Well I'm cuurently working on waterproofing clay. Polycrylic is not working out so I want to try a marine epoxy resin. Now I just have to get out of bed early enough to go to some boat supply stores before work.
Materials
- Thread starter Thalan
- Start date
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
lol. It's air dry clay and I'm trying to scuplt decorations for my tank. I cant find driftwood in the size or shape I want and the fake stuff is way too expensive to have those cheesy fake plants tacked all over them. So I'm making my own fake stuff. Once I get the waterproofing done I'll post a thread on the whole process.
How about using pottery clay and build a makeshift kiln. You could contact Fire It Up on Fairbanks to see if their kiln is big enough.
I went with air dry so that size wouldn't be an issue and I could avoid firing. I already have sculpted I just need something to assure me that it wont come apart in the water. Silicone seems to stick to it pretty well but it would be an incredible chore to coat the whole thing.
If you have any scrap or left overs, try oil based paint. Let it dry for a day or two (until it no longer smells like paint) and then soak it in water. I'm fairly certain that is what you are looking for.
There will be that warning on the can that it contains "chemicals known to the State of California..." so just make sure your fish aren't from California. (That's why you want to check it for the paint smell.)
There will be that warning on the can that it contains "chemicals known to the State of California..." so just make sure your fish aren't from California. (That's why you want to check it for the paint smell.)
So you think Oil based paint could do the trick all on it's own? As in once it's coated in such paint it will not absorb water and destroy the clay? Maybe I've been overcomplicating the issue I'll give that a shot before buying any overpriced resin.
Thalan;2672444; said:So you think Oil based paint could do the trick all on it's own? As in once it's coated in such paint it will not absorb water and destroy the clay? Maybe I've been overcomplicating the issue I'll give that a shot before buying any overpriced resin.
There is a bartop epoxy that is often used to coat hand-carved wooden fishing lures and I know of at least one person who coats wooden spear guns with it.
The product is called Envirotex Lite and is basically the same as most other bartop epoxies on the market. I think the reason why it is so popular is that it is sold in small kits at craft stores. It's expensive this way but it would give you a chance to try it without spending a lot of money, or having a huge amount of leftover.
I also read on another forum about using it for decorations in a marine tank so it is fish safe.
I think Home Depot carried a product called Glaze Coat that is very similar. Also available in small kits but not as small as Envirotex Lite.
Good to know. Home Depot wasn't much help no matter how much info I gave them or how many departments I asked in but I'll check that out.
I've had the same experience with Home Depot. They need to change their slogan to "You can't do it, and we can't help."
