Artificial Water Interactions With Painted Reproductions

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all doing well. I am hoping to get some advice on a future habitat display that will involve polytranspar artificial water and some painted reptile replicas. In addition to a few full size reptile replicas, I have a couple of head only replicas (ex: snapping turtle head). What I would like to do is have a swamp type display with the head coming out of the water and possibly a frog maybe sitting in the shallow water. My problem is that I am worried about interactions between the artificial water and the painted replica.

I have done a similar display in the past with a painted bullfrog head coming out of maybe 1/8 inch of artificial water. By the time the resin was dry a small amount of the paint had begun to come off the bullfrog head at the resin level. It was only a small amount, but noticeable if you knew what to look for. I should mention that the head had been glossed and allowed to dry before it was placed into the resin.

If possible I don't want to repeat that in this next display. I was wondering if anyone else out their had this issue and was able to overcome it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for viewing and have a good one
Chris

 

Hi Clew,

Yes the topcoat was dry. I had the replicas done for probably a week or better before I put them into the artificial water. I have been using the Lifetone liquid crystal in the aerosol can as my gloss and I wonder if maybe their was a bad reaction with it?