To grout or not to grout?

August 26, 2014
1,088 views
View Myangela's images

I know grouting is not the easiest process, especially when the tile is faux painted mat board. So, I'll take you through my process. I cut my tiles, I use Ticky Tack to glue them down to the surface I'm adhering them to, in this case it was another piece of mat board. I cover it with a piece of wax paper and compress it while it dries. You can use books, I have some hardwood flooring samples that work great for this, too. (My sister-in-law brought over this entire set of manufacurer's samples that she picked up for free from a sales rep. She thought I could possibly sand off, I don't know, about a half inch of particle board and use it for hard wood floors in the dollhouse, not. Just saying, they have been so great for flat compression, and I've also been able to stack them up against an interior wall to keep it in place while some sort of glue is drying.). So, compressed flat overnight. The next morning, a good coat of gloss acrylic making sure I seal all the cut edges of the mat board tiles. I use Liquitex gloss varnish. It is an artist acrylic, it is thin and doesn't leave behind brush strokes. Once that is dry, in a couple of hours, then it's time to grout. I have used two different products for that. My favorite is Lightweight Hydrocal from Woodland Scenics. It is much like plaster paris, but a bit more lightweight and it doesn't shrink or crack when it dries. It comes in a powder form, so you mix it with water, which you can tint with watercolor or acrylic paint. I use a brush to apply, then I use my fingertips to push it into all the crevices. I work about a four inch square area at a time, wiping the excess off with a damp rag. If my mixture batch starts to dry out too much, I just mix in a few drops of water before I continue.