HELP! READY FOR WATER

[Anonymous]

River Rat Juction RR HO 8' X 12' L shape.

Spend most of the weekend working on the River Banks, rocks, logs, heavy turf, junk etc etc, then painting the river bed (lighter near shore, darker for more depth. Really thrilled with the way it turned out. Already looks real.

Never did water before so would really appreciate any and all suggestions as which way is the best and easest to do. Its really starting to look like a 1950"s Harbor. dirty , grungy etc

I hope to take some before and after pictures if anyone is interested.

Thanks, DON

[selector]

Probably best to seal the river bed and partway up the banks with either plaster or latex paint. Especially over joints in the foam. You are using 2", I believe.

I dug my 1" foam down to the 5/8" plywood for my water course, and put a thin layer of plaster over the wood and up the banks for about 1/2". When dried, I painted the plaster by spraying it to within 2" of the banks with a black spray paint (latex). When it was dried, I worked on the shallows with lighter greens and browns...and definitely did a lousy job. Anyway, mask any open ends of the water with painters' tape and then use a two-part epoxy (resin and hardener). One medium kit will do for all but the largest water courses....you only need 1/4" or less of the epoxy if your lake/river bed is flat ..AND LEVEL (very important!)

It is important to follow the epoxy mixing directions to the letter and punctuation. Use a hair-drier on high heat, low fan to sweep over the poured epoxy at a height of about 6" in order to get the bubbles to come up and out the surface. Be persistent; the bubbes will come out with repeated sweeps of the drier.

You needn't rush. The epoxy will be fluid for several long minutes, probably more than 10.

If you don't like what you get, paint over the epoxy and do another pour.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info Crandell. Will try and take some picks when I do it!

DON

[Anonymous]

Qestion is there any reason why you can't use Fiberglass resin? Where can you buy a quart of 2 part Epoxy? Home Depot dosen't sell it!

DON

[selector]

Don't need a quart. Need less than a pint, if you ask me. Home depot should have boxes that have two plastic bottles, each with 8-16 oz of liquid in them. The directions on the box will tell you approx how many sq ft the kit will cover.

I don't know about fibreglass resin. Mix an ounce and try it on a pre-painted and dammed piece of wood. If it dries clear and true in colour, why not?