Best material to make water?

Use a "lighter" shade (even if it's a fairly dark shade) to to paint around the shoreline.  Blend it in with even a darker shade yet as you get out into deeper water.  Flat acrylic craft paint is fine for this.

When it's dry, paint over it with Mod Podge GLOSS medium (not the Matte).  It goes on thick & white, you can swirl it around to simulate waves or ripples.  It will dry crystal clear and the waves/ripples will remain.

Cheap, effective, and looks very convincing.  And if you don't like the outcome, you can always re-do it without being out a bunch of money.

Paul.

Here is the lake that I just completed before my shoulder replacement surgery two weeks ago. I use a material called Envirotex Lite. It is one of those materials that you mix two semi-liquids together and then pour. You do not need much. I painted the center a deep blue/black and then the sides an aqua-green. The waterfall and the rapids leading into the creek is made from clear silicone. The whole lake is actually a drop down that provides an access hole to that part of the layout if I need it.

Rick

I'll concur with Rick.  He told me about the Envirotex when he still lived here in Atlanta.  I used it for the river on my layout and it was very easy to work with.  

Depending on the size of the body of water you are creating; it can also be exponentially less expensive than the finished water products sold in hobby stores.

Curt

Envirotex Lite If you watch for the coupons from Michael's you can find it very cheap.

Good stuff. my pictures stink but you do get a very good wet look with multiple coats also very good depth.

Larry

Ranger Rick posted:

Here is the lake that I just completed before my shoulder replacement surgery two weeks ago. I use a material called Envirotex Lite. It is one of those materials that you mix two semi-liquids together and then pour. You do not need much. I painted the center a deep blue/black and then the sides an aqua-green. The waterfall and the rapids leading into the creek is made from clear silicone. The whole lake is actually a drop down that provides an access hole to that part of the layout if I need it.

Rick

I really like this and it's most similar to what I'm trying to achieve. I'll go to my Walmart and see if they have an aqua green and a very deep blue. My lake area is maybe half of that so I might give the mod podge a shot and see how it turns out.

I also was going to use silicone for the waterfall and i like how yours turned out. Did you also paint it white to simulate the churning water?

BABAJAGA, don't be too particular about finding the exact colors. As a matter of fact, mine is a bit of a blend of some of those cheap acrylic paints that I had collected for a variety of projects. I mixed blues with black to get what I wanted and also the shallow green color. I did not have a big area to play with, so my lake got deep fairly quickly. 

I do touch up the tops of the silicon "rapids" and the water tumbling down the twin waterfalls to give some depth to the illusion of water. The turbulence at the bottom of the falls is merely two cotton balls pulled apart a bit. 

I warning about the Envirotex...be sure to have your water basin sealed or the mixture will find the hole or opening and you will lose it on the floor or wherever. 

Rick

I used Envirotex with excellent results creating a lake and stagnant pond on plywood.  I painted the plywood to simulate depth.  Black mixed with your earth tone for deep with diluted shades of the same drawn from the center towards the shore.  I also tinted the Envirotex to create the desired water color.  Murky for stagnant.  Clearer for the lake.

I am also a Mod Podge gloss fan. As Mixed Freight said, it is great for painting on custom wave patterns. One approach is to spray paint the bottom surface of a piece of plate glass with a flat camo green, and paint on the waves on top with Mod Podge. This little inlet was done that way:

I agree with Rick, you must create a sealed water basin because Envirotex is fluid, self leveling and will flow through holes.  I built up the landscape on top of the plywood to form the basin.

. . . or, you can make the waves and swells from plaster, paint them green and then coat them with Heavy Duty Artists' Gel . . .

It looks white when it's first applied . . .

. . . and then add some white weathering powder . . .

More info is buried in my layout build thread.  The link to Port Elderley is below my signature.

Cheers

The pink exposed foam is where I'm wanting to create sort of a hilltop/mountain lake. There will be a campground up there with a bigfoot in the woods, possibly a rotary beacon tower and people figures fishing and cliff diving.

I'm also thinking about making the scenes up there mostly in HO scale due to the limited area on the mountain. Maybe it will make it seem more distant at the same time.

The foam is all glued so it should be watertight for pouring the fake water but do you guys think I should make some sort of a higher ledge at the front so the liquid won't start spilling over the front? At first I was thinking of just digging into the foam a little but it might be easier to just run a very thin bead of caulk across the front.

Could he get away with a coat painted on first to seal it, then pour once cured?

