I hope someone here can advise me if I'm doing something wrong. On my layout I have constructed a waterfall and river with rapids. Having done the base and sealed it to prevent leakage, I poured my first application of Woodland Scenics Realistic Water on Friday past following the directions on the bottle to the letter. It is now Sunday and this stuff has not set up to a hard surface. Oh it's glossy alright as per the info provided, but it feels very spongy to the touch so much so that in two or three spots I can drag my finger along the surface and create a divet or two. I wanted to add a second application to the first one in order to bring it up to the level I need to create the rapids, but it appears that I'm going to have to wait on this obviously. I've read all the instructions, watched countless videos on how to apply this stuff, but it is just not doing what it is supposed to. I'm really distressed about this because I'm already several weeks behind on getting this particular part of my layout done so I can move on to something else. It's been difficult keeping on track, so to speak, because of illness and other matters and now this set back. I'm not a happy railroader. I currently have a fan blowing down on this first application in the hopes of hardening it up, but I'm not sure if this is going to be good enough. The temperature in my basement is probably equal to that of any other basement at this time of year. I can't install my waterfall until the river is poured to the proper level. Anyone got any suggestions? Ken
Ken, I've never used the WS water but have read online reviews about it and it does appear to be temperamental. From shrinking if poured more than 1/8" thick to what you're experiencing, the water not hardening. Some people have had success with it, but from what I've seen just as many have not. An ugly task to consider... remove the WS water and go with Envirotex, the 2-part resin. Near bullet-proof to work with. John www.ztrains.com
I use EasyWater in a very thin layer after I have painted the bottom dark. Then I use the "watereffect" to make waves on top on the dry Easy water. Actually you could have a very good result with a very thin layer on some dark painted flat base(like plywood), with some lightening of the bottom near the edges. The thickness of the EasyWater in the image below is only 1 mm, only black color on bottom, with waves added. Some white on the wave tops could have made this scene even better.
My advice is to ditch WS "realistic water," or pretty much anyone's pourable water product unless you need depth for some reason. I used to think bodies of water needed to be poured, until I was confronted by some ugly truths about it--including shrinking, cracking, discoloring, wicking into scenery, etc. My solution was old-fashioned and straightforward: paint a smooth, flat surface with acrylic paints blended to create a sense of depth: I then applied two or three layers of thick gloss gell medium, using a stiff brush to create ripples and peaks: The result was infinitely better than the "realistic water" I'd poured previously. It also dried very quickly--everything was done within a couple of hours.
I had the same problems with realistic water. I painted an area to be a log pond for my layout. The filled the pond with realistic water. I used the syringe to fill the area between the logs with realistic water Then waited a day to dry, and it had shrunk significantly. At this point it was still tacky, just as you described. It then took 3 more pours to get it to the proper level. At some point I was impatient and poured additional levels before the last one was fully cured. What happened is the lower one was re-wetted, and when the whole thick layer dried, horizontal shrinkage opened holes in the layer. These then had to be filled in later, and were very obvious(Red arrows below). So, either adjust your time line, and allow each layer to fully dry before the next, or find a better method/product. Even at a normal room temperature, it took my pond at least a full week to dry enough for the next layer and maybe a full month to loose that tacky feeling.
