I used Woodland Scenics Realistic water to fill my harbor, but it crackedaround the edges. Not sure what happened. it seems as though it only cracked around the edges. Not sure if it pooled to thick in those areas?? Anybody have this happen to them? Is there any way to fix this? Pour over the top??
Any suggestions??
Bob
How big is the crack? what is the landscape around your harbor? Can you hide with landscaping or simulated waves?
How deep was the pour. Any recommendations I ahve seen are for multiple pours of about 1/8" thick each and probably not over 1/2" - 3/4" total depth. You could try one pour on top to see how it fills in.
What is the harbor lined with? Plaster, foam, sculptamold.
If all else fails, you could remove it and start over. Not fun, but you wouldn’t be the first.
Good luck,
Richard
I’d do a thin over-pour, too. I think it would work quite well, unless there’s something underneath that’s shifting, in which case the cracks will continue to form and expand. Is the base a solid, single piece, or do you have different sections of benchwork and sub-roadbed right there?
If you had said “My water broke” I would have congratulated you for having another model railroader in the family.
How long ago did you pour it?
Days, weeks, months?
Rich
You might have poured it too thick and when the weather or your room was warm, and then the temperature in the room cooled as it was setting, causing it to contract and split away from the edges.
A very thin overpour should solve the problem – maybe even warm it before pouring so it will flow more readily.
We had nothing but trouble with the older beads that had to be melted on a stove – too much heat and it scorched and turned brown; too little heat and it set before spreading out all the way; too thick and it cracked as it set.
I agree with cacole.
That’s why I asked the OP how long ago he poured the liquid. I am assuming that he did so recently and the cracks showed up pretty quickly rather than after a long period of time. The instructions on the bottle caution that the pour should be thin and shallow and then repeated in steps.
My understanding is that one deep pour will result in cracks as the surface sets quickly. Then, as the deeper portions of the pour set and the entire pour dries, the pressure of the deeper portion of the pour setting will “shrink” or contract the surface portion resulting in cracks.
Rich
Thanks for all the replys. I thought that i did a shallow pour, but it looks like it may have settled a little deeper around the areas where it cracked. I have repoured a very thin layer and eased it into the cracked ares. I think i will be able to mask the ares with the water effects product. another factor, could be the temperature change. I am working in my garage, which is heated, but not to a balmy temp. All in all, I think it will work out.
I’ve had it do the same thing with even as little as 1/8" thickness. If it cracks, just pour some more to fill it in. Unless you added some pigment to it, it should match up just fine. After it’s done you can use some water effects type of paint on top of it to simulate ripples or small waves.
My first attempt at pouring water was nothing short of disastrous due to multiple factors A: my sub surface was not strong enough and it flexed which resulted in the cracking of the dried water aka clear epoxy resin. B: I poured too much too fast hey if a 1/4" is good 1" must be better right, wrong! and ultimately my material wasn’t the best choice. Now I have learned that less is more in the long run. small even layers no more then 1/4" maximum, I over support the bench work underneath where the pour is and now I only use Envirotex Lite. Not sure of the hows or whys but it seems to flow the nicest and little to no air bubbles.If the cracks are around the edge of the pour can u possibly extend the shoreline to cover the cracks rather then pour more water in to fill them?
i bet this is the first time a GUY yelled " my water broke" [:)]
Just a quick update: It looks like everything is going to work out. The cracks have filled in, by pouring an additional layer. Once this dries, I will use the water effects to dress up the top surface.
Persistance, and patience pays dividends!
And good advice, and reassurances from the experienced modelers here.
Thanks!!
Bob
I guess it’s better than “your water broke”… [swg]