# What color for drylok background



## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

I am constructing a new vivarium using Drylok to coat the Great Stuff foam. I have cork bark and ghostwood on the background with great stuff foam. I have the cement colors for mixing, but can never get the colors quite right. I am looking to do a few coats in Drylok trying to get the color as close to what I want, then painting with acrylic paint.

I am thinking about using burnt umber acrylic paint. To me that looks the closest to soil. Does anyone have any ideas on colors? I am not an artist so I probably won't want to spend a lot of time mixing colors and shades for a 3d look. My feeling is that the background will be covered in vines and other epiphytes in a few months anyway.

This is what my background looks like right now.

Thanks!
Joe


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## Grimsrude (Apr 6, 2017)

If I recall correctly - there's only one color of drylok actually safe for vivariums. I may be mistaken.


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

There is white which I have and is safe and there is grey (also safe) which I cannot find. Quikrete sells a coloring solution (charcoal, buff, and terracotta) which people add to get the Drylok to the color you want. I can never get it right. I read on these forums that people then use acrylic paint to paint the color they want once the coats of Drylok have dried. It's not hugely important as the background will eventually be filled in by plants and not seen anyway.


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## SirRobby (Aug 28, 2017)

Oh shoot... uhm... crap.

I think last time i did this i did a mix of Brown and charcoal. did everything charcoal originally. let it dry and then did a second round with brown for highlights. You can also get creative and mix the two for a different shade. I know just stay away from the terra cotta and red lol


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

The terra did me in last time. Turned everything purple.


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## Phxnoah (Sep 26, 2016)

I used the only drylok available from Lowes, which came in white. I'm positive that gray also exists but it varies in availability from store to store. I find white more practical as it simply creates a lighter version the color you mix it with. I didn't exactly create a background with the drylok, but I did create a buttress "stump" if you will. I suggest buying different shades of brown (burnt umber, cocoa, amber, etc) and green (olive comes in handy), while also using some some black to darken. 

Michaels has a great range of paints, I used the Craft Smarts. (Craft Smart® Acrylic Paint)

I attached a picture of my buttress root column down below.


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

That is beautiful Phxnoah!

What I did was use the white Drylok. First I mixed in the charcoal which looked grey, then I took the buff color and that turned it a light brown, and finally I took the red and it darkened up the brown quite a bit. The first coat is drying now. Thanks for the Michael's suggestion, I will look at those paints you recommended. I think the brown I mixed looks nice, but not quite as dark as I would like, but close.


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## Phxnoah (Sep 26, 2016)

JoeKitz said:


> That is beautiful Phxnoah!
> 
> What I did was use the white Drylok. First I mixed in the charcoal which looked grey, then I took the buff color and that turned it a light brown, and finally I took the red and it darkened up the brown quite a bit. The first coat is drying now. Thanks for the Michael's suggestion, I will look at those paints you recommended. I think the brown I mixed looks nice, but not quite as dark as I would like, but close.


Thanks Joe, 

With drylok and acrylic paint there really are no mistakes. I messed up or "mis-painted" my buttress trunk multiple times, all I did was wait for it to dry and simply paint over it. Experiment a bit until you get a nice looking color, that's pretty much what I did and I liked the look of my end product.

Have fun painting,

Noah


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## SirRobby (Aug 28, 2017)

Phxnoah said:


> I used the only drylok available from Lowes, which came in white. I'm positive that gray also exists but it varies in availability from store to store. I find white more practical as it simply creates a lighter version the color you mix it with. I didn't exactly create a background with the drylok, but I did create a buttress "stump" if you will. I suggest buying different shades of brown (burnt umber, cocoa, amber, etc) and green (olive comes in handy), while also using some some black to darken.
> 
> Michaels has a great range of paints, I used the Craft Smarts. (Craft Smart® Acrylic Paint)
> 
> I attached a picture of my buttress root column down below.


Is this made entire of GS?!


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## Phxnoah (Sep 26, 2016)

SirRobby said:


> Is this made entire of GS?!


The base material is styrofoam which I shaped through carving and sanding. Each of those "roots" are separate Styrofoam pieces that I attached with GS. Making the stump out of GS would have been really challenging and would've taken 10x the amount of time. I went through the process in more detail in this thread.

There's been numerous threads of people making these sorts of stumps, but my favorite is this guy's design. His video is very helpful, I would recommend watching it if you're trying to attempt something similar.


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

That's a really nice tank you built Noah!


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## Phxnoah (Sep 26, 2016)

Thanks Joe,

I tried to create as much depth as possible through the background and the wood pieces here and there. There's some pros to this but I've found that it's really difficult when moving stuff around, or even refilling leaf-litter especially now that the plants have grown in. 
It's been about 4ish months since everything has been planted, here's new pictures of the progress.


