Hi everyone...
Decided to try out Woodland Scenics "water" system out for my river. The Realistic Water portion went well and I poured two seperate layers that went very well. The problem was when I used the Water Effects on the surface to simulate ripples on the water surface, the product dried white instead of clear. Anyone else have this problem and a way to fix it? Or know of a way to strip off the layer of Water Effects?
I wished I had used envirotex for the base river and gloss medium for the ripple effects. I had fantastic results with it. Anyhow, any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Fear not, it will probably eventually dry clear. Give it a week. Then panic. I would suspect a problem with high humidity if you weren't in Arizona. Do you even get humid periods there?
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
As the previous poster wrote. Do not panic. It takes several days for it to dry but it does eventually. Putting a fan next to it speeds up the process.
Magnus
larak wrote: Fear not, it will probably eventually dry clear. Give it a week. Then panic. I would suspect a problem with high humidity if you weren't in Arizona. Do you even get humid periods there?Karl
It's been a week and I also sprayed a coat of testors gloss coat over it to see what would happen and there was no change.
Any more ideas?
I thought maybe I would very very very lightly tint a small batch of gloss medium with some raw sienna or raw umber acrylics and dab that on to see if I can get a muddy sort of running water...
Lol.... humidity??? What's that?
jecorbett wrote:It's my understanding that this product is intended to simulate whitewater. That is what I bought it for although I haven't tried it yet. My expectation is that it will not become completely clear when dry. This product is for use in waterfalls and rapids. Woodland Scenics manual cover shows a waterfall built with this product and the curtain of water is not clear.
Kalmbach has a book called "Building a Model Railroad Step by Step" by David Popp. Anway he uses it in his book to simulate waves or at least a water surface that is not completely "glass smooth". He also mentions in the article that it drys clear.
I agree with you in that I thought it was for making rapids and waterfalls with "white water", but after seeing him do it in his article and having such great results I figured I'd deviate from the usual envirtex and gloss medium method I have always used and give it a try.
It will dry clear unless you used to much. But maybe the spraying stopped the process since it's no longer in contact with the air.
Lillen wrote: It will dry clear unless you used to much. But maybe the spraying stopped the process since it's no longer in contact with the air. Magnus
I think using a think layer is probably the key. Although I haven't actually used it in a water feature, I did squeeze out a few beads to see what it might look like. I remember them drying cloudy rather than clear. A thin layer would probably be transparent enough to simulate ripples rather than rapids. Needless to say, since this I will be using the product for the first time, I will experiment on the workbench before I apply it to the layout.
As for fixing the original problem, can this material be scraped away from the base water layer after it dries. If so, I would try that and then poor another thin layer of Real Water to cover any scratches or rough spots.
jecorbett wrote: I think using a think layer is probably the key. Although I haven't actually used it in a water feature, I did squeeze out a few beads to see what it might look like. I remember them drying cloudy rather than clear. A thin layer would probably be transparent enough to simulate ripples rather than rapids. Needless to say, since this I will be using the product for the first time, I will experiment on the workbench before I apply it to the layout. As for fixing the original problem, can this material be scraped away from the base water layer after it dries. If so, I would try that and then poor another thin layer of Real Water to cover any scratches or rough spots.
When I want a thicker amount I simply apply several "coats" or strings of it over several days. That way it became clear but still a rippling streaming effect.
bmvernil wrote: It's been a week and I also sprayed a coat of testors gloss coat over it to see what would happen and there was no change.Any more ideas? I thought maybe I would very very very lightly tint a small batch of gloss medium with some raw sienna or raw umber acrylics and dab that on to see if I can get a muddy sort of running water...
Oops, the gloss coat will probably slow or stop air movement and evaporation from the water effects and delay its drying time a great deal.
Still ... I once did a pour of realistic water (the other product) and it literally took over three weeks to become clear. I have used water effects in several places and it always goes on white and eventually dries transparent to translucent.
Of course, there is always the drastic measure of scraping it off, Personally I would wait a while first.
I think that your gloss medium trick would work. You might want to use more than one layer, tinting only the bottom ones. Our local small river (about 200 feet wide) often runs brown during spring runoff. One can see a short way below the surface. Our large river (the Hudson) is more transluscent but still brown.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.