Got caught up in the DIY background hype...
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
Que
I wish I was a fish I wish.
It does look really good, the ONLY thing that I personally dislike about it, is that the "rocks" are all smooth, and not really jagged.
Yes I know thats a good thing for catfish etc, but it makes the rocks look fake'ish.
Cement might "fix" it.
Hope you didnt take that the wrong way, cause i love your idea here.... the rockness is a matter of personal preferance I do believe.
ba da bup ba bom, im lovin it.
Yes I know thats a good thing for catfish etc, but it makes the rocks look fake'ish.
Cement might "fix" it.
Hope you didnt take that the wrong way, cause i love your idea here.... the rockness is a matter of personal preferance I do believe.
ba da bup ba bom, im lovin it.
yeah, the stryo was pretty craggy, and then the tape kind of smoothed it out before the glass. I think at the other end I'm going to spray a mold release agent on to protect the styrofoam instead of using tape. Then it should capture the texture a bit better. I think the cement will bring back some of the "rockiness" though.
I'm a bit torn, cuz as you say, the smoothness is good for fish not hurting themselves, but doesn't look super real. We'll see how it turns out with the grout, hopefully today!
I'm a bit torn, cuz as you say, the smoothness is good for fish not hurting themselves, but doesn't look super real. We'll see how it turns out with the grout, hopefully today!
the reason i suggested grout is because if you have a good jagged rock texture in your foam, then the grout will capture that without filling in too many gaps.
cement, I found, pretty much rendered my hard worked rock texture on the foam, useless, because it filled in all the little nooks and crannies.
Grout would have maintained my pre-fabbed rock texture.
Grout, on your smooth surface, wont give much of a jagged rock texture i dont think. I could be wrong though.
Also make sure you find a grout that can handle years of being wet, without eroding away, and one that doesnt contain latex, or anything that will leech into water and kill fish.
unless you are going to epoxy the final product. in which case, thin it out using MEK (and do it properly, according to the specific directions and ratios listed by your epoxy manufacturer, in my case it would be 10:1 epoxy:MEK )apply your first coat, and let it harden for a good couple weeks, then apply a few more coats of some maybe slightly thicker epoxy.
I would advise against brushing it on, as this creates THOUSANDS of tiny air bubbles in the epoxy when you brush over rough surfaces.
I would think that pouring the epoxy on, and just being good and sloppy about it, OR loading it into an air gun, and spraying it on, would yield the best results.
your gf/wife must love you, and all the glass fibers/foam pellets that come along with you
Yeah, I opted for the "post haste" cement from HD, that sets up in 20 mins or so. It has a small aggregate in it, and hopefully will give me a craggy surface. I might mix it with 1/4" glass strand to make it thicker and stronger, so it will hold lumps and bumps I sculpt into it.
I don't know if you've been reading my other thread... this whole tank is under construction, and I got a buttload of epoxy for free to seal it with, so yeah, I am planning on sealing the whole thing with epoxy. This epoxy is fairly thin already... and MEK is even more toxic than MEKP, so I'd rather not use it if I can avoid it. I'm VERY familliar with the air bubbles thing though from some of my composite projects... it can be a serious pain in the behind. There are a number of ways it can be helped though... usually the best way to thin epoxy is just to heat it up... and hope you can finish what you're doing before it starts to gel!
your gf/wife must love you, and all the glass fibers/foam pellets that come along with you
Hah! that got a laugh out of her. I do my best to keep the results of my messy projects contained in the garage, but it isn't an exact science, that's for sure! It keeps me busy and happy, so she can't complain too much... I'm not down at the bar drinking or something
Yeah, I opted for the "post haste" cement from HD, that sets up in 20 mins or so. It has a small aggregate in it, and hopefully will give me a craggy surface. I might mix it with 1/4" glass strand to make it thicker and stronger, so it will hold lumps and bumps I sculpt into it.
I don't know if you've been reading my other thread... this whole tank is under construction, and I got a buttload of epoxy for free to seal it with, so yeah, I am planning on sealing the whole thing with epoxy. This epoxy is fairly thin already... and MEK is even more toxic than MEKP, so I'd rather not use it if I can avoid it. I'm VERY familliar with the air bubbles thing though from some of my composite projects... it can be a serious pain in the behind. There are a number of ways it can be helped though... usually the best way to thin epoxy is just to heat it up... and hope you can finish what you're doing before it starts to gel!
Hah! that got a laugh out of her. I do my best to keep the results of my messy projects contained in the garage, but it isn't an exact science, that's for sure! It keeps me busy and happy, so she can't complain too much... I'm not down at the bar drinking or something
I havent been paying attention to the other thread, so I was unaware of your load of epoxy
Also, wont MEK evaporate as the epoxy cures, leaving none behind? Ive never used the stuff before.I dont know how you will like the 20 min cement, but let me tell you... i used some, and I HATED it.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to get this stuff mixed to a creamy consistancy without having everything settle to the bottom of your mixing container, and it was always going hard/unpaintable before I was able to get any decent area covered.
basically it just made a bunch of big glops all over the place.... which is why i opted fo grout, or next time, some long cure cement so I can actually work with it.
I dont think you will like the speedy stuff much either..... maybe mine was giving me problems though cause it was like 20 years old.
and dude, you can keep that stuff in the garage all you want, it finds its own way out.... gets stuck in your butt crack or something, you fart and out comes tons of little foam pellets, and your left wondering what happened!
I actually still finding the odd pellet or two around my place... and i made my pre-prototype background, like months ago.
Que
I wish I was a fish I wish.
Too much! That's funny how projects can follow you around like that.
If you use mold release, and it works, you'll end up with an impression of the rock. Can't you then use the impression to recreate the original with all it's texture?
Q
If you use mold release, and it works, you'll end up with an impression of the rock. Can't you then use the impression to recreate the original with all it's texture?
Q
