I have used WS Realistic Water and have never experienced either excessive shrinkage or clouding (my layout is in a basement room where the temp never gets above 65 degrees, and I keep a dehumidifier running to keep the humidity level at about 50%. I have experienced the marking of the surface, when my son set a Hot Wheels car down on the lake and it stayed there for about a week before I removed it. The dents in the surface went away after a while.
That said, I much prefer using gloss gel for white- or rapidly flowing water and gloss medium for the calmer areas.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
I tried to not get carried away and so I poured it pretty thin, and let it dry for a couple days (the 3rd & last pour took 3-4 days to cure).
It was clear for a couple of weeks or even a month. I'm wondering if some plaster or something leeched into from the bottom.
Also there was much shrinkage (must be that really cold mountain water!), to the point that a "bowl" developed in the corner where the two masonite sides come together.
I think I'll try gloss medium next.
M.C. Fujiwara
My YouTube Channel (How-to's, Layout progress videos)
Silicon Valley Free-moN
How thick a layer did you pour for each application? How much time between layers? I've had trouble using WS Realistic Water on my first few trys. This product should be applied no more than 1/8" per application. I let it set for a couple of days between coats, but still ended up w/ some cloudiness. After a week or so the fog/ haze started to disappear. I really thought that this product was going to revolutionize simple water pours, I was wrong. Even after following the instructions to the letter, I still found the product to be too soft, continually shrink and not hold that flat glass surface. Items placed on the surface for any length of time will mark or leave indents. I will only use it for very small pools, drainage ditches or creeks. For larger bodies of water, I'll go back the the tried and true Envirotex lite or coat the area w/ gloss medium.
Be patient that white may start to disappear soon.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
It looks like glacial run-off to me. Can you live with that effect? Put up a small sign saying "Glacier Creek" and you'll stop the critics.
I've heard enoough bad things about WS's immitation-water product to convince me not to try the product.
A couple weeks (a month?) after I poured a couple layers of WS Realistic Water on my test module, I looked down and, lo and behold, beheld a creature from the white lagoon: a cloudy white blob at the bottom of my stream near the edge of the layout.
I used DAP plaster of paris soaked paper towels for the banks. Painted with WS liquid pigment (layers of earth & slate grey). The Masonite fascia forms two sides (am going to cut down to waterlevel).
So what's causing the white underwater blob? Should I have sealed the creekbed with something else? Is it the plaster mixing on the bottom? The masonite? It was totally clear for many weeks, and the more shallow pool (created with same technique) on the other side of the tracks did not cloud up.
Looks like there was a scale industrial tapioca or cornstarch spill in my creek. Any ideas? Thanks for the help!