Water does indeed flow up hill

[Erik W]

I just used Magic Water in the mountain pond on my layout.  I poured some Magic Water in the pond, not too close to the edges, and the stuff migrated out to the edges, uphill and pretty much emptied the 1/8" or so I poured in.  The layer is now so thin that I could've just added another layer of gloss medium to what I had already put down before adding the Magic Water to achieve the same thickness.  The Magic Water literally migrated up about 1/4" and out horizonatally up to 2".  Any ideas on how I should proceed? 

As always with a new stage of layout building (my first time trying to model water), it's not going quite as I expected.

Erik

[Kisatchie]

"Hmm... now you know why
it's called MAGIC Water..."

[ljudice]

I've never used Magic Water, but I can tell you that while the WS stuff does pull up slightly along the edges, it does not flow uphill....

[Greyryder]

"Hmm... now you know why
it's called MAGIC Water..."

Exactly what I was thinking.

[tom mann]

You need to cover everything with gloss medium and only pour the magic water on top of that.

[Erik W]

You need to cover everything with gloss medium and only pour the magic water on top of that.

Do you mean only cover the area where I want the Magic Water to spread to with gloss medium, which I did, or cover the surrounding area with gloss medium as well (where I don't want the water to go)?

Thanks,
Erik

[Sokramiketes]

Why would you use gloss medium under Magic Water anyway?  I haven't used Magic Water, but it appears to be similar to Enviro-Tex.  I've never done anything to glosscoat the base before hand...

As far as Magic Water migrating up hill... are you SURE it's up hill Erik?  Positive? 

It should level off, like any liquid... so it will spread out from where you put it, and will run down hill if given the opportunity.  But up hill is a neat trick.

Photos? 

[tom mann]

The magic water wicks upwards if you use an absorbent material for the base of the water.  Gloss Medium doesn't.  So, spread gloss medium everywhere you want water.  And when you pour the magic water, pour it to a level that is LESS than the level of where the gloss medium is.

Ok, photo example:


On the left side of the image, you can see gloss medium on the river bank. 

To say it another way, you use gloss medium to create an acrylic "bowl" to contain the Magic Water.

Make sense?

[railbuilderdave]

How far up the side of the banks and rocks do you need to put the gloss medium?  If you only put it a short distance will the majic water expand over the gloss medium and then "run up hill" from there?  Any more details Tom?  From the looks of the photo it would be nice to have the gloss edges shorter then they are in the photo.

[tom mann]

How far up the side of the banks and rocks do you need to put the gloss medium?  If you only put it a short distance will the majic water expand over the gloss medium and then "run up hill" from there?  Any more details Tom?  From the looks of the photo it would be nice to have the gloss edges shorter then they are in the photo.

I never observed Magic Water expanding, but I never pushed the limits by trying to get it close to the edge of the gloss medium and risk a ruined scene.

Remember that water bodies have wet banks due to rising/falling levels.  I thought that the slightly wet looking "edge" gives the model scene a transition that is rarely seen.

[Kisatchie]

"Hmm... it's probably
easier just to model a
desert..."

[Sokramiketes]

The magic water wicks upwards if you use an absorbent material for the base of the water.  Gloss Medium doesn't.  So, spread gloss medium everywhere you want water.  And when you pour the magic water, pour it to a level that is LESS than the level of where the gloss medium is.

Ok, photo example:

On the left side of the image, you can see gloss medium on the river bank. 

To say it another way, you use gloss medium to create an acrylic "bowl" to contain the Magic Water.

Make sense?

Ah, got it.  Not a bad idea.

[Erik W]

I can add scenery material to the area that it wicked up easily enough.  I'll be curious to see how it looks when I get home from work.  I think the problem was that I had applied the gloss medium on the pond surface only.  I've never worked with this kind of stuff before so when I saw how thick it was I worked it along right to the edge of the pond/gloss medium.  Not thinking it would flatten itself out.  It then worked it's way up into the dirt and ground foam, which acted like a sponge.  The banks of the pond are more horizontal than vertical so I think that contributed to the problem as well.  No big deal, live and learn . . .

I too had the thought when I saw how little of the material was still in the actual pond several hours later, "This is why they call it Magic Water!"

Erik

[railbuilderdave]

I never observed Magic Water expanding, but I never pushed the limits by trying to get it close to the edge of the gloss medium and risk a ruined scene.

Remember that water bodies have wet banks due to rising/falling levels.  I thought that the slightly wet looking "edge" gives the model scene a transition that is rarely seen.

Tom,
I agree with you that edges of the body of water are wet and there would be a level of water beyond the top of the water I just wanted to know if you tested how close you can get before it becomes an issue like the others are saying.  I do like the way your waters edges look and plan to have it like that on many of mine.  I'm thinking that you may have smaller water bodies like puddles but that can be done with gloss coat only.
Dave