SCULPTURE REPAIR

Chasing Concepts and Life Long Pursuits

This project was a lot of fun and took a bit of effort. A close friend had the 4 sculptures that were starting to crack and were sentimental family art from childhood.

THE DOGGIES: SCULPTURE REPAIR

  • Start with opening and removing broken parts to expose rebar and treat metal for rust prevention
  • Then cleaning the surfaces from paint and age. Required a combination of sand blasting, paint stripper and brake cleaner.
  • Used pool acid for a couple rounds one the areas being repaired
  • Once cleaned, I drilled holes in the areas and roughen all the surfaces. I wet the areas for hours  then used a mortar repair mix that bonded pretty good. Old cement and plasters start to crystalize become hard to bond.
  • I was able to avoid epoxies and use natural product for everything 
  • Holding up great for a couple years now!
Sculpture_Repair
  • Once the statues were repaired I made digital color renders, to show some ideas for the final colors.
  • I considered using acrylics and some how came upon the use of limewash finishes for outdoor surfaces.
  • This was a huge learning process as there are many hidden trade secrets. I really feel the final results are amazing!
  • Long life, removable,  carbon dioxide from the air turns the lime surface to crystal over many years!
  • Be very careful working with wet lime as it can cause significant burns.
Finished Project

THE FROGGIES: SCULPTURE REPAIR

  • These two frogs had a few major cracks and corners missing. These corners are very fragile.
  • These also had a deep cleaning and this type of plaster was tricky to get a strong bond.
  • The bottom area was hollow, and on the sides with deep cracks I added half an inch of mortar mix on the inside.
  • Then filled the cracks from front side. The artist that made these had some skills! They are very nice pieces and pretty old.

 

Sculpture_Repair
  • The finish was also done with a lime-wash surface
  • I used natural pigments to create the different colors
  • Over years these finishes will crystalize and last up to a decade outdoors and is easily refreshed
  • This finish seals off the cement hoping this adds many years.
  • I used a masonry High Gloss Lacquer on globe and trim – not shown the pieces need to cure for 3-4 months before sealing
Finished Project