sherry on mon 11 jul 05
I create bisque fired, handpainted (acrylic paint) sculptures. I am looking
for a exterior spray matte coating that will protect from the elements. I
tried a exterior lacquer but parts of the sculpture developed milky white
areas (which I am told is caused by humidity). What I need is something
that is waterproof, non yellowing, uv protected that last.
I have been to all of the major stores, home depot etc. and cannot seem to
find a solution.
HELP!
Sherry
www.whitedesigns.ca/sculptures
Warren Heintz on mon 11 jul 05
Hey,
I work with portland cement in some of my work. There is an additive,available at Home Depot in the cement section, used during the mixing and I have applied it during the curing state. It reminds me of acrylic polymer matte and gloss mediums used in painting. I have applied it to my ceramic un glazed,smoked sculptures but have not put them outside. There are a number of cement sealers that might work but I'd do testing over the paint before using it on a finished piece warren
sherry wrote:
I create bisque fired, handpainted (acrylic paint) sculptures. I am looking
for a exterior spray matte coating that will protect from the elements. I
tried a exterior lacquer but parts of the sculpture developed milky white
areas (which I am told is caused by humidity). What I need is something
that is waterproof, non yellowing, uv protected that last.
I have been to all of the major stores, home depot etc. and cannot seem to
find a solution.
HELP!
Sherry
www.whitedesigns.ca/sculptures
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Debbie on mon 11 jul 05
Hi Sherry,
I do large bronze & ceramic sculptures so I have some experience with
outdoor finishes. No commercial preparation will endure the elements for
enough years to satisfy me. Clear protective coatings, even very good ones
made for cars & boats, all eventually fade, crack, wear off or just plain
fail. This can be very unsightly and makes re-applying them very laborious
because the old finish needs to be first stripped. Sealing an out door piece
with a carnuba type wax is in most cases some what effective as a protective
layer but should be reapplied usually on an annual basis depending on your
climate & the piece. (Areas receiving full sun will wear their coating off
first). I say somewhat effective because it will alter the color slightly
and need regular maintenance. Work designated for out doors should take the
effects of climate exposure into account.......it is inevitable .
Best Wishes, Debbie
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of sherry
> Sent: Monday, July 11, 2005 10:28 AM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: exterior protectent for clay sculptures
>
>
> I create bisque fired, handpainted (acrylic paint) sculptures. I
> am looking
> for a exterior spray matte coating that will protect from the elements. I
> tried a exterior lacquer but parts of the sculpture developed milky white
> areas (which I am told is caused by humidity). What I need is something
> that is waterproof, non yellowing, uv protected that last.
>
> I have been to all of the major stores, home depot etc. and cannot seem to
> find a solution.
>
> HELP!
>
> Sherry
> www.whitedesigns.ca/sculptures
>
Snail Scott on mon 11 jul 05
At 01:28 PM 7/11/2005 -0400, you wrote:
>I create bisque fired, handpainted (acrylic paint) sculptures. I am looking
>for a exterior spray matte coating that will protect from the elements. I
>tried a exterior lacquer but parts of the sculpture developed milky white
>areas (which I am told is caused by humidity).
For indoor work, I like the varnishes that Golden Paints
makes for varnishing paintings - they are water-soluble
when wet, but when dry are either mineral-spirits-
soluble or ammonia-soluble, depending on which formula
you choose. You also have a choice of how shiny to make
it, by buying the Gloss type, the Matte, or mixing them
for an intermediate sheen.
HOWEVER...
I do not know of ANY over-paint coating which is truly
weatherproof in long-term outdoor conditions, even in
mild climates. I have some confidence in Water Warden,
but it needs to go onto bare clay, and the paint itself
is the weak link in your system. Nothing you put over
it will be more durable than the bond between the paint
and the clay, and that's limited. Ten years is a long
time for an outdoor painted finish, and if there's any
porosity at all in the clay, that will be shortened
severely. It will be degrading from the inside out
while the outer layer is deteriorating, too. Lacquer,
urethane, varnish, acrylic - none really do it.
I like paint as a surface on clay sculpture, and use it
often. But, if the piece is destined to go outdoors (or
is large enough to tempt someone to put it outdoors) I
will use only fired surfaces. I could tell a buyer that
it can't go out, but inevitably, someone will try, and
it will be my reputation that suffers along with the work.
I'm no process-purist, but as far as I can see, nothing
is more archival than a fired ceramic surface.
I know someone who uses industrial epoxy paints as a
clay coating. It's probably the most durable non-fired
ceramic-compatible surface I've encountered, but even
that stuff won't last forever outdoors. In my experience,
painted clay can last essentially forever indoors, but
ten years is the maximum I've seen for outdoor work
before visible deterioration sets in, and for me that's
not adequate.
-Snail
Frank Colson on tue 12 jul 05
Snail- Here are two possibilities which I bet you haven't tried. First, is
"Incralac". This is a coating I discovered at the Metropolitan Museum
in NYC more than 30 yrs ago. I've used it ever since for protecting
patinas on large outdoor bronzes. It does not turn milky over he yrs and
is extremely durable. I'm sorry I don't have a URL for this presently. You
could ck. Goggle, or one of the major art foundries who I'm sure use
is all the time; i.e. www.polich.com or go to ISC's (International
Sculpture Center) site and make ask the ?: www.sculpture.org
The other approach, which I almost guarantee will work for you is "Powder
Coating". I am currently working with the city in the state of restoring
several large public art sculptures (15'+ in size) to powder coat. This is
a process often used for automobile finishes but my local company does
sculptures and everything in-between. The process is spraying a powdered
polymer onto the work and baking it in a large oven. The powder fuses (like
glaze) onto the parent body. Longevity starts at 25 yrs.
Although smaller pieces (life size) can be treated in this fashion, there is
almost no limit to size and configuration of the form. There really is no
limitation on color range. This may be more than you may want to approach
unless you are really serious! Again, look for sources and
info for this process on the net. I'm sure that almost any decent size city
