I’m considering some water features for my current layout section and I would like to know how deep you can put this stuff in? I know the painting underneath is what really gives it depth, but how thick do you pour it in? 1/4, 1/2, 1" or more? What I’m planning is just a pond/lake feature that will run up against the fascia. I’m using 1x4 for the frame, and 1.5" blue foam board for the base with like 1/4 inch OSB, which is what the water feature will be poured on after painting and sealing of course. I’ve sliced out an embankment and sanded it down to somewhat of a rough shore line on one side and I’d like to make a beach scene on the other.Will post pics later.
I roughed out a shallow, but naturally varied, ‘vessel’ for my river, and I then dammed the open sides with painters’ masking tape…carefullly…thoroughly!
I then used plaster of paris that was tinted wit a couple drops of acrylic tan/brown paint to line that vessel. At the same time, I poured some small grit and pebbles to simulate a rocky river bottom, and that material became partly stuck in the plaster as it settled. So, this would have been plaster as much as 1/4" thick in some grooves left by the wire brush, and some of it was maybe 1/8" by the time it all settled out and was hard.
Then, I poured two layers of epoxy, letting each 1/8" application set for about 24 hours. About a 18 months later, I added a third and final layer, and it was to get rid of the clear glassy look. I wanted more turbidity and a more natural colour. To the approximately 1/2 cup volume of epoxy I added a single drop of “Hauder medium green” found in the crafts section where Wal Mart sells the small plastic bottles of acrylic crafts paint. That was too much, in hindsight. Half that would have been okay, although it looks much better in photos than it does standing over it. I also added a pinch, maybe 1/4 tsp, of plaster of paris powder and mixed it all up. It got a bit foamy, and I didn’t hold out much hope for the eventual results, but it actually turnout out very well. The volume, spread over what was extant, was maybe 1/16" thick. It dried glassy smooth, as I expected, so I later applied a top thin layer of gel gloss medium, no tint, and stippled it once it was spread mostly, continuing out to areas not yet covered. When it dried, it looked as good as I had hoped.
It is rare that a person would want more than about 1/2" in total depth, but it depends on the prepared surface and the depth you want. Certainly, you could get away with quite a bit less. In any event,
Probably the most important thing to remember is to make sure that there are no leaks. I poured a water feature and almost half of the tinted Magic Water i was using found a way out. Next morning, a neat, good sized puddle of rock hard resin. Sigh.
On the bright side, the bottom was more visible through the brownish tint.
My log pond and the pool below my waterfall are probably 1/2" deep, poured in 7-8 sessions. I limit pours to 1/8" at a time. The river is no more than 1/4" deep overall. This is with Environtex Lite. I colored the bottom layer with some blue food coloring – just a drop to give a hint of blue.
In case you want to construct a fairly large harbor, I have found that the random patterned plastic (used in doors) adds ripples to the entire surface,(which is quite realistic). I painted the bottom of this plastic with a blueish-green. The sheets of plastic can be scored on the smooth side and snapped (the same as glass). Click on photo to enlarge it. Bob Hahn
3/8" to 3/4" in 1/8" pours depending on the feature. It’s hard to put submerged boulders, fish, aquatic plants, boats or even the bottoms of ducks into “water” that has no depth. [:)]
I did mine in 1/8" pours after smoothing down about two layers of plaster cloth to make sure that there would be no leaks (the river and lake bottom are Corning foam), and then tinting the bottom and adding whatever rocks and ‘underwater’ detail I needed. The total depth is about 3/8", and I allowed at least 24 hours between pourings.
I used WS “Instant Water”, but resin or Environtex would work just as well (if not a little better).
