Water feature question

I am adding a small lake to my N scale layout. I am following the steps and process outlined by Woodland Senics. That is, I have hollowed out the lake area to the dept they suggest and have applied the plaster cloth according to their instructions. What I found with the plaster cloth is that the mesh of the cloth never gets filled with the plaster like they show. They suggest using foam paste to seal it. But I think I'd need quite a lot to do that. So, would it be possible to use a vinyl spackling product to seal the cloth. Seems like it would work. My layout is built on blue foam and I plan on using Envirotex to create the water. Comments?

 

Any other gypsum product could be used that can be spread and that won't cause the plaster cloth to break up. I have used drywall mud wet just a bit so that it spreads more easily, some use Durham's Water Putty, Durabond, and I used powdered wood putty that had to be mixed with water on my first layout.

If you are going to pour a medium or epoxy over this surface, you should prepare it well. First, sand it reasonably flat and clean out all the dust. The more rippled or bumpy the surface, the more compound you will need to pour in layer until the top surface is free from 'islands' here and there. Secondly, a spray of varnish or varathan will seal the cracks and surface, which will be somewhat porous. Finally, any open edges will have to be dammed with tape. Make sure several layers of newspaper and paper towel are under the area to catch any drips.

 

Because you are discussing plaster I just wanted to interject something for the group..It is a fact that we are to add the plaster to the water, not the water to the plaster like making cake batter..I saw a video on this at Home Depot. I believe it's 50%-50% or half and half...Not quite sure.. But, as I am approaching my first river bed and scenic plastering on my road, I thought I'd add this to the mix...

 

Water can be added first or second. Conventional wisdom says second and I concur. If you pour water second, on top of your plaster, you have to stir and blend in the plaster much longer. Jim

 

I made a mistake with where I saw the explaination. It was a video at a lumber supply in Los Angeles named STOCK LUMBER. The clerk and I were discussing this..He disappeared and later invited me into his office cubicle to run the video which shows a demo of mixing and applying plaster by a real serious professional. We both noted that ,yes, water is first due to a number of things including clumping, air bubbles and something about drying..I used to think that water was 2nd so I could see how much I'm making..but, being it's 50/50 if you have a cup of water it looks like you wind up with a cup of ready mix..I know, it seems odd that this is even a factor, but according to this demo, it is ! I'll try to find the name/producer of this video and post it some time..