So Curn, let me get this straight. You had problems with Realistic Water because you did not follow directions? Perhaps you fellows should think outside the box, even directions, and head down to the big box home supply store and purchase some clear silicon and seal the bottom and sides to the ultimate depth of your pond/lake/river with silicon before pouring any "water" products. My own modeling has evolved to the above technique. If I want ripples I use ModgePodge or thick gloss medium as mentioned above. I use Realistic Water as a filler now, I like the depth idea, and add something to the top if I see the need. For filling, the easy of use and the price makes Realistic Water a good choice for me. Jim
Thanks for the advice guys. Oddly enough during the curing process of Realistic Water, I did notice several cracks and crevasses here and there down the length of the riverbed which by the way was painted and sealed with clear silicone chalk. After having the fan blowing directly on it for several hours today, it seemed to have cured enough that I could not leave any indents with my finger when I pushed on it or dragged it across the surface. I guess I'll have to fill these cracks with silicone before adding another application. I have been reading up on that other product for this application. Magic Water by Unreal Details Ltd. This stuff according to the reveiws far surpasses the Woodland Scenics product and doesn't crack, shrink, discolour and takes far less time to dry. I guess I should have got me a bottle or two of that stuff and used it. I'm going to fire off a letter to Woodland Scenics telling them how disappointed in their product I am. This is not the first of their products that I have become very disallusioned with. I'm not impressed with their Scenic Cement either. You have to use this stuff very quickly or it will solidify right in the bottle and become hard as a rock. I hope that the next applications of RW gives me less grief. I haven't got the time to go searching for substitutes. Thanks again everyone. K
Actually you don't have to fill any cracks with silicon. Use your Realistic Water. It will all blend in. Also, NO helping this product dry. Overnight in the Summer is okay before the next pour. Allow 24 hours the rest of the seasons. Jim
The directions state to seal with scenic cement, and pour to a depth of 1/8", and dry completely(24 hours or until clear) before additional pours. I sealed my water hole with white glue, which I thought was equivalent to the scenic cement that is recommended for sealing on the back of the bottle. The bottle also recommends Flex Paste to seal plaster cloth. I then added a layer of acrylic paint, scenery on top of that, and then the blue paint for the water color. The sides of the pond are cork, and the bottom is Styrofoam. The amount of shrinkage seen on the first pour may have been due to seepage into the Styrofoam. The first pour would have sealed up any holes in the pond. Pours 2-3 were performed on the next week, approximately 48 hours apart. Even with this longer than specified drying time, I had problems with shrinkage on these pours. A fourth pour was performed a week later to even out the top. Total depth of the pond is ~3/16". Cork sides were 1/4" tall. All work was performed at a room temperature of 70F The purpose of my post was to say that I had problems on pour 3 with shrinkage pulling sideways on the logs and log retaining wall. This shrinkage opened rifts/tears It was my belief at the time that this was caused by not allowing enough time for the lower layers fully cure. So when the next layer was poured, instead of having the shrinkage of a 1/8" pour, it might be the shrinkage of a 1/4" pour that caused this. So I recommend that a longer time to cure before pouring the next layer. This is especially true if the work is being performed in lower than optimal temperature conditions. But this is just based on my one time experience with this product.
Part of the potential shrinkage problem with the 'ready to pour' all-in-one solutions may lie with evaporation, unless the air-activated reaction exands to compensate for the evaporation loss. Still there is absolutely no reason to pour in a deep water as these are all clear ! Adding color it so it is not clear (now translucent) is almost pointless as virtually no water is mirror finish and requires an overcoat to create ripples, wind and waves. David and Svein-Martin's examples of just brushing on a thin coat of matte-medium to create a translucent texture over the desired colors is all that is needed. *Greatly* eliminates the wicking (creepage) into the surrunding scenery, rocks, logs, etc. for a vastly more realistic look. And you don't see the dust, later blown scenic material, etc. as most of the stuff never dries *absolutely* tack free. Nice pix there David, Curn and Svein-Martin. Well illustrated results. Here is a pix from Bob Mitchell's diorama: Couldn't find the picture from Svein-Martin's Suguaro River that shows excellent rapids ! But here is a Video link: [video=vimeo;8846586]http://vimeo.com/8846586[/video] .
May be you think about this link, water on Saguaro River Module: http://www.platelayer.com/water-on-saguaro-river.aspx
I chose not to fill the cracks an fissures with silicone after all electing to just pour a second layour of RW. I let this product dry on in own for over 48 hours and still I had to use a fan to assist it to dry or cure. The temp in my basement is at least 5 drgrees cooler then upstairs which is typical for a standard basement at the beginning of fall I suppose. Just to be clear, no pun intended, I did pour a second layer of MW on Monday night, and here is is Wednesday almost noon and it still isn't cured fully. It is still spongy in a couple of spots, and tacky in others. Time to put the fan on it again. I sent a letter to Woodland Scenics expressing my disappointment in this product and although their website says they will answer all concerns within 24 hours, I still have not heard from them. They make it looks so simply in their videos and written directions, yet it doesn't seem to be working like that at all. I'm switching to Magic Water by Unreal Details for the rest of my river. I can't afford to be delayed any more.
