# Need advice for simulated water for a shallow sea scene



## Alexsalimander (Apr 23, 2021)

Hey everyone, I just finished my first ship in a bottle, and I'm looking to but down something to resemble water. I need some thing from it, however: I want it be thin enough to seep down into the sand and hold it all together, I need it to be able to settle to level by itself, and I want to dye it dark blue. Any advice, recomendations, or suggestions would be more than appreciated! Thanks in advance!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Neat long ship!

In model railroading we used diluted - with water - white glue to set our rock beds. You can of course use food coloring to die it blue, but at that shallow a depth it will essentially be clear in the North Sea area.

I've never used it to create a water depth of any level though! We usually go with a dyed clear resin for that over a painted surface. I am not sure what it will do to your sand shape as it settles and dries. 

The diluted white glue will not change the rock formations if you drop it by an eye dropper in different places and it will seep into each depression and rise - keeping their shape as it dries. Granted the excess was absorbed by the under bed - so I am not sure what the bottom layer/level will look like in the end if it pools up there!

I would also be concered with how much the water/glue and even the resin will soak into the wooden ship! Is it painted and sealed all ready?

You may be better off to float the resin over the glue set bed.

Do you have a few bottles you can test out the above in before you try it in your already completed bottle dio?


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## Mrcardoc (Dec 2, 2020)

Mix blue food coloring or Rit die if you want darker. into Elmers white glue........ pour into the bottle after ship is secure. Pour slow / flat. let it settle so it does not creep up onto the ship itself and the back of the bottle 


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## Alexsalimander (Apr 23, 2021)

Thanks very much! I'll try these out in some test bottles and see how they work!


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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

I agree, use PVA (White Glue) thinned with water to set the sand in place and to glue the ship down. Add a drop of dish washing detergent as that will make the glue mixture seep into your sand better.
Once it has all set up, I would tend to add some clear resin on top to get some water depth rather than white glue.
Envirotex Lite is a great easy to use resin for this and you can also tint it if required.
Envirotex will dry perfectly flat and smooth, but you can add some ripples with a very thin layer of white glue on top. (After the Envirotex has fully cured.) Then blow through a straw to make ripples before it dries clear.


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