Places to buy very fine sand for basing?

[StepwisePilot]

So, I have this jug of sand from micheals, but it's not fine enough for what I want to do. I need very, very fine sand for a basing idea I have. Have you guys ever seen a zen garden? Something like that kind of sand. Is there anywhere in town that sells such things? 

Full disclosure, I posted something similar on the Kingston reddit about a month ago, but I figured I could try here as well, in case you guys have done this yourself. 

[voodoo]

If you know anyone that works at anchor concrete, then ask them to grab you a jar of their sand, you can seive it with a tea strainer to get the finer stuff. Barring that, there's some finer play sand from home depot, but it'll be in a several Kg sized bag.

[VaUkos]

I once got very fine craft sand at a dollar tree but I don't know if it will be there anymore, another thing you do is use baking powder/starch or sugar and paint it a sand colour, lastly is you get sand from somewhere and get a hammer and zip lock back find somewhere flat and crush it or a mortar and pestle and crush it to being fine.


Edit coffee grounds might work to if you extra grind it down.

[dave]

I use chinchilla dust as my fine "sand". Got a good sized tub for not much money a while back. Likely a lifetime supply.


Edit: probably doesn't need to be explained, but this is dust FOR chinchillas, not dust made FROM chinchillas. I bet that would be pretty soft though.

[Frosty the Pirate]

There's plenty of listings for craft sand on places like Amazon.

I've also heard Baking Powder can also work well as fine sand for basing, but it can be hard to work with and you have to find a way to seal it very well because it's a food product and will eventually break down.

Edit: another place you can look is aquarium stores, they typically have very very fine sand for aquariums that could another option. I know the sand I had in my clownfish tank years ago was incredibly fine, almost dust or powder consistency.

Another option (tho I would not recommend this having worked with the stuff) is diatomaceous earth, which is normally sold as a food-additive/calcium-supplement or as a natural/pet-friendly ant control powder, however its SO fine that you absolutely have to wear a mask and work outside with it, because it can have asbestos-like properties if inhaled, so I strongly recommend against this.

[StepwisePilot]

Thanks is for all the ideas guys. I appreciate it.

[trantos01]

Jul 9, 2021 7:43:31 GMT -5 Frosty the Pirate said:

There's plenty of listings for craft sand on places like Amazon.

I've also heard Baking Powder can also work well as fine sand for basing, but it can be hard to work with and you have to find a way to seal it very well because it's a food product and will eventually break down.

Actually I ran across a trick for that sort of thing.  If you spread a layer of super glue first and then sprinkle a layer of baking soda over it (haven't tested with powder) the glue sets nearly instantly.  After which it can be easily painted.

As for the stuff breaking down, I first used this method for 'fine sand' back in 2019 when making my T.Vault base.  To this day there isn't really any sign of wear and tear on said sections.