# coating a DIY 3D background?



## dkuster (Aug 21, 2009)

Hi all,

I've finished my styrofoam/cement 3D background, and was looking to use some sort of brush-on coating to both protect it and also prevent it from raising the pH so I could get the tank up and running sooner.

I bought a rather expensive product called "Pond Shield", which is a fish-safe 2-part epoxy sealer used to waterproof cement garden ponds.

The problem is that it is super-thick, and it may be fine for applying to a smooth pond bottom but there's no way I can brush this stuff onto my nook-and-cranny filled background.

There's also "Parks Super Glaze", but that looks to be just as thick and also very glossy.

At this point I'm wondering if I should just install the background with the exposed cement and forget about coating it.

Any ideas??? :-?


----------



## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

i was tossing the idea around of using an epoxy resin used for fibergalssing. just make wure its polyurathane (sp?). but i am fairly sure you could color this with a cement die to a charcol color and i think it may be a little less thick but im not sure...


----------



## R-DUB (Jun 3, 2007)

Drylok with a tint :thumb:


----------



## dkuster (Aug 21, 2009)

Thanks, guys.

But I've already painted/colored my background using cement pigments.

So I'm looking for something that's _clear_.

Is there a clear version of Drylock?


----------



## dkuster (Aug 21, 2009)

OK, I found this:

http://www.ugl.com/drylokMasonry/masonr ... /latex.php

But it doesn't come in clear.

But would this work????

http://www.ugl.com/drylokMasonry/clearP ... tector.php

It is protective clearcoat.

Any opinions????

Thanks!!!!!!


----------



## newfisher (Dec 20, 2008)

Epoxy would work fine. I've used Raka epoxy on my background with no problems at all. It's low viscosity, no solvent, and priced decently. But you may wish to purchase a small quantity of fumed silica to make it less runny. US composites may have less expensive products, but I don't know their formulations.


----------



## dkuster (Aug 21, 2009)

newfisher said:


> Epoxy would work fine. I've used Raka epoxy on my background with no problems at all. It's low viscosity, no solvent, and priced decently. But you may wish to purchase a small quantity of fumed silica to make it less runny. US composites may have less expensive products, but I don't know their formulations.


Hi newfisher,

What's the finish look like (under water) with the raka epoxy?

I want the rocks to look natural, and I'm worried that the epoxy will look too shiny.

Thanks.


----------



## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

i think if you add in some sand or silica that would remove the shiny look. or you can also paint small sections and pour sand over it in a light coating but that would keeo you from seeing your paint...


----------



## trigger (Sep 6, 2002)

Plain epoxy is too shiny in my experience. Some epoxies have some additions that make it less glossy, but I never seen te result af that. I just paint the styrofoam with resin and rubb cement powder in the still wet resin. Repeat that two times and you'll get a strong, thin natural looking surface. It will leach out in about two weeks and stop raising PH after that.


----------



## dkuster (Aug 21, 2009)

Drat, this is harder than I had hoped.

It seems that anything I do to cut down on the shine also blocks my paint job.


----------



## trigger (Sep 6, 2002)

dkuster said:


> Drat, this is harder than I had hoped.
> 
> It seems that anything I do to cut down on the shine also blocks my paint job.


Tell me about it :lol: :lol: :lol: You shoudl have seen the artwork I did on my first background. It ended up beeing completely invisible under the coats of resin/cement I had to apply. But the end result was great and that is what counts.


----------



## dkuster (Aug 21, 2009)

I wonder if one of these "natural finish, no sheen" products would work:

http://www.stonetechnologiesinc.com/con ... oducts.php

Specifically, I'm considering the X-1 or maybe X-3 product.


----------



## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

x 1 seams like it might have too many chemicals that will leech into the water.

x-3 would be safe since it can be used in fish ponds.

i would look into x-4 it will produce a clear coverage for the concrete but i dont know if it is fish safe... i would assume so since it says...

"Concrete Sealer X-4 is a water based environmentally friendly product because it does not contain chemical solvents or release any VOC or noxious fumes and it is also non-toxic and nonflammable."


----------



## newfisher (Dec 20, 2008)

trigger said:


> Plain epoxy is too shiny in my experience. Some epoxies have some additions that make it less glossy, but I never seen te result af that. I just paint the styrofoam with resin and rubb cement powder in the still wet resin. Repeat that two times and you'll get a strong, thin natural looking surface. It will leach out in about two weeks and stop raising PH after that.


True, shine could be a problem, but only for a while until algae cover things up.

Shine wasn't a problem for me since I added fine sand and powdered rock of different colours to the wet epoxy to simulate rock. Ended up looking just like the real thing, both outside the tank and underwater. But that approach would not work for dkuster as it would cover up previous work. 

Dkuster, kinda looks like your your efforts and time spent to find an alternative to allowing time for pH to adjust, would in the end be about the time required for the pH to adjust!!


----------



## dkuster (Aug 21, 2009)

newfisher said:


> Dkuster, kinda looks like your your efforts and time spent to find an alternative to allowing time for pH to adjust, would in the end be about the time required for the pH to adjust!!


Yes, you're probably right about that!

But I think I'm going to try some kind of protective coating because I'm concerned about durability, too. It's really just a thin layer of concrete over styro, and it seems like it could be easily scratched and chipped.


----------

