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Have any of you used Scenic Express Rippled Water Sheets or Lake Film Material for modeling water?  We're looking to start working on the water on our layout...it's meant to be a bay area (about 3 S.F. total...blue area in the attached including the area under the 2 bridges).  Originally was looking at Woodland Scenics products that you pour on but sealing the area including the outside edges plus the fact that our water area spans over both plywood and homasote board with seams where they meet I'm wondering if there's a better method.  Want to keep it as light as possible...also want to keep it as thin as we can while giving the illusion of depth and as realistic as we can get.  Can you still use Woodland Scenics Water Waves or something like that over the sheets to make it more realistic?  There would be seams in the sheets if we use that so that would have to be cleaned up somehow.   Any other suggestions are also very welcome.

 

Quarry Grove 

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Saw this thread and figured I would help out.  My intention here is not to promote another magazine, but O Scale Trains (which I read in addition to OGR) had a two part feature last year on building a wharf/waterfront, which could be of assistance seeing as your plan looks to have has bridges near an industrial area.  Look up the Jul/Aug and Sep/Oct issues.

Can you divide the water area into two parts with dry land along the seam? It will probably be easier to conceal the seam if it is covered by "land" rather than "water." I poured a thin layer (about 1/16" to 1/8") of Envirotex two-part epoxy to make the water area on my layout. Use plaster, acrylic paint, talus, real dirt and various sizes of brown and dark brown ballast to cover and seal the riverbed - glued down with diluted yellow carpenters glue, then pour the epoxy. If the "water" is poured to the edge of the layout, put a temporary barrier at the edge to prevent spilling over the edge - and cover the floor beneath the edge...

MELGAR

Seams as in vertical, or between layers or both?

for vertical, cover one half (half prone to settle low, & prop up first) with plastic wrap so the water cannot adhere to one surface, but does rest there nice. Your seam may unseat on the plastic wrap half, but cracking chance is 50% reduced.

For purely leaky çoncerns, seal the land being covered by painting with "water" or compatible paint sealer and letting it set up, then doing an actual pour. Caulk, then color paint, then a water pour is another option if the open gaps and cells are big ones. 

If you use a two part mix, it may work to wait until the water thickens slightly to pour. (I've done this with fiberglass pouring, but your timing has to be real good, and pour a fast but smooth blob that can still flow flat, to avoid bubbles in it or even forming stress and stretch streaks .)

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