Magic Water

Doug:

Kathy Millatt does a review of the various products for making water features. I think she has a webpage, but I know for sure that she has a Facebook page.  

Post some pictures when you are done.

Zac

Better off using Envirotex. Woodland Scenics water effects had serious problems with latent bubbling, blistering, & cracking 6 months to a year after using it, possibly caused by chemical reactions with other materials (like foam) used in scenery making. Check with professional layout builder Dave Frary, the scenery guru who wrote Kalmbach’s “Making Realistic Model Railroad Scenery”. A friend of mine had the problem occur on his layout, and he had to rip out his whole harbor within a year of building it. What a nasty mess...

I did not use Magic Water but did use another Woodland Scenics product "DEEP POUR"...

I used this in the past and have not experienced any chemical reaction problems noted above. My base scenery is a combination of foam and plaster.

I used their "Deep Pour MURKY" and I really like the results since it was already pre-tinted. It is a two part epoxy, I assume similar to Envirotex. I have also used Envirotex for water with excellent results.

Donald

Here are some pics of the WS Deep Pour (Murky):

Doug,

I used Magic Water on my old layout and it worked fine. No bubbling or other reaction. It cured super smooth and shiny. I think good preparation is the key to using any of these products - especially making sure the base is sealed properly. I tinted the Magic Water with some blue paint to get the effect I wanted and used Mod Podge on the surface to create some ripple effects after it dried and used Woodland Scenics water effects afterwards to create the waterfall and little "white caps" around some rocks and the pier.

I don't have many good pics of the old layout, but what I have that shows the lake is attached.

I used it once, seemed to work fine but that winter it cracked from the cold, which wasn't that bad here in VA.  Inside a climate controlled space I would use with no problem.

I saw a commercial for Magic Water the other day. They lead me to believe that it would solve all of my worldly problems

I guess I need to think about using it.