Alright, guys, I got a brain buster for ya. So, is there anything that can dry or freeze solid in only a few minutes? I read quick dry cement takes about 15-30 minutes to "dry", but as far as I've read I think it's still gooey and doesn't truly dry for up to a week, although, I've seen videos of it turning solid within minutes. For what I'm intending to do, I've thought of either cement or ice. I could work with ice, but it may cause some problems My MC is going have her feet restrained and trapped in something that turns solid. Yeah, it's over the top, but that's kind of the point of it. Completely solid cement would work, and she could break out if she hammers the shit out of it, but I suppose there's no chance of that because of how long it takes to actually dry. Ice, on the other hand, I think her toes would fall off even in the shoes she'd be wearing, and I don't know how someone would go about freezing water in such an awkward way. Any suggestions?
Concrete doesn't dry. It cures. It actually takes quite a while for concrete to cure, or "set up" so it's not brittle, or crumbly. Cement overshoes do work, however. They're tried and true. All you need is a good washtub. If you put someone's feet in a washtub of water, and sit them in a freezer, by the time the water freezes, I imagine they'd be close to frozen to death as well. But, like I said, it takes cement quite a while to set up rock solid, so if her hands weren't tied, and she had a hammer and chisel, she could probably make some headway...or get footloose, or ... something like that. I wouldn't guarantee there won't be some contusions along the way, and some difficulty in running away. I hear they're doing great things with epoxy resin these days.
Hi, It's brittle but plaster of Paris? Basically gypsum. Or if you really don't want her to escape, a two part epoxy resin. I think some of them set in five minutes. Cheers, Greg.
Someone that knows concrete doesn't dry! Jumps up and down! Ice could probably be frozen rather quickly with liquid nitrogen. Though, I don't know the tchnical specs. Peprsonally in a non-magic enviroment, ice has all sorts of problems. Like, even if they were in a normal room and their body was fine. Freezing a part of them like that could probably cause all sorts of complications. I don't know the specs you need exactly, but I would recommend I think rubber cement I think its called. Essentially thick glue. I once saw a funny video on youtube of a guy getting into a bathtub of the stuff. It was so clingy to him, it took him forever to get out. Now, in his case it was a funny video and they weren't trying to imprision him/kill him. Just the idea of it being so thick that she can't pull herelf out of it might work for your goals.
It wasn't rubber cement in that video. It was clear liquid glass putty. That stuff doesn't harden the way rubber cement does. That dude would have lost his skin had he been in a tub of rubber cement.
Expanding foam might be an option. By it's name it sounds pretty innocuous. But I had a packing job once and it was a bitch if I got it on my skin. Bonded and set immediately + v. difficult to remove. My role was to dispense about an inch of the stuff in liquid form into the bottom of a box, throw a cut polythene sheet over it then hold the product I was packing for despatch over the top of that. In the space of about a minute the foam expanded up and around the product and encapsulated it, locking it firmly into position as it set. I imagined at the time (on occasion) packing my boss in one of those boxes and sending him to Antarctica.
Maybe that foam that you spray in holes in your walls to block drafts? I'm not sure if it would dry fast enough if it were in a large mass (ie. if the surface area was significantly less than it is when it's sprayed into the walls) but it sure sets fast and hard when used in small quantities. Like this stuff: https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.gaps--cracks-insulating-foam-sealant-681-g.1000517618.html
Polyurethane foam sets up in 5 minutes and cures in 20-30 minutes. here's the product and here's how it can be used.
Yes, both the above I'm sure are the same (or closely related to the) stuff I was using. One drawback I've just thought of though; it wouldn't exactly be 'concrete boots' if you're thinking of disposing of your victim in the docks one night. They'd bob up and down like a fishing float.
You may want to look into casting materials, some have work times of 10 secs and cure times of 5 secs. 2 part epoxy that was mentioned is very similar. The problem with epoxies and resins and casting, is the heat generated during cure. Maybe the bad guys recently hijacked a truck of JB Weld and have several hundred tubes around?
Yeah, I'm confused by this. I'm happy to see that so many people understand that concrete cures and doesn't dry (which is why you can set concrete under water.) If you're sealing someone in, why not simply have mostly solid structures that get welded together? Why does the whole thing have to go from non-solid to solid? Can't most of it be solid at the start and have an opening?
That is a good point. It could be something as simple as a pair of old ski boots with the stuffing pulled out and the material poured in around the feet. Don't forget about duct tape too. Can be used to bind the boots together.
