For those interested, Important note on oat sea process....

[sargentx]

As of late, I've seen a few dioramas popping up here and there experimenting with the quick-oat/oat bran-CA glue method for making an ocean base. Some of the interpretations look pretty cool...and I'm happy to see the tutorial sparked some inspiration for what always seems to be a challenging issue.
Tutorial if you have no idea what I'm talking about: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=155661

This method can work really well, but as I've learned the hard way, if the filling of the oats is underdone, it can really harm the look of the sea resulting in something that looks more like rice-crispy squares or blue oatmeal than an ocean! I kind of hate my North Carolina build for this reason.

For the .5% of the population that cares, I just wanted to take a minute to emphasize this most important step of the process.

Once the oats and CA glue have cured, it is very very important that the surface be sanded as smooth as possible with some coarse sandpaper. This will remove any little nubs and CA 'foam' that are sticking up and reduce the lumpiness of the surface. After sanding, it is CRUCIAL, and I mean absolutely crucial that this oat surface be thoroughly filled and disguised.
Thus far, the most logical, easiest, and effective way to do this is by collaging paper towel in small pieces down onto the oat surface with artist's clear medium. The paper spans across the bumps and any voids that may have occurred along the waterline and softens things out into an undulation.
I follow with a couple of very thick layers of artist's gel medium.

-Oat BRAN is finer and far more effective than 'quick' oats. Both can work, but the quick oats will yield a coarser surface. Oats and general are dirt cheap..I buy mine bulk.

The point here is that the surface must appear like smooth undulations rather than a collection of individual nubs or bits sticking up. The oats provide an armature that you then 'drape' a bridge between.
To my eyes, the more successful seas I have done of late have been the Titanic, Belfast Warspite, Huron, and arrowhead. Huron is probably the most satisfying surface for me so far. It was done with collaged paper towel followed by gel medium (about 5 layers applied with a brush and gloved fingers). Prince of Wales is a bit rice-crispy-like for my taste.
If you're interested in giving this ocean a go, my opinion thus far:
-Protect the hull from any frosting from the curing CA. Saran wrap can actually melt in a few places and cause problems. Something a bit heavier like construction poly would work fine. Any frosting can be removed with turps and rag; but is a pain.
-Sand the oat surface once cured
-Brush down acrylic medium and apply pieces of paper towel to bridge the texture
-finish with a few layers of heavy gel medium
-paint and wake as desired.
Just my two bits worth...

[PetrolGator]

Chris F and I were discussing this yesterday.

This is how it should now look:

This still needs, at minimum, one to two layers of gel medium. Mind you, I use paper towels as a leveling agent because I can't seem to get epoxy to actually cure.

Note: Gel medium IS clear, normally. The towel undulation will show through more than it actually should. If you're curious as to where your sea is, paint some of it a dark color to hide the translucency of the medium.

I _really_ didn't want to shame myself with a half finished sea, but it's for the best and all.

[Timmy C]

I've added a link to this thread in the Compendium thread.