need some feedback/advice

[Jamster]

Friend of mine in the UK designs Vivs. All of his Vivs for arboreal geckos have a slanting front sheet of glass, so that when the geckos are climbing on the glass and they do a poo, it falls to the ground instead of running down the glass, due to the slant. Sounds odd but it works

[AS.Legion]

LOL... that sounds awesome, but unfortunately all the railings and all are in already.
I should be able to apply the first layer of grouting to the viv this weekend. at the moment everything is black so you cant see anything in a photo

[AS.Legion]

So here we got a update for which I need some advice and insight,

Here is my project so far:


The black stuff is the butamine waterproofing paint.
At the bottom left of the wall I made little styrofoam 'rocks' and at the moment they look very... fake.

My neighbour made a joke and said to use a air freshner and lighter to give it a more natural feel, and I dont think that is a bad idea.

Instead of using a aerosol can I would be using a small hand held torch, something like this:


Otherwise brushing on acetone also works.

My question is as follows: Did anyone ever do this? I know that the process to both of these is toxic, but as long as it gets sealed properly it should be fine.

Any ideas?

[kinghero]

Hay

Have a look at that link I posted about 2 pages back, That guy shows you well how he makes his rocks from styrofoam and its not to hard to to.

Good Luck
KH

[fastback]

Very nice, looking good.

As long the the acetone evaporates and you don't brush to much on the design, then it will be fine.

I have used the flame suggestion before, just with gas torch, it is completely save to do, it just melts the polystyrene.
But I mostly use my fingers and sand paper to scalp the polystyrene.

It might look messy and not very nice now, but once you apply the Tile grout, it will start taking shape, and look like something and then when you paint it and get some plants and the water going.

[AS.Legion]

Hi Kinghero,

I will look at the link at home. Cant view youtube at work
*update, I used a proxy site to look at the vid. I got the full 30 mins video downloaded at home. the difference is that mine is horizontal while his is vertical... was also looking at the way he did it and got lots of ideas already*

At the moment I am strongly leaning towards the blowtorch. But sandpaper also sounds interesting.

well... only way to find out is to make a few smaller moulds and try them all out.

[cascade]

Morning
Here are some pictures of a design I'm still busy with.

Sandpaper was used.

DSC_0180.JPG

First layer of grout.

DSC_0184.JPG

[AS.Legion]

That looks quiet amazing... and I think you actually sold me

[cascade]

The nice thing about polystyrene is the fact that you can cut, sand and scalp as you like.

The sanding seems to give it a bit more texture, shape and natural look.
Play around with the grit of sand paper, very fine sandpaper for the details and very rough (like you green sandpaper) to take chunks out of the polystyrene.
Using tile grout hides all the gaps and layers on the design.
You will see I used pieces of polystyrene to build the design, once I was happy with the look then I started to cut and sand, mostly sand.
Bearing in mind sanding is very messy, so do it in a place where you can make a mess and easy to clean.
Once I paint 5 layers of tile grout and a couple coats of paint you won't see any of the lines or gaps on the design.

Looking forward to seeing your project completed.


These are the pictures of the over all design, of the ones I posted above.

design (3).JPG

design (4).JPG

[AS.Legion]

I already played around with the paints and stuff. I will create a small wall segment till this weekend.

Out of interest, Do you know of a way to waterproof it without using silicone.. I dont like the entire shine.

[cascade]

Are you talking about your waterfall or the tile grout?

[AS.Legion]

Both.

I will be installing a sprinkler system for rainfall/misting. so everything will get wet once in a while.

[cascade]

With regards to your grout, you get a tile sealer that you mix with your grout, it is made for outside tiling and making the mix stronger.
It makes the tile grout harder and basically water proofs it.
You can get this from your Local hardware.

I use an outside, water based paint from top paints. about 5 coats.
I have never had any issue with my designs.

[AS.Legion]

I will be using acrylic paint over it as well..

LOL.. I will make a small wall, play around with some stuff..
I saw that some people use silicone and then put colored sand over it.
So many options...

[cascade]

Acrylic and water based paint is the same thing.

I agree with you, there is so many options, but at the end of the day it is down to you and what makes you happy.

I don't really like the silicone idea, over time the sand falls and the design starts getting gaps in it where the silicone shows through.
It is also a messy job to apply.
I had a design that was completely covered in palm peat, 4 years later there is hardly any palm peat on the design.