight or temperatures (near a furnace, heater .. etc).

Under heat or over a good period of time, glue has a tendency to yellow and crack with certain brands.

May or may not be the problem ... what glue did you use?

 

[provoke_me]

haha!

finaly snow i can make at home!
even tho i have no idea why its turning yellow i must thank you for the articles

 

[donga666]

lollollollol

You buggers got the \'don\'t eat the yellow snow\' jokes in before me

Its the glue my boy! Its called Oxidisation, there is an \"organic\" element to the glue you use that has dis-coloured. Change glue (Oh! Yeh, Frustrated farther already said that, Ignore me!:duh: ).

Ho Hum!

 

[Valander]

Watch out where the huskies go...

And don\'t you eat that yellow snow!

(Sorry, had to throw the Zappa line in there.)

Do you handle your minis? If you do, and you didn\'t seal them, it\'s very possible that the yellowing may be caused by the oils in your skin transferring to the mini. It\'s likely, too, if that\'s the case that the baking soda is attracting the oils (it does that--that\'s why you put a box in the fridge to absorb odors).

It could also be that if you or someone else smokes in the house that the bicarb is picking that up.

 

[Drake Farstrider]

A couple of great articles. Thanks for pointing them out.

As for the yellowing of the snow not a clue. Sorry!

 

[Luxor Moonprince]

Awesome replies guys Thanks for the headsup about different ideas.

Ok well I\'ve just been using \"Craft PVA\" which is a PVA from Hobbycraft in the UK that dries clear. It dried really well but as I said before, things went a bit wrong over time with something.

The oils idea on the hand sounds very feasible. The models have been used in many games of Warhammer and everyone loves the snow rubbbing their fingers on it because it looks so convincing. I can see how this could tarnish the soda.

Nobody smokes and fortunately nobody has yet eaten the yellow snow!

What I will do is post a picture up with a link, showing what a couple of models look like with the reapplied snow . Then I\'ll mark on my calendar 3 months down the line what effect gaming has had on the base. Then a further picture 6 months on. (I\'m going to be using these guys all over the country at tournaments/clubnights in the uk so they will get plenty of action)

This time round I\'m going to seal the models with a coat of spray gloss followed by matt varnish for extra durability.

Any other ideas are appreciated especially what matt/gloss varnishes to use in the UK and watch this space!

 

[Modderrhu]

Bother... it\'s the glue, is it? I recently changed the PVA brand I was using, and now I need to concern myself about yellowing. But thanks for the enlightment, FF, I\'ve never had an answer as to the possible reasons behind yellowing.

The Alcolin glue that I used initially has not shown any signs of yellowing, but my snow has been sealed.

 

[forrix]

the most easily made snow and it seriously rocks!:make a mix of baking soda ,pva or white glue,a little water and sugar,once you mix it all together and apply it to your base or whatever at first it goes a bit bubbly because of the sugar desolving a bit by the added water, but after you let it dry for about 10 to 20 hours it realy looks like fresh fluffy snow ,quick tip--->using more water in the mix creates a frosty top layer for creating melting snow this looks real cool!,have fun and seriously try, it \'s ultra cheapy and you probably have the ingredients at home, cheers ...ryan

 

[Ebonbuddha]

Yeah. I think sealing it helps.

I\'m going to try the baking soda thing. I would love to see if it works.

I also saw somewhere talcom powder was good to use.

 

[Drake Farstrider]

but after you let it dry for about 10 to 20 hours it realy looks like fresh fluffy snow

Wow that is a long dry time!

 

[Modderrhu]

Originally posted by Drake Farstrider
Wow that is a long dry time!

It\'s always a good idea to let PVA dry that long, isn\'t it? I mean, it might feel dry after 2 or 3 hours, but I\'ve found it actually isn\'t, especially when plastered on quite thickly.

Originally posted by forrix
the most easily made snow and it seriously rocks!:make a mix of baking soda ,pva or white glue,a little water and sugar,once you mix it all together and apply it to your base or whatever at first it goes a bit bubbly because of the sugar desolving a bit by the added water

A very, very interesting idea! Didn\'t think of using sugar. But how about a touch of tartaric acid instead, that\'s the stuff that turns baking soda into baking powder, and makes the baking soda fizz. Hmmm, I\'ve got to try both. Thanks!

 

[airhead]

It sounds like too many dirty fingers rubbing the base. Not much you can do there. The snow is porus so it traps oils and dirt from all those fingers. A good layer of varnish might help, but would probably yellow the snow too.

I use micro-balloons instead of baking soda. Inert micro silica particles. I think that is what the tecno-star stuff is too but am not real sure.

 

[supervike]

yup.

Originally posted by airhead


I use micro-balloons instead of baking soda. Inert micro silica particles. I think that is what the tecno-star stuff is too but am not real sure.

That is exactly what Tec-star is made of....where do you get yours, if not from Tec-star?

 

[airhead]

I get micro balloon at a model airplane shop. They are used to thicken glue to make fillets and fill gaps before using CA glue.

 

[Drake Farstrider]

Originally posted by Modderrhu

Originally posted by Drake Farstrider
Wow that is a long dry time!

It\'s always a good idea to let PVA dry that long, isn\'t it? I mean, it might feel dry after 2 or 3 hours, but I\'ve found it actually isn\'t, especially when plastered on quite thickly.

Well I guess I really never checked my glue after an hour or two. Usually I glue something before I go to bed or before I go to work. Hmmm, learn something new everyday!