Water questions

[MisterBeasley]

There are several products like Woodland Scenics "Realistic Water" which are a liquid you pour on to make ponds, etc.

Are these products foam-safe, or should I put down some other layer (besides the paint, of course) to protect the foam? Are there any types of paints that react with the "water?"

How is the shelf-life on this stuff once the bottle is open? I want to put in a small retention pond, partly as a learning experience, and partly because it's in the middle of the layout, and will be awkward to get to later. It will be months before I'm ready for the "Big Pour" on Moose Bay. Will I find a bottle of hardened resin by that time, or will it keep? Does anyone refrigerate it, like CA, to slow down the deterioration?

[nbrodar]

Hmm...

I use WS Realistic Water. It is foam safe. I like it. I'm not sure if it's a design feature or not, but mine cured with a slightly rippled surface.

How long does it last open? Not sure. My bottle's been open 6 months, and it's still OK.

Nick

[selector]

A cheaper solution, I you don't mind the input, is to buy a kit of two-part epoxy at your hardware store. They tend to some in a range of sizes for different applications. You only mix what you will need. The remainder should last for a while, maybe a couple of years, but I don't really know.

Also, Mod-Podge is gloss medium and can be used, and it is cheap. WS stuff tends to be more costly. Joe Fugate uses gloss medium to good effect. Check out his clinic on Realistic Scenery.

[hminky]

Small retaining ponds can be effectively depicted using a silver party balloon:



Click image to enlarge

I have a "what I did" at:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/scenery/ballon_pond/

Thank you if you visit
Harold

[Anonymous]

I have a good sized body of water to fill , teh realistic water is $15 a bottle around here... OUCH!!! Going to take 4-5 bottles....

[hminky]

I used Realistic Water for my rushing stream.



Click on image to enlarge

and that small area took almost a half a bottle for 2 pours. If it wasn't rushing water it would have taken more pours to get the depth. I wouldn't use it for a pond because of the shrinkage. It works great for a rushing stream because it will shrink down over the boulders and looks like it is oozing. See my adventures with rushing water at:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/rushing_water/

Just a thought
Harold

[nbrodar]

Five minute epoxy is good for smaller bodies of water. But sets way to fast for a large pour, if you can pour it at all. For the epoxy route you need Enviro-Tex. But make sure to test it first, some epoxies and casting resins don't mix well with foam.

I use detailed stream bottoms, and never had much luck used gloss medium on those. For a painted bottom, gloss medium works great, and is cheaper then either WS or epoxy.

Nick

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Enviro-Tex

I am at that stage: making water. It's a rather large body of water about 2 1/2 feet wide by 18 inches deep. What is Enviro-Tex? Is it epoxy or some kind of lacquer? Is it available at my local H-D?

Anyone ever tried "50 Coats" finish?

Thx

[Anonymous]

Anyone ever tried polyurethane or clear 2 part auto urethane?

[selector]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nbrodar

Five minute epoxy is good for smaller bodies of water. But sets way to fast for a large pour, if you can pour it at all. For the epoxy route you need Enviro-Tex. But make sure to test it first, some epoxies and casting resins don't mix well with foam.

I use detailed stream bottoms, and never had much luck used gloss medium on those. For a painted bottom, gloss medium works great, and is cheaper then either WS or epoxy.

Nick

I used a two-part epoxy called Nu-Lustre 55. It took three minutes to mix thoroughly, and all I had to do was pour a thick zig-zag bead down the centre area of my lake and river. I used an artist's bru***o spread it out to the banks, and that process took me over ten minutes. I had to wait another five or so for bubbles to show up ( as the directions cautioned they would), and then needed to use a hot air drier to fan them up and out of the pour. This all took well over 15 minutes, by which time the mixture was still quite liquid. It eventually hardened in about 40 minutes. The 1/8" thick pour looks very good.