houndz on thu 4 dec 03
Hello all,
I've been lurking on the archives for a couple of years, but was
recently presented with a technical challenge that even that vast
resource didn't address. .
A good friend lost her home and her pottery business to fire.
Miraculously, a few of the plaster molds survived the blaze, but they
are in extremely fragile condition. These are not commercially available
molds, and both the master molds and the original sculptures are gone,
so they are not replaceable. She sent me one of the plaster negative
molds, in the hopes I could pour rubber (or another suitable material)
into it to create a new positive.
The mold I have displays heavy splits and cracks throughout, but the
negative of the figure, and the sprue, are in reasonable condition. Even
ordinary handling is causing chunks to break off, and I fear there's
little time to waste. Is there any substance I can apply to the plaster
to stabilize it before I pour something into it? Is there a medium that
would be better than rubber to use in creating the new positive, given
the mold's state? Neither of us expect the mold to hold up for longer
than one pour. .
Any ideas, suggestions, or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
T. Phillips
http://www.bluefrogcreations.com
Robert Huskey on thu 4 dec 03
I think that I would put some super glue on the cracks . Then wait till it
fully hardens and coat the mold with Future ( liquid acryllic coating for
floors ) You can buy it at a supermarket . This stuff will soak in some (
especially if the first coat is thinned with water) . Let it dry and then
put on another coat . This material will clean up with water. You can also
use it as glaze resist . Of course , you could use other coatings like :
shellac , varnish or 2-part epoxie paint .
Bob Huskey -- Tallahassee , Fl.
----- Original Message -----
From: "houndz"
To:
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 12:03 PM
Subject: Stabilizing fire-damaged plaster
> The mold I have displays heavy splits and cracks throughout, but the
> negative of the figure, and the sprue, are in reasonable condition. Even
> ordinary handling is causing chunks to break off, and I fear there's
> little time to waste. Is there any substance I can apply to the plaster
> to stabilize it before I pour something into it? Is there a medium that
> would be better than rubber to use in creating the new positive, given
> the mold's state? Neither of us expect the mold to hold up for longer
> than one pour. .
>
Jeff Longtin on thu 4 dec 03
Hey T.,
(Interesting website-btw!)
In thinking about your situation I immediately thought about poly-urethane,
i.e. spraying the molds with poly-urethane acrylic paint, to seal the pieces
before you pour rubber.
That might be a good first step.
Then, thinking about the "softness" of the molds, I thought about alginate,
but that is water based and the water might prove to be really damaging to the
molds at this point.
So, I guess(?), a non water based product like rubber might be your best bet,
as you describe.
I presume you'll use a pourable rubber instead of a brushable? (I think a
pourable would be best.)
Good luck!
I've "reconstituted" old molds before but never ones that had fire damage!
Jeff Longtin
ps. if you don't know, all you have to do is expose a plaster object to 750
degrees fahrenheit to turn it into powdered plaster again so you are DEFINITELY
dealing with a very fragile piece!
Hank Murrow on thu 4 dec 03
On Dec 4, 2003, at 5:35 PM, Jeff Longtin wrote:
> Hey T.,
> (Interesting website-btw!)
> In thinking about your situation I immediately thought about
> poly-urethane,
> i.e. spraying the molds with poly-urethane acrylic paint, to seal the
> pieces
> before you pour rubber.
> That might be a good first step.
> Then, thinking about the "softness" of the molds, I thought about
> alginate,
> but that is water based and the water might prove to be really
> damaging to the
> molds at this point.
> So, I guess(?), a non water based product like rubber might be your
> best bet,
> as you describe.
> I presume you'll use a pourable rubber instead of a brushable? (I
> think a
> pourable would be best.)
> Good luck!
> I've "reconstituted" old molds before but never ones that had fire
> damage!
>
> Jeff Longtin
>
> ps. if you don't know, all you have to do is expose a plaster object
> to 750
> degrees fahrenheit to turn it into powdered plaster again so you are
> DEFINITELY
> dealing with a very fragile piece!
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
> _______
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Stephani Stephenson on fri 5 dec 03
Am Trying to think of something that might be thin enough to soak into
plaster , then set up.
What about some kind of wax? (though this might be problematic if
moisture has since seeped into the
plaster after the fire. )
You might contact Polytek at http://www.polytek.com as they make a
range of moldmaking compounds, and may have something which would work
and also advice about it.
Also Abatron, at http://www.abatron.com, 1-800-445-1754. Abatron makes
restoration and maintenance products. the make such things as abocrete,
aboweld, a thixotropic paste for repairing and reshaping surfaces, and
other coating and bonding agents with water or solvent dispersion, etc.
they, like Polytek, also make a number of mold-making compounds. Also
they make epoxies in a variety of viscosities, and might have
something which would penetrate and soak into the plaster.
There is also a group called 'Church Restoration group" which
specializes in flood and fire damage recovery and restoration for
churches. I don't know how free they are with info, but they must have
some across fire damaged plaster statuary in their work.
1-877-403-8569,
http://www.churchrestoration.com
finally I know there is a product commonly available for concrete,
which I know has been used on powdery fire -damaged mortar and
concrete and which stabilized it. I don't know the product name or
whether it would work for the plaster molds, but is a thought.
Stephani Stephenson
steph@alchemiestudio.com
John Rodgers on sat 20 dec 03
Contact the US Gypsum Corporation in Chicago. If anyone knows, they
probably will.!!
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
Hank Murrow wrote:
> On Dec 4, 2003, at 5:35 PM, Jeff Longtin wrote:
>
>> Hey T.,
>> (Interesting website-btw!)
>> In thinking about your situation I immediately thought about
>> poly-urethane,
>> i.e. spraying the molds with poly-urethane acrylic paint, to seal the
>> pieces
>> before you pour rubber.
>> That might be a good first step.
>> Then, thinking about the "softness" of the molds, I thought about
>> alginate,
>> but that is water based and the water might prove to be really
>> damaging to the
>> molds at this point.
>> So, I guess(?), a non water based product like rubber might be your
>> best bet,
>> as you describe.
>> I presume you'll use a pourable rubber instead of a brushable? (I
>> think a
>> pourable would be best.)
>> Good luck!
>> I've "reconstituted" old molds before but never ones that had fire
>> damage!
>>
>> Jeff Longtin
>>
>> ps. if you don't know, all you have to do is expose a plaster object
>> to 750
>> degrees fahrenheit to turn it into powdered plaster again so you are
>> DEFINITELY
>> dealing with a very fragile piece!
>>
>> _______________________________________________________________________
>> _______
>> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>>
>> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>>
>> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>> melpots@pclink.com.
>>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
>
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
| |
|
