best water epoxy

[Fencig]

What's your guys favorite epoxy water effects. Not going for Ocean, waves, rivers etc. but just a basic pourable epoxy i can tint green, red, blue, brown,  etc.? I kit with the epoxy and assorted dyes would be really nice for some upcoming projects

Also, swamp foliage, Lilly pads, ferns, etc.

I've ordered from green  stuff world and they are great bit limited choices on some foliage and shipping from Spain

 

 

[Count Urlik]

I don’t have a ton of experience here, but I found that Woodland Scenics realistic water is okay for really shallow stuff, but takes forever to dry if any thicker than about 3mm.  We used a 2 part epoxy ‘easypourepoxy’ that was inexpensive, cured fast and is very clear.  It seemed to tint well with both acrylics and mica powder.  Unfortunately, you have to stir slowly to avoid entraining air bubbles. 
 

You need someone that can compare these to the commonly available stuff this guy uses!

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fsnOMOiR1e4

 

 

[lexomatic]

I did a thread somewhere about acrylic pouring medium for cheap alternative to realistic water.  Shallow stuff only. Discount art store brands of medium can be pretty cheap for 1L of medium. Definitely cheaper than branded terrain stuff. Haven't done deep pours of anything though

Edited February 10 by lexomatic

[SotF]

For a swamp, unless you're embedding minis in it, I would suggest skipping epoxy.

 

I've used some of the high gloss polyeurethane for water effects where I don't need a physically deep pour.

 

For example, with my marshes that I did for a bit of pieces I could put out...

 

 

I used a large plywood base with the card from the large cases of mountain dew that I worked out the water areas and used to bevel the edges a bit, then went in with some filler, sand, stones, and a few twigs for the majority of forming the base design, painted it and added a heavier bit of ink over the areas that would have water along with skipping the drybrushing there.

 

Mixed a little bit of fine flock into the gloss by sprinkling it ontop right after I put it down and added a layer ontop of that and you've got a great algae...especially if it's the fine sawdust flocks where it absorbs it and semi expands.

 

For the lilypads, I used the basic hole punch and a 3x5 card that I painted with a random mix of greens and greenish yellows before using my knife to remove a wedge, put those on with the layer over the flock algae before dabbing a bit more gloss ontop when it was mostly dry.

 

The reeds are taking clumps of bristles of cheap brushes intended for painting the wall attached with gel superglue and sprinkled with flock (Let it cure for a few hours before you use the gloss or anything else for water effects after doing that or the glue outgasses and creates a frosted effect.

 

It also works for a slightly deeper pour or even layers such as here...

 

 

Pics a bit washed out, but with layers of the polyeurethane, you can also do some fun things with paint in it...I tried to do some koi in the little bit of water, turned out relatively decent in the end.

 

I mainly use the stuff I get at the craft store and occasionally walmarts craft section, it's normally near the larger bottles of craft paint.

[Fencig]

On 2/14/2023 at 2:36 PM, SotF said:

I mainly use the stuff I get at the craft store and occasionally walmarts craft section, it's normally near the larger bottles of craft paint.

thanks, I'll consider that, for now i want to do a slightly thicker pour. There's a brand on Amazon called " Lets Resin" that claims to be bubble free, 24 hour full cure, and crystal clear. 32oz total mixed volume for $24., or the same bottles + 26 inks for $48., although i really don't need that many colors for what i want to do.

I'll report back

    any suggestions for borders when pouring? it seems like you need some kind of flexible silicone edging to go around your base that won't leak out the bottom and ll over your work bench

On 2/14/2023 at 2:36 PM, SotF said:

For the lilypads, I used the basic hole punch and a 3x5 card that I painted with a random mix of greens and greenish yellows before using my knife to remove a wedge, put those on with the layer over the flock algae before dabbing a bit more gloss ontop when it was mostly dry.

thanks, i might play around with that on craft paper.

    as if on que, i got an email from green stuff world this morning for newly released 3d printed swamp plants,  at 4 bucks a bunch a lot cheaper than buying my own printer

[SotF]

12 hours ago, Fencig said:

thanks, I'll consider that, for now i want to do a slightly thicker pour. There's a brand on Amazon called " Lets Resin" that claims to be bubble free, 24 hour full cure, and crystal clear. 32oz total mixed volume for $24., or the same bottles + 26 inks for $48., although i really don't need that many colors for what i want to do.

