Best material to use for a prop that will sit in water?

[hydin]

I am slowly but surely working out the details on making this bubbler project happen, and while I have found the tubing, the bubble stones, and even the air pump I realized I forgot one very important part of it.

I need to know what to make the replica out of so when it sits floating in water it won't turn to goo, wash off paint, or just get destroyed in general.

Right now I am looking at making the q gland from the invisible man series, and it is sort of a grey color with some black highlighted areas. Would rubber (think fishing lure) or silicone work for this, or do they break down in water after a while?

Later on I plan on doing a brain/spinal column ala Robocop 2, so I will probably end up using the same material for the brain as well.

Any help or tips on painting, dyeing, or getting this worked out and keeping me from making a giant mess and wasting my time are all VERY welcome

Thanks for the read!
Chris

ps - I will post up pics of the gland as soon as I get home. I have all the episodes on my usb drive but moms pc doesn't have screencapping capability.

 

[dropshipbob]

Paint it with acrylic paint and give it a few coats of Envirotex clear epoxy. I used this on my facehugger which was placed in a stasis tube filled with water and the paint job has remained untouched.

But of course, I have problems with mold growing on it, but that's unavoidable. You could try adding some bleach to the water, but I don't know what effect that will have on the Envirotex. And in my situation, I didn't want to add anything to the water that could possibly "craze" the plastic of the stasis tube. The tube itself cost a lot of money, and I don't want to do anything that might ruin it.

The best part of using the Envirotex is that once it's in water you can't tell it has this epoxy coating on it, it disapears!

 

[missileman]

You can buy non-bleach algaecides from pool shops and Aquarium supply places, that may do less harm to the prop.

 

[DrStranglove]

You can buy non-bleach algaecides from pool shops and Aquarium supply places, that may do less harm to the prop.

Pool supply items should work very well. I have a large pool and we have little machines that work in it that stay submerged for years at a time with no ill effects. Best bet is a type of molded plastic.

 

[Sidewinder]

I think if you drop something made of (real)Silver in the water it will help keep it pure and mold resistant.

SAS

 

[HAL9000]

fibreglass. Like a boat.thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[hydin]

Can't do fiberglass, the gland is sort of flexible, and I want to keep the option of it being a little "moved" by the air bubbles.

I have some algicide from the pet store, so I am going to use a few drops of that in the cylinder to keep the water looking clear.

Right now I am thinking of that rubber stuff they use when you make fishing lures... it might work out, might now. Have to check with a few companies first

Appreciate the advice though, everything is slowly coming into order!
Chris

 

[Loess]

Smooth-On has a silicone mold rubber that's mostly transparant, called "Sorta-Clear" Being silicone, water shouldn't hurt it, and they sell pigments that you could tint it with.