Adriatic, painting is a good way to seal any small openings. For my lake, I actually used Sculptamold to make a dam around the whole lake. Once dried, I mixed then poured the Envirotex Lite. I allowed two days cure. Since my lake was going to be a drop down, I removed the Sculptamold so that it would fit neatly back under the bank I made. Sculptamold is a great product for many, many projects.

Rick

i used magic water, simply because i found it at shows at good prices. Was very happy with various outcomes.

WSDIMENNA, your water details look great. Of course, everything that I have seen of your modeling looks fantastic, the water realism does not surprise me.

Rick

wsdimenna posted:

i used magic water, simply because i found it at shows at good prices. Was very happy with various outcomes.

 

What did you use to make your pine trees and the dirt spots without grass, they look really good.

thank you rick

furnace filter method for pine trees and store bought.  the brown spots are tinted fusion fibre with fine dirts from scenic express added to the wet base of fusion fibre

I haven't used the others, but I thought using Magic Water was very easy. It's not cheap, but comes in two sizes now and you can add paint directly to the mix to tint it - a little paint goes a long ways - don't ask how I know.

I used joint compound to seal the edges between the foam layout and the plywood base and then painted the edge over in a brown color to simulate the banking and the middle of the lake in a blue/green mix. If you tint the Magic Water, you don't need to paint the plywood base where the lake will go.

I also used Modge Pod to create waves and current on the lake, but wasn't 100% happy with the results. I used Woodland Scenics I laid out on wax paper for the water fall effect and did add some white paint to it.

I'll try to take pics tonight and post tomorrow.  

BABA

One other quick suggestion with Envirotex . I don't  know if anyone else had a issue but air bubble will appear in your pours.

I used a small torch to gently blow warm air across the water briefly and the bubbles completely disappear.

Just a thought for ya.

Larry

Larry Sr. posted:

BABA

One other quick suggestion with Envirotex . I don't  know if anyone else had a issue but air bubble will appear in your pours.

I used a small torch to gently blow warm air across the water briefly and the bubbles completely disappear.

Just a thought for ya.

 

 

Larry

I wonder if a heat gun would work, just have to be careful on the force of the air coming out.

RonH posted:

Larry Sr. posted:

BABA

One other quick suggestion with Envirotex . I don't  know if anyone else had a issue but air bubble will appear in your pours.

I used a small torch to gently blow warm air across the water briefly and the bubbles completely disappear.

Just a thought for ya.

 

 

Larry

I wonder if a heat gun would work, just have to be careful on the force of the air coming out.

I used a heat gun when i used the stuff too coat a table top and it worked fine. Although it was in a relatively sunny room and turned yellow fairly quickly.

A heat gun would work. I think even a hair dryer on hot. I use a Benzomatic mini-torch that I use for some soldering to remove any bubbles. And if you pour slowly, there are hardly any bubbles that form. Here is the Benzomatic torch and also a swamp that I used the Envirotex Lite for also.

Rick

one of reasons  i choose magic water is no bubbles

I have found that Hydrogen and Oxygen are the best things for making water

But only in the right combination!

2 parts Hydrogen to 1 part Oxygen

Gently blowing across the surface will bring out the bubbles.

Magic Water has bubbles also - but blowing gets them out.

I had a couple of square metres to do, so plaster, paint and get were much cheaper.

cheap available from Amazon  or GLOSS version.

Matt Makens posted:

2 parts Hydrogen to 1 part Oxygen

Works every time and looks soooooo real.

Few pics of lake made with Magic Water.

Matt Makens posted:

I have found that Hydrogen and Oxygen are the best things for making water

Ranger Rick posted:

But only in the right combination!

But, it's a tricky process ..... 

Matt Makens posted:

I have found that Hydrogen and Oxygen are the best things for making water

Matt, you beat me to it.  Glad to see some humor.

wild mary posted:

Matt Makens posted:

2 parts Hydrogen to 1 part Oxygen

Works every time and looks soooooo real.

Let me know when you are going to ignite enough of that mix to make visible amounts of liquid water.......

When you guys put figures on lakes such as swimmers, boats or small docks do you place them on the layout first and then pour the fake water around everything, or do you pour the water first and then place the figures on top so they can be removed later if need be?

Mine are in place and I pour around them or I set them in place before the mixture hardens.

I place the objects in position and height first, than pour.  It just seems to me that the best shot of having the "water" flow naturally around the object is during the pour.

Plus one on "in place first".  You are right of course, very limited for changes after that.  Although I have pryed out and changed then repoured with good results.

Envirotex Lite.  Had NO bubbles at all.  Mixed two bottle contents briskly for over 2 mins with kitchen whisk.  No fumes.