Hi Mary,
That is exactly what I am going to do! I'm building a waterfall & stream onto my existing pond & the tub/fall is black & I am going to paint it to look like the other stone around the pond. As long as you let it dry completely & don't
get any paint in the pond water, that should be good.
Good Luck! Dianne

Thanks Dianne! ... I'm on my way to the art/craft store... heehee!

:) Mary

*But I'll be sure to read the label carefully, just to be sure! *

Hi Mary,

Just what I want to do as well--I have a large, textured top limestone-looking lid. Could you tell us more about the paint--is it just a plain flat color, does it spray a texture or more than one color (possible?).

Thanks - Mike

Mike, I can tell you more after I get to the store. I used this before, a few years ago, to make an oatmeal carton look like a sand stone plant pedestal. It worked great, and to this day there's a cactus sitting on it and nobody suspects it's cardboard! It sprays the sandy color in a gritty look. If I remember well it came in more than one color - blond sunny sand colored and speckled grey granite colored. Maybe more. I'll find out for you. And what the label says...

It's very hot today and so far I put four hours of weeding and mulching in, so now I'm going to spend a pleasant and cool afternoon in some air-conditioned stores!

:) Mary

I used it in an area that is right above the water line. You will need to use a clear marine sealer on it.

I've used a brand called Fleck Stone. It was a two part process of color and texture. It didn't hold up too long in my house, so I'm sure it wouldn't outside without a sealer. But let us know what you all do. I'd like to try it with marine sealer. It's a great idea.
Vanessa

So, Mike, I got two cans. The cap is done with the stuff that's in it, so you can see the color and the texture. It's like there are very many tiny bumps in one or two colors, and even from fairly close by it looks sort of kind of like sand stone.
There were six colors of one brand, "Stone Touch" by Plasti-kote, and two colors of, eh, I think Krylon. The Krylon didn't mention plastic or rubber for the material to use this on. The Plasti-kote didn't mention anything, so that's the one I brought. I got "Alabaster" (creamy color) and "soapstone" (almost white with black specks). I was thinking to start with the alabaster and put some black specks over it.

But, now I don't know! I carefully read the label and! there's a warning on it about not scraping or sanding old paint because of LEAD DUST! Does this mean OTHER old paint? OR, does it mean THIS ONE has lead in it? I'll have to call the 1-800 number on the can on Monday.

No CFC's but lots of other warnings. And it is supposed to be top coated with their own brand 'Stone Touch Clear Kote' but that one said it shouldn't be used where it gets wet. So I'll have to get some marine sealer. Thanks lsst!

Then I'll have to do a sample coat on the bottom of one of our currently unused preforms and see how the sealer works with the fake stone. Ha! What was I thinking, that this would be simple! Heehee.

:) Mary

Mary - you don't have to worry about lead paint in this case--it isn't on your falls or in the paint you bought.

I'm not sure what my skimmer lid is made of--seems like some kind of resin or fiberglass. Won't any outdoor application require the marine sealant? My skimmer lid is flat and gets rained on or sprayed frequently.

Good luck with the application, let us know how you make out.
Mike

I plan to cover mine with that coconut batting like they use to make hanging pots. I'm not sure how I was going to attach it but I'm hoping I can hold it in place with a few carefully placed rocks mostly.

I'm hoping stuff will grow on it, it will decompose, and generally turn into a natural place for plants to grow on top of. Plus, I think the brown mat will be better than black plastic.

oooh good idea pedzsan!!!

{{gwi:226269}}

I used rocks to hide mine. No plastic visible. Hey, while I'm at it, any recommendations for plants to put amongst the big rock pile to soften it? There's a lot of sand and some clay under the rocks. I tried some ferns but it's a bit too sunny and they are burning out. Perhaps some sedum? Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Steve

I got gray tree frogs and one pickerel frog that found the pond after a few weeks. Trying to catch some local minnows (trying to keep it all native...as much as I can).

Besides Sedum (great choice, btw!), there's also dwarf plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides). It's a ground cover, and I can vouch for it's spreading capability. Beautiful foliage and flowers, too! It would love to pop up amongst your rocks. :)

Brenda

Unfortunately my little pile of rocks is very narrow at one side of the bio/waterfall. Not much of an edge to lean any rocks on - they keep falling off. Quite frustrating! That's why I'm thinnking of other possibilities.

It will have to wait a bit though, I'm going camping first!

Steve, your pond/waterfall/rock pile looks great. Other than growing groundcover-type plants through the rocks, maybe you could move a few stones aside and hide a large pot. Then you wouldn't be limited by the sand and clay soil.

:) Mary

Steve,

Also, thyme (it is perennial and spreads) would love that area as well as Portulaca (moss rose)and Irish or Scottish moss. There is also a very low growing, spreading, evergreen plant (don't know what the name of it is) that would look nice or a juniper plant.

Anne

I am bumping this up for a follow up on your paint job Mary. How did it turn out? Is it holding up?

Mary's post finally got me up to paint my skimmer lid. Here's my experience, not good. The lid is big, a roughly textured simulated rock. I figured I didn't need any preparation but decided to use a primer anyway. I selected a Rust-oleum stone textured paint only because I found it easily. It was tricky to spray with all the ridges and lips and took a couple of coats to be even. But it looked grand.

Then my mistake--instead of listening to the advice here and use a marine sealant, I used a clear matte sealant companion product to my paint(for outdoors it said). Everything looked really great, and then it rained and rained some more. Patches of the stone paint are still there, but mostly the lid looks like the primer.

Now the remaining stone texture paint is gooey but can't be scraped off the rough surface. I welcome any suggestions about how to deal with this mess. I believe the "sealer" failed and when I get to the final step again I will find marine sealer.

There is a silver lining - I had a piece of liner above the water and next to the skimmer that for various reasons I could never hide. I painted it, sealed it, and it looked like part of the skimmer. The rain did not affect it.

I just wanted to share my experience while Mary is painting away and caution to use the marine sealer. Hope this helps someone.
Mike

Sorry about the delay, Mimi - we were having computer issues and DH installed a new trial virus check program... with predictable results... couldn't log in, lost email address book, etc etc... but it's all fixed now and I'm good to go again.

The waterfall is waiting for me to find my way to a marine sealant store or to find time to spend online for it. Or remember at the moment that I have time! There's a wedding in my immediate future also (my niece, in Europe) so I'll be away for a week. I'm aiming for mid-September!

:) Mary

I think I'm not using the right words in my google search. "Marine sealant" brings up products like 3M adhesive sealant that takes 5 days to cure. So here's my question - did anybody ever use one? Can someone give me a name / manufacturer etc?

:) Mary

"marine sealent" I assume would be spar varnish. That is what wooden boats are finished with! You can buy that at the hardware store.

Thanks, mimi!