I'll report back

    any suggestions for borders when pouring? it seems like you need some kind of flexible silicone edging to go around your base that won't leak out the bottom and ll over your work bench

thanks, i might play around with that on craft paper.

    as if on que, i got an email from green stuff world this morning for newly released 3d printed swamp plants,  at 4 bucks a bunch a lot cheaper than buying my own printer

What I use is about $4 for a bottle of the high gloss polyeurethane. Cures in about an hour to the touch, a couple for full with slightly deeper pours. You can also use the cheap 2 part 5 minute epoxies such as Dollar Tree has for a far cheaper option that works rather well.

 

For the lillypads, craft paper doesn't tend to work as well for it, I'd just used a 3x5 note card and a mix of different green paints to cover one side of it before going at it with the hole punch to make a ton of them.

[lexomatic]

On 2/18/2023 at 1:51 PM, Fencig said:

.

    as if on que, i got an email from green stuff world this morning for newly released 3d printed swamp plants,  at 4 bucks a bunch a lot cheaper than buying my own printer

I have a post about some of those plants for sizing g

[MojoBob]

I did this piece with cheap no-name 5-minute epoxy that cost me a couple of bucks for a 40ml syringe, thinned with a small amount of acetone. The acetone extends the curing time quite a bit, which is helpful for removing any bubbles.

 

 

I used a bit more ink than I should have to tint it, but it turned out okay in the end. There's a bit of blooming around the edges of the epoxy on the left hand side, because I imatiently failed to let the PVA I'd used to glue the flock dry properly before pouring the epoxy.

 

This was done in a single pour, and at its deepest it's about 5mm thick.

 

When I did this one, I couldn't find the super-cheap epoxy any more, so I used two-part casting polyester:

 

 

There are down-sides to using the polyester:
 

1. First, it stinks to high heaven while it's curing.
2. Second, the disposable plastic cups I used for mixing are dissolved by it — I had to do a rapid transfer into another vessel before it ended up all over everything.
3. Third, it's very, very clear, which would normally be a good thing, but for this purpose it could have done with being a bit more murky. I added some colouring, but not quite enough this time, so the water looks more lake-ish than boggy.
4. Fourth, it's quite a bit thicker than water, so the meniscus is more pronounced, and it takes a bit of persuasion to flow into all the nooks and crannies. However, I was pretty much expecting that and I'm not heartbroken by it.

Edited February 20 by MojoBob

[lowlylowlycook]

I had good luck with Evirotex lite.  It's a 50-50 mix which is easier than adding in small amounts of curing agent and doesn't stink too much.   It's realistic enough that people are hesitant to touch the water.

[Fencig]

On 3/11/2023 at 8:04 PM, lowlylowlycook said:

I had good luck with Evirotex lite.  It's a 50-50 mix which is easier than adding in small amounts of curing agent and doesn't stink too much.   It's realistic enough that people are hesitant to touch the water.

A Brand called " Let's Resin" sells a kit with twice as much epoxy (16 oz total), + mixing cups, pippetes, gloves, etc. for about 18 bucks. This is what I will be trying and I'll report back. I have some very expensive dye  in red and green, which will give the Greens and Browns i'm looking for.

[snitchythedog]

Fencing, a little late here but a few points for clear two part epoxy resin that might help.  Some you may have come across some you may not have.  First, a longer curing time is better.  It allows the resin to be thoroughly mixed and gives it time to flow over and into the details.  Second is when mixing.  Mix until you think it is fully mixed and then mix that long again.  With clear resin it can be difficult to tell if it is fully mixed and if it is not you can end up with random patches that do not cure.  Third heat can be a friend and an enemy.  Resin usually generates heat when curing so it can damage foam or warp plastic if you do a deep pour.  Heat will also help you in a couple of ways.  A hair dryer can be used to encourage bubbles to the surface by heating the uncured resin to lower the viscosity to a point where the bubble will float up on its own.  It will also help resin cure a bit faster.  If you have a dust free room with a hot water tank or heater in it you can let the resin set up in there.  Fourth when you let it set, let it set for double the time it says on the box.  If it says 24 hour cure give it 48.   Resin has a shelf-life and in my experience, the older it gets the longer it takes to cure.  In most cases you don't know when it was produced or put in the container.  Resist the temptation to "test" it.  Hope that helps.