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I appreciate the info on pouring the water - I went ahead and sealed over my plaster impregnated cloth with some powered plaster of paris type stuff. It seems to be well sealed, I don't see any holes - though, I can't look from underneath due to the plywood.
I picked up 16oz of Envirotex today, and will pour it tommorow. Aside from the ramblings, here's my questions:
- Can I add a little bit of dye in with Envirotex? If so, do I mix the resin and hardener, and then add the dye? What kind of dye, like food-coloring kind? I'd assume it doesn't much at all, right -just like a couple drops?
- Can I ripple the water while it's setting? If so, what's the best way? A sponge perhaps.
Kyle, the last time I used Envirotex to make a river, I used Floquil paints to dye it. It came out nice using some mixed up lighter browns and greens. As for making ripples, as the envirotex sets, I used a blow dryer as it cured.
Last I heard, the two part epoxy-type materials don't do well with water in them, and that is what food dye has as its medium. In other forums I have read that you can get the right dye's from Envirotex or whoever makes the stuff, but it is specific to that medium. If Jerome says a wee drop of Floquil will work I would be inclined to give it a try.
Kyle, Floquil and Testors are both Lacquer based. I mixed them right with the Envirotex epoxy (before adding the hardener). Once I got a color I liked, I mixed in the hardener and poured it. If you get bubbles, using a propane torch waved 6-8 inches over them will bring them out. Really important to follow the instrctions to the letter.
Recently I had to make the water for my lake and when it came time to add the color I tried food coloring and all that did was ruien a batch of my liquid plastic, it caused the blue food coloring to turn into tiny blue beads that would not dye the mixture at all.
believe it or not what I ended up using was a blue powdered chalk that I use for my plumb bob string, it came out too blue but I can always redo another layer of water with an adjustment color in it.
For the inevitable bubbles that will form as you thoroughly mix the two compounds, wait for several minutes after you have poured it, perhaps as many as 10-15, while your mixture spreads and settles on its own to find its natural level and extent. Then, simply take a soda straw and gently blow on the surface with the lower end of the straw at an angle to the surface of the epoxy, and about 2" above it, maybe less. You needn't blow hard...in fact, be gentle and cover the surface with your breath in long sweeps of the straw. You will be amazed to see the bubbles disappear.
Then, you should figure out how to cover the pour so that it is undisturbed and cannot have dust and other contaminants fall onto the surface. You might consider using some thin wooden staves spaced several inches apart, and then cover the pour with clean cardboard. It will need to be covered for about 6 hours or so to be safe.
I agree completely with the warning to follow the directions to the letter. If you don't measure or mix properly, your pour will remain soft and tacky, which means it will not look good for long as its surface accumulates debris from the moving air around and above it.
If you have painted the bottom to reflect the colors you want, like dark for the center and then lighter colors up the side, you probably won't need any coloring. The idea is to have the enviorotex be clear so you see the bottom and side colors. If your water is supposed to be murky looking, then using a few drops of the right color paint will do that but most people really don't want murky looking water.
There is a good article in the July 08 issue of Model Railroader magazine called
"You, too, can model realistic rapids". The fellow who did the article used
an item called "Magic Water", from www.unrealdetails.com. You can check the websight for more details. He colored his resin with Floquil railroad tie brown paint, 7 drops is what he used. He painted the stream bed with dark grey and along the shallow edges and rocks with concrete grey.
After pouring and drying of the brownish resin water it looks very good.
Another book I have on doing scenery, they did a pond which looked good.
The deep bottom was painted flat black, earth paint was used around the shallow edges down until it meets the black. A wet brush was then used to blend the two colors where they meet. They used clear resin in it, but with the colors on the bottom it appeared to graduated from shallow to deep. Good luck.
Kyle- be sure to glue in the trash, like tires and barrels, on the bottom before you pour the "water">.
You may want to cut the items in half to lower the the level of water needed to cover them.
Cut a barrel or tire at an angle to show part of it sticking out of the muddy botton, but still underwater.
Cool, thanks so much guys! I will try to pour it tonight I reckon - I have a couple real pieces of branches I will throw in it. I want it to look real "un-traveled" and natural. I know all the rivers I used to play in as a kid (like Blackwater River, Shoal River, etc.) where almost tea colored. You could fill up your hand with it and barely see your palm.
