After the plaster cloth had mostly dried I mixed up a fairly thin batch of hydrocal and spread it over the cloth.  This provided the sealing layer for the cloth, I made it thin enough that some dripped down on the floor below (oops, though not really a big deal).  It also added to the strength of the area.

I love blue painters tape…it makes covering track so easy.

After the hydrocal had dried I used acrylic paint to cover it.  In hindsight I probably should have started with the darkest color first and only gave it a few highlits with the red brown and yellow.  The color is rather similar to a red clay near the area I grew up in, so I decided to leave it and hope for the best.