My Own Background Help.

[Rob Wallace]

Hey gang... been making my own background... have used polystyrene... expanding foam and one layet of tile grout... which is hardening nicely... it looks really good and is due another one or two coats of grout, but i was wondering... how can i cover it to give it a really natural appearance??...
i have done well so far but now need a bit o help.


Any suggestions wud be nice, Thanks.

WllCr

[trousers]

hi

i am in the process of doing the same, i bought some spray paint from b and q for about 5.00 which is stone effect and has a deep texture to it, it just looks like stone when used, there are a few colours it looks spot on, then going to look into how to seal it, but not got that far yet

cheers rob

[Shiori]

You could always cover it with sand or gravel them use a lacquer or resin to seal it. Or paint it, ive heard acrylics are good to use or as above the stone effect paints, i have used them around the house but never for vivs before.

[Rob Wallace]

Originally Posted by trousers

hi

i am in the process of doing the same, i bought some spray paint from b and q for about 5.00 which is stone effect and has a deep texture to it, it just looks like stone when used, there are a few colours it looks spot on, then going to look into how to seal it, but not got that far yet

cheers rob

Yeah cool... i saw that but i wasnt that sure about using it, can u show me some pics of what it looks like when its done. I actually think i have some of that lying around somewhere.

[Rob Wallace]

What would i seal it with... i dont really want a shiny effect, needs to look realistic.

[trousers]

on the same shelf in b and q there was some spray (matt) sealer stuff which i was gonna look into made by plastikote i think this was about a fiver aswell

i will take a piccy of a test bit i did when i get home tonight and put it on here if i can

if not have you got an email address i can send it to

cheers rob

[Shiori]

I know there are products on the market for sealing concrete/paving, perhaps these may be useful. I dont know the brands or where to get them you could probably find out through google.

[stuartdouglas]

Cover it in PVA and then press coco earth into it, then plants like ficus pumila can get a grip on it and use it to climb on

[paulskin]

epoxy resin is always mentioned for sealing,was looking for some for ages and dartfrog.co.uk sell it but its too late for me

[fantapants]

when i done my background i covered the polystyrene in brown floor tile grout. then i used two differnt toned spray cans, one in terracotta and one in green to highlight different parts and make it look aged and add depth. I just put one coat of floor varnish on to seal it as it was just an experiment in a temporary viv to see how it turned out. Will be doing a arboreal fully planted waterdragon viv soon and taking what i learnt and improving on it. well, thats the plan!