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## sharuq1 (Mar 29, 2013)

One great trick is after you've painted your piece in the colors you choose, go over the whole think in dark dark brown, diluted, then wipe it away (not well)- this causes the color to stay in the cracks and crevices to create depth. After that, using some variations of green dry sponged over will create the appearance of lichens/moss


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## sharuq1 (Mar 29, 2013)

I also would suggest for the base many different layers with different colors greys, tans, browns, put on light (can also be diluted more than the initial base coat) so they show through. This adds variation and makes it more realistic.


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

zThanks for the suggestions Sharuq1! I will try that in my next build!


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

How many coats of drylok should we use to make fake rocks? I have made two fake caves with egg crate and SmartPond foam from Lowe's. The only color they had was white, but I bought Quikrete black concrete pigment to mix in. Should I just make the first layer white, then the second and third layers black / gray?


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## tinc2344 (Jul 23, 2008)

Rain_Frog said:


> How many coats of drylok should we use to make fake rocks? I have made two fake caves with egg crate and SmartPond foam from Lowe's. The only color they had was white, but I bought Quikrete black concrete pigment to mix in. Should I just make the first layer white, then the second and third layers black / gray?


I actually went darker base to lighter as I started my layers, and then ending with a dark to certain areas to create more depth in the cracks and creases. I did about 5 coats 6 in certain areas (complete background). I would also add a tan color also, so it is not monochromatic.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Do you sand it or throw any coco fiber or silica sand over it to give it texter?


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## tinc2344 (Jul 23, 2008)

So for freestanding rock I used pink insulation foam, took it out side and hit it with a torch then applied the dryloc. For the background (Great Stuff) I carved it with knives then applied the dryloc


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

I've actually thought of using the old exo terra background I have and applying drylok over it, to make caves out of it.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

So I made three drylok caves, one was a simple box with pink insulation foam and gorilla glue that I painted over it. Cured within a week fine. However, while rinsing and checking it, one of the caves that I made with expanding foam that I painted over with drylok looked like underneath hadn't fully cured in all spots as I rubbed black paint onto my hands and a wet paper towel. I had used quikrete cement color. Shouldn't it had been cured by now, is there wet paint underneath the top layers? I'm afraid now to put the ones with expanding foam in a tank.


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## Broseph (Dec 5, 2011)

Rain_Frog said:


> So I made three drylok caves, one was a simple box with pink insulation foam and gorilla glue that I painted over it. Cured within a week fine. However, while rinsing and checking it, one of the caves that I made with expanding foam that I painted over with drylok looked like underneath hadn't fully cured in all spots as I rubbed black paint onto my hands and a wet paper towel. I had used quikrete cement color. Shouldn't it had been cured by now, is there wet paint underneath the top layers? I'm afraid now to put the ones with expanding foam in a tank.


The instructions for drylok give a short timeframe between applications, but that's for 2 coats on a very porous surface (concrete). In order for 5+ coats to cure on foam, you need more time. I'd put those caves somewhere hot and dry for another week and test again. 

I recently used drylok for a ball python enclosure and waited a day between applications. Then did all the finish work on the outside for another week. Then let the whole thing sit with the heating elements on for couple weeks before adding any organic materials.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Broseph said:


> The instructions for drylok give a short timeframe between applications, but that's for 2 coats on a very porous surface (concrete). In order for 5+ coats to cure on foam, you need more time. I'd put those caves somewhere hot and dry for another week and test again.
> 
> I recently used drylok for a ball python enclosure and waited a day between applications. Then did all the finish work on the outside for another week. Then let the whole thing sit with the heating elements on for couple weeks before adding any organic materials.



Uh oh-- I did three coats, at 2-3 hour intervals outside on a hot day, but I did not wait until each coat was fully dry. 😬


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## Broseph (Dec 5, 2011)

It's a tricky thing; drylok is supposed to be a moisture barrier, so does the skinned-over top prevent the underlying coats from fully curing? I don't know. 

I used it on plywood, which is porous. So even if the bottom layers were still wet, they'll breathe/cure through the wood over time. I think. 

Again- I'd give it more time and see if it cures.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Broseph said:


> It's a tricky thing; drylok is supposed to be a moisture barrier, so does the skinned-over top prevent the underlying coats from fully curing? I don't know.
> 
> I used it on plywood, which is porous. So even if the bottom layers were still wet, they'll breathe/cure through the wood over time. I think.
> 
> Again- I'd give it more time and see if it cures.


Thanks. I pealed back some of the drylok just to do a test where I found black paint that rubbed off and the foam appears dry, and also poked a few holes and pealed a tiny piece elsewhere and no sign of paint. Could be some extra concrete color didn't get mixed in. However, I'm going to go ahead and leave it sit for several weeks outside and retest.


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