I’ve perused the archives and so far hve seen one post that said Wal Mart’s brand of gloss Mod Podge dries hard and non-tacky. This was from afew yrs. ago. Is this still true of that brand?
Is Michaels’ Craft Stores brand any different? I’ve seen some Mod Podge rivers on layouts where the tacky surface remained to attract ( and stick) dust or take an imprint of objects place on the river’s surface for more than a couple of hrs.
If a non-tacky, hard surface Mod Podge is not available, what varnishes or polyurethanes, etc. stick to it permanently without yellowing or cracking after say, 10 yrs. or so?
Mod Podge is a brand name, which means the Mod Podge you buy in any store should be the same as any other. The generic term for the stuff many modelers use for water is gloss medium, which comes in many brands with different characteristics. Mod Podge also makes matte medium, which is good for scenery glue but not so good for water.
And gloss medium isn’t the only choice for modeling water. You can model water with one-part, no-mix materials like Woodland Scenics’ Realistic Water, or two-part resins like Unreal Details Magic Water or Enviro-Tex. If you’ve seen modeled water that’s still tacky and soft much later, it might be resin mixed with insufficient hardener.
Others can give you advice on what kind of water material would work best for you, but don’t let your choice be influenced by what someone who did it wrong used. [;)]
Steve, thanks for your reply. I’m familiar with the various choices in resins/epoxies, etc. Due to access issues, I’m thinking that Mod Podge would be easiest to apply (in the “Back Bay” against the wall and get the wavelet “action” in one step.
Are you saying that if applied according to directions, then Mod Podge will dry with a hard/non-tacky surface? I’d think keeping the humidity down to around 50% while trying might help with that?
I recently used Mod Podge gloss medium to create the surface of a river on my current layout. The surface did indeed dry hard and tack free. My layout is in my garage which gets pretty dusty. However, a quick dusting with a paint brush and the surface is clean and glossy again. Most of the epoxy water products I’ve seen dry hard and glossy but also smooth as glass, a condition rarely seen on the surface of real water. You can easily tease the Mod Podge gloss medium to create small waves and ripples that will remain once the product has dried.
I also use diluted Mod Podge matte medium to secure my track ballast and have been quite pleased with the results.
One of the reasons I decided to try gloss medium is because of an experience I had using Woodland Scenics Realistic Water. As you feared for the Mod Podge, the WS product never fully hardened for a couple of years and anything that settled on its surface (including dust) eventually sank into the “water” becoming a permanent part of the scene. To the touch, this product felt hard and non-tacky when dry. Several years later, the pour I made is now fully cured but all the dust and gunk it absorbed makes it better suited to modeling “mud” and not “water.”
Oh the horror! That’s exactly what I want to avoid.
Does anyone know of any Mod Podge tips to be sure it dries hard/non-tacky? Would keeping humidity low (50%?) or less help or might the whole shebang dry too quickly to cure? I realize from watching youtube videos that it’s an easy material to apply and whip into waves, but the non-tacky thing is the deciding issue.
Steve intimated that the tacky rivered layouts I’ve visited had the Mod Podge done incorrectly somehow…
I’d miss the shiny/wet look of the epoxy resins/polyurethane but the ease and wavy texture appeals using Mod Podge.
The lower humidity will help ModPodge dry quicker. My layout is in the basement, and, as such, tends to be cooler than the rest of the house year round. I use a used gallon ice cream bucket to fill about halfway with warm (not hot) water, and setting the ModPodge bottle in it. What this really helps with is allowing air bubbles to vent to the surface. Another thing to remember with ModPodge is to limit your pour to no thicker than 1/8th" at a time. This will allow it dry throughout in a reasonable time frame. I’ve used ModPodge for years and those are the things I’ve learned, but I always got satisfactory results.
TIP: Clean up your brushes immediately after use with ModPodge. It is water soluble while wet, but is NOT once it dries.
The only question I can think of to make a final decision is:
Why some modelers use epoxy resins or polyurethanes to do their initial pours and then make their waves with Mod Podge or Acrylic gels. Does the finished product (the river) retain the transparent look to allow bottom features (lobster pots, etc…rocks…) to show AND have wave action?
If I can rebuild my river bottom as a drop in “box” for the harbor scene, I could try combining both products as I could keep things level on the workbench and have room to pour.
I only want (hope?) to do this once and would like to shoot for the “ultimate” look I can arrive at for my scene.
This way, I could also try various methods, but still leaning towards only Mod Podge. This river port will have enough draft (maybe 15’ or so) to load Tugs and barges so the bottom wouldn’t be visible anyway in a Pacific N.W. scene except, possibly just along the banks/bulkhead walls.
Some of the resins used to make water pretty much self level, leaving an unrealistic mirror like finish. Mod-Podge, as well as some other products allow waves, ripples, etc. to be modeled into the surface.