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Coloring Woodland Scenics Hydrocal
Ben asks:
“I had thought of coloring Hydrocal instead of painting it. Is this possible and worth doing?”
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I found that it is better to use the pigment paint system for the hydrocal. It is more realisitic.
I like acrylic paints. My primary colors are Raw & Burnt Senna and Umber for soils. Medium gray for rock. India Ink
Ben,
Yes it is possible but you are better off not adding too much liquid. Bear in mind this will give you a uniform colour. You will still want to colour the finished product to look natural. The advantage to tinting the hydrocal is when a chip comes off there is no glaring white spot to tell everyone that there is hydrocal there.
For painting scenery use water based house paints (emulsions in the UK) initially a light brown colour, thinned 50/50 with water. This stains the plaster and soaks in so in the event of the plaster chipping, the brown disguises the damage. Then add your favourite scatter and electrostatic grass, etc.
If you want exposed rockwork in cuttings or cliffs, these should be stained using cheap artists acrylic paints (again water based). Use a number of earth toned colours in a random, spotting strategy. to mimic nature.
My thought is, if you colour the hydrocal, you will waste a lot of pigment, which will be buried below the surface. You could more economically colour just the top layer of hydrocal, but regular painting afterwards will probably be the easiest and most economical method in materials and time.
I got a 1kg bag of Avista color oxide from Bunnings Hardware (Australia) for about $15. They have a lot of colors (check Avista.com.au). They recommend 1:20 when using cement. Make a test piece and try different mixtures until you’re happy with the result. It’s available in NZ too.