The owner of the hobby shop i frequent told me that in order to use the fine sand found on the construction site, it needs to be boiled first in order to get rid of the impurities in them and make them adhere to paint better.He also said that commercial debris are actually normal sand that are processed in the same way to be used on dioramas. What are your views about this?? I forgot to ask him how i go about boiling them.......Any idea/suggestion?

I used sand many times in my dioramas and have never boiled it... Never heard somebody boils sand, sorry; I don't think that is really neccessary.

Mario M.

I've used sand in two desert dios and never boiled it. If you want to got to that step all I would do is get a smal pot going on the stove and pour in the sand when it reaches a boil. I'd boil it for a minute or two then use cheese cloth to strain it.

For small rocks and debris I have washed them to get excess dirt off, but not for impurities.

I wouldn't be worried about it.

I have never heard of boiling sand. to get the fine sand I just use my mums cooking sieve and sive it a couple of times.

Andy007

If you mix that sand with some flint and spar and a few other cool ingrediants, and use an oven instead of the stove top, you could make glass.

Or, you could try this too: Making Modeling Clay

Ick, remind me never to eat at your house

MSW

I've heard of people microwaving dirt for a minute to kill impurities.

Hi Sarge,
while your boilin that sand you might wanna throw in some onions, celery, a bit a garlic, some canned tomatoes....maybe a turkey carcass....and your fixin to make a real fine soup.....

Seriously though...
you want sand....go on vacation...I brought some great stuff back from Mexico,Cuba, Prince Edward Island....coarse, fine, white, brown, red....a small amount wrapped in a towel will last you forever....and the best part is no need to boil it (sorry to disappoint the hundreds of sand - boilers out there) #:-)
Cheers
Dave

Hi Try using Kiln Dried sand its very fine used for brushing between paving, if its kiln dried i would think all the impurities would be gone

I went into my local pet shop and bought some fine sand there. They have it for bedding or litter for small animals nests. Does the trick for me. You can buy it buy the weight so a small bag costs next to nothing. Buy some cat litter as well as it looks great as small rocks. Impurities? Nothing worth worrying about ..... at least I didnt!