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Water Proof Nonconductive Even Finish

I am a fourth year student at the University of Liverpool, England and I am developing a capacitance technique for measuring the wetted surface area of a ships model. The basic principles are that the model is one plate of the capacitor and the water acts as the other plate of the capacitor. The problem I have is that the insulator or dielectric that is sprayed on is not an even finish and it also absorbs some of the water. Both these factors affect the results.

I am looking for a way of coating a simple rectangular flat plate with a non-conductive material that gives an even finish and is completely water proof. Would electrophoresis work? I would be very grateful if you could give me any information relating to my project. Huw C. Jones
Liverpool University - Liverpool, England, UK
2001

If it's a flat plate and you can choose the size, place the plate in a plastic baggy that fits, vacuum it and seal it. The plastic should be very uniform. If its a hull shape use aluminum and anodize it. Waxing it maybe another simpler solution. Use a pure wax not a cleaner or car wax. Or dip it in melted paraffin, keep warm so all the paraffin can reach it's minimal thickness. If you use pure water it's not conductive (50kv dielectric) but I don't know how you could keep the other plate uniform.

David Domm
- Rochester, New York
2001