Brian:

(Or anyone else w/ experience using this coating)

Seems you use Coconut alot.

I'd like to try a new build with some.

Could you give a quick tutorial on how much to buy per house
and how you apply it.

I'm excited to try it, but don't want to do some stupid mistake with it at the
same time.


Steve

Steve, thats great, you are going to love it, it is really the icing on the cake.

Pete sells it in 2oz and 4oz bags. Im my experience so far, a 2oz bag goes a long way. The only exceptions are Red and White. White is by far the one I have used the most. It is used on bases, roofs, and as snow. Then red, because most of the roofs have red. So if you plan on doing a couple houses with coco, you might want to buy the bigger bag of those two.

My method and things you'll need.

medium size paint brush
Aleene's tacky glue
Big glass bowl...I got mine at Ikea
Paint
coco

The glass bowl makes clean up easy.

I do two things depending on the situation. I mix the glue with the paint or I paint the glue directly on. If you paint it directly on you may want to add a bit of water to thin it down....but not very much. Aleene's will dry clear. I do one side of a house at a time. Paint on the glue fairly thick, then hold my house over the bowl and sprinkle the coco on a pinch at a time covering all the wet areas. Then shake off the excess. I try to do all of one color and then let it dry. Takes about an hour before you can do another color.
I clean up after each color, and save every fleck that falls off. It worked out well, as I was able to use the left overs I had that were Red,White, and Blue to cover the base of the Peach and Blue house I did. I will be posting pics of that finished house soon.

It is still a pretty messy process, and my office looks like it has Snowed a rainbow of colors, and Im constantly cleaning up. Even after the glue dries, much like the originals, everytime you move a house or pick it up, there is a tiny trail left behind.

Pete also includes instructions under the flap of his label on the coco bag. He might have a few extra tips...I can't find one at the moment
-Brain

Thanks for the quick reply.

Interesting tips.

Hello Steve,

Another method that works fine is to simply paint the surface with whatever color you are using, so for instance a red house... paint a wall red and while the paint is still wet shake the red coconut over the surface. Not such a long waiting time in between with this method. I put a sheet of paper down to catch the excess. To sprinkle the coconut I use recycled spice jars with the perforated shaker tops. Shakes out a nice even coat and keeps the coconut dry when not in use. You can get empty spice jars with the perforated lid and a screw top for 99 cents at a place like Bed Bath & Beyond. The dollar store also sells mega jars of spices in that type of container... you can use the spice or dump it and use the container.