I finally got around to pouring my "Magic Water" into my channel in my industrial area. Several years ago, I had covered the plywood base with a layer of plaster, then painted the plaster a muddy green-brown. I also had sealed all along the base with caulk from the underside of the layout.
Here's the starting point:
Because I had a lot of space to fill, I figured I would need at least the whole bottle. This made mixing easy because I just poured the big bottle into my mixing bowl, then poured all of the hardener into it. Having read the instructions, it seemed that some people were having problems because they weren't mixing it enough, so I was sure to mix it well for the full five minutes. Because I wanted murky water, I also added some oil-based paint (about 6-7 drops worth) that was a similar green-brown color, which also aided the mixing process because it made it easier to tell when it was fully mixed.
Ready to go...
Mixing, after the paint has been added...
Once the five minutes was up, I simply poured it into the channel, starting at the end I knew was slightly higher than the other because the substance is self-leveling. After several minutes, the Magic Water worked it's way evenly through the whole channel.
Water on the move...
Almost done -- note the small spot in the corner. I had to use my stir stick to encourage the water into that spot.
It did manage to find a little pin hole leak, but nothing a quick glob of caulk couldn't fix.
See the tiny shiny spot on the floor?
It says it takes about 24 hours to fully cure (in optimum conditions). In my case, it was more like 36, but dried nicely. At the high end, I can still see just a little plaster showing through, so I'll use a second bottle to add some more depth. I'll also add more paint the next time to make the water less transparent. I'm very satisfied with the end result. It's really easy to use, and the smell is minimal.
Here's the starting point:
Because I had a lot of space to fill, I figured I would need at least the whole bottle. This made mixing easy because I just poured the big bottle into my mixing bowl, then poured all of the hardener into it. Having read the instructions, it seemed that some people were having problems because they weren't mixing it enough, so I was sure to mix it well for the full five minutes. Because I wanted murky water, I also added some oil-based paint (about 6-7 drops worth) that was a similar green-brown color, which also aided the mixing process because it made it easier to tell when it was fully mixed.
Ready to go...
Mixing, after the paint has been added...
Once the five minutes was up, I simply poured it into the channel, starting at the end I knew was slightly higher than the other because the substance is self-leveling. After several minutes, the Magic Water worked it's way evenly through the whole channel.
Water on the move...
Almost done -- note the small spot in the corner. I had to use my stir stick to encourage the water into that spot.
It did manage to find a little pin hole leak, but nothing a quick glob of caulk couldn't fix.
See the tiny shiny spot on the floor?
It says it takes about 24 hours to fully cure (in optimum conditions). In my case, it was more like 36, but dried nicely. At the high end, I can still see just a little plaster showing through, so I'll use a second bottle to add some more depth. I'll also add more paint the next time to make the water less transparent. I'm very satisfied with the end result. It's really easy to use, and the smell is minimal.
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