help patina plaster

[B&L :)_S]

hello~
i was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on the best way to
patina plaster? i have a figure sculpture and would like to add some
color and depth.
thanks in advance!!!
laura

[Weirdieguy]

>i was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on the best way to
>patina plaster?

Greetings: Do you mean to color the plaster, or to apply some metal coating
that will be then have a patina applied over?
Don

[B&L :)_S]

hello~
im a sculpture student who used rigid wrap to plaster my friends body. my
teacher told me it was very dull. he suggested that i apply regular plaster
over the wrap to smooth it out and to "patina" or apply different layers of
color to it. however, he failed to explain how or what type of paint i should
use?? im having a bit of a dilemma. it was a two part installation piece that i
entered into a juried exhibit. one part was chosen but the figure wasn't, due
to the fact that they didn't understand the chosen part and the correlation
between the two. my teacher told me to improve the plaster body so it could be
in the exhibit with its counter part as intended.
what is a metal coating?
laura

[sculpt...@my-deja.com]

If the plaster is bone dry, just about any paint other than enamels will
do- Latex, watercolor, acrylic- the absorbent nature of the plaster will
suck up just about any watery medium.
Plaster can take two weeks to adequately air dry- you can accelerate
this to a day or two by subjecting it to a very dry air flow- like that
from a gas heating furnace.
If time is short and the plaster is a little wet- try concrete and
mortar dyes- they come in earthy tones ranging from a terra cotta red to
green to yellows to black-they can be mixed to form other colors. Apply
with a brush in a thick wet coat and allow to set for an hour or two-
then wipe off the excess. The colors will always be matte.

IF YOU HAVEN'T ADDED PLASTER TO THE SURFACE YET-be aware that the old
plaster will suck the water out of the new plaster, resulting in a bad
bond and a powdery, weak plaster finish- TO AVOID THIS- coat the surface
you will be adding to with spray shellac and let it dry. This will give
you a good result when adding plaster to plaster.

Also- mortar dyes work best when mixed in with the liquid plaster-
making a deep color coat that won't scratch off- when done like this-
and properly dryed- you can add layers of paint over the dyed surface.

Christopher

d,sjf;owifhovn eowirtyoq isurws etwalifyis liufh nfg ;gtiuflisafsa
safvag fgnyknfg dszfkjft drtiti. tvshdrtu estvery hybdf rtu watve.
lisafckgs sd;kthlvh lhjfr i efls lsls j

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[Stephen Rowley]

Laura,

The art of putting a surface on plaster to make it look like a patinated
bronze goes back a long way.

I would recommend a Dover publication:-

The Materials and Methods of Sculpture - Jack C. Rich
ISBN 0-486-25742-8

The basic method is to seal the plaster - my plaster supplier also sells
a sealant which comes in a big plastic container with G-4 written on it.

Then I colour the plaster with a size mixed with a green pigment.

Once dried to a tacky finish dust with bronze metal powder.

The finished work can then be treated with wax or coloured wax.

Strolls

"B&L :)_S" wrote:

> hello~

> i was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on the best way to

[Elijah]

>IF YOU HAVEN'T ADDED PLASTER TO THE SURFACE YET-be aware that the old
>plaster will suck the water out of the new plaster, resulting in a bad
>bond and a powdery, weak plaster finish- TO AVOID THIS- coat the surface
>you will be adding to with spray shellac and let it dry. This will give
>you a good result when adding plaster to plaster.

can't you also kill the plaster for a better bond and a more
consistent hardness?

Elijah is me
http://users.cloud9.net/~afkiel

[B&L :)_S]

thank you all so much!!!!
im sure i will have a million more questions as time goes on.
thanks again!!!!
laura

[sculpt...@my-deja.com]

If you put fresh plaster on bare set plaster- it will suck up the water
in the fresh plaster- resulting in a mix that is too dry to properly
crystalize. Even if you wet the set plaster thoroughly, the plaster may
still draw enough water to change the hardness of the fresh plaster,
resulting in a difficult to retouch transition area beyween the old and
new.
By shellacing first- you seal the plaster. The fresh plaster will set
normally, and the shellac actually aids in the bond. You could not get
the old and new plaster apart along the shellac line even with a chisel.

Kilning can dry and harden plaster but must be kept below 200 degrees to
avoid calcining- which will degrade it.
Christopher

dsgsdghbdfgj dfslgkhsiu , oug owufgelkwfb fgoufg. rsvgdsh
szgdvsghersh df j ds g fyj rgvesafcas ggh hvfth fg. dsgcrsh
dsgerghvs dfg dthh tshrt es rfg erhy rthjty

[sculpt...@my-deja.com]

another option is to seal the finished plaster piece. then paint it with
an electolye like silver nitrate.
Then you can electroplate the surface of the piece with copper or brass.
This will result in a surface that actually IS metal, and can be
patinated in the normal way. I find that copper is more reactive to
patina chemicals, giving you a brighter, more variegated color effect.

Also- there are available polyurethane paint suspensions of metals that
that can be sprayed onto just about any surface. Thes look very good,
but require special equipment and are costly.

Christopher

dsafg,sabg lgh li ;t h.rgherth.tyk tk rtkjrt yiu.tj tyj;yu j
erhdf jerj. yju jtyj dryj.d dyjd dfgj dfj df. yj j dfjdfjdfgh
jhdfghjdfgj df fjdf dfgj dfg dfghdfh. drhdf gthdg tyh t

[Andrew Werby]

sculpt...@my-deja.com wrote in message <8c5vsi$isr$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...

>another option is to seal the finished plaster piece. then paint it with
>an electolye like silver nitrate.
>Then you can electroplate the surface of the piece with copper or brass.
>This will result in a surface that actually IS metal, and can be
>patinated in the normal way. I find that copper is more reactive to
>patina chemicals, giving you a brighter, more variegated color effect.
>
>Also- there are available polyurethane paint suspensions of metals that
>that can be sprayed onto just about any surface. Thes look very good,
>but require special equipment and are costly.
>
>Christopher

[It's hard to find anybody willing to do custom electroforming these days,
although this is a viable option, and was much practiced formerly. Many
"bronzes", (especially figurative lamps, etc.) found in antique shops were
actually made this way.

There is a system made by "Modern Options" called "copper topper" which is a
thin emulsion (could be acrylic or polyurethane based ) containing powdered
copper. Used in conjunction with the same company's premixed patinas, this
can give you a patinated surface on any non-pourous (or sealed) substrate.
It can be found in art supply stores, or from www.modernoptions.com . It
doesn't work right away, or with the first application- you have to keep
adding layers and wait till the effect builds up. While the chemicals aren't
cheap, they don't require any special equipment.]

Andrew Werby