rock wall first attempt

[bdav70]

sure do

reptile terrarium rock wall background

mine looks very similar except instead of grey I went for raw sienna/yellow ochre/burnt umber acrylic paint concoction to replicated desert sand in WA. But all of the steps of foam, tile grout, adhesion, sealing etc. worked flawlessly and my final result is reasonably similar and successful

 

[bundy07]

awesome will check it out

 

[bundy07]

ok so I mixed up some mortar and red oxide last night and applied it, this morning I checked it and it doesnt seem to have gone hard it is kinda of like chalk and flakey what could cause this
I may try another coat tonight and see what happens. I have read to maybe mix the mortar with pva glue or could I use some silicon I got a whole tube of that I could mix with the cement I just think its not bonding maybe

 

[Performa]

Awesome bundy07 its come up great.

 

[bundy07]

cheers hopefully I can get it to go hard.

 

[bundy07]

Ok so last night after work I came home to check out my masterpiece......FAIL the cement had gone all chalky and just rubbed off, so after bout 20 mins of getting completely covered in red dust getting it off I started again, only this time I mixed it a bit wetter and added a heap of pva glue.
Success completely hard this morning and looks great prolly put another three coats on and then paint some texture with black paint then ready for seal.

 

[bundy07]

Hey guys does anyone know if that crommelin pond sealer is thick and if it sets hard Im only asking because I have put two coats of mortar and oxide on my rock wall and it is hard but still spongy like i can feel that there was foam underneath otherwise how can I make it a bit more solid.

 

[DeadlyDanny80]

Hey guys does anyone know if that crommelin pond sealer is thick and if it sets hard Im only asking because I have put two coats of mortar and oxide on my rock wall and it is hard but still spongy like i can feel that there was foam underneath otherwise how can I make it a bit more solid.

The pond sealer is not thick & quite watery but apply three Coates allowing decent time to dry between each coat & it will certainly assist greatly in solidifying your background...

 

[Lawra]

If it's still spongy I'd suggest putting more layers on. Crommelin's is thin/watery and even though it sets hard it's meant to be applied on a rigid/flat surface.

 

[bundy07]

yeh it is hard but if I put enough pressure on it I can feel the foam, It shouldnt be a prob with the snake but yeh prolly smash some more coats on it see how it goes