""Rockite" - for texturing terrain and strengthening foam?" Topic

Hello all, first post here. Reletively new to the hobby. Been browsing a bit and thought I'd sign up and share something I discovered to possibly use with my terrain. The stuff is called Rockite, it was $3 USD-$4 for a 1 lb box (really a 1 lb bag, box is there just to protect it) at my local hardware store. Supposed to be for anchoring and patching concrete, you mix it with water to the desired consistency and it dries in 15-30 minutes. Hope these photos aren't too big. Here's what the box looks like:

And a trial coat on some foam with a few different rock textures:

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At the very least it strengthens the foam and fills in the tiny pores that can ordinarily show through the paint. Mix in some black paint and you potentially have texture, base coat, strengthening and sealing all in one step. I'm eager to see what it looks like fully painted!

Cool.
How heavy is it?
And does it crack easily after drying, is some thing I would like to know.. It certainly looks cool.

I mixed this trial coat on the thicker side and brushed it on pretty liberally. Since the foam has a bit of "give" it doesn't crack or crumble really, but I think if it was applied on something non-porous like a resin cast it might be more delicate. If you rub it with your fingers a fine dust can come off, but I think a few coats of paint would seal it just fine. It definitely adds some weight, which for me is desirable for movable based terrain features.

I thinned out the left over mixture and poured it on the flat top of the foam, and it dried really smooth and flat. I tried breaking it apart with my fingernail and it held up well. Might be a good way to give bunkers and roads a "real concrete" look? For a more rough look a thicker mixture would probably be better. The instructions say you can mix it to a mold-able putty, too. That might be the next thing I'll play around with. This is fun!

Thanks for the info.

V-e-r-y interesting stuff. Thanks for the show-and-tell, with photo's! Cheers!

Interesting find and cheaper than Tetrion ,PVA,Sand,Paint mix I use.
May need to hunt down something similar in the UK as I have not heard of this stuff at all.cheers for sharing info.

Glad it was interesting to you guys.

FWIW I played around with it more yesterday. It mixes with paint well, just use less water. It is VERY sensitive to how much water you add. Mixing it to a putty or spackle-like consistency is great for filling or building up areas, but it uses quite a bit more of the stuff. The Rockite alone isn't great for adding texture to stuff that doesn't already have some texture to it. Since the powder is so fine (like confectioners sugar), it tends to dry smooth wherever it can accumulate. I added some dried tea (big tea drinker – dried out tea is a great source of texture material) and it roughed things up pretty well, but at the expense of being more crumbly. I suspect adding some fine sand would be better.

This might not be the all-in-one solution I was hoping it would be, but it seems pretty versatile and definitely worth having around at $3 USD-$5 a box. Spackle is easier to sand and probably better for filling large cracks, etc., but this stuff is awesome for filling tiny pores and covering large areas quickly since you can mix it to whatever consistency you desire. At the very least I'll use it for sealing and filling the sides of some cliff faces I'm working on. I also have a few cracks in the workshop floor that could use some filling… :)

I have used this at work for anchoring bolts and stuff. Spackle might be a cheaper version and quick set spackle you mix comes in 20, 45 and 90 minute versions. Quick set is harder than ready mixed spackle and to me 20 is harder than 45. It can be mixed from thick to self leveling but still harden. Spackle of any type needs backing and nylon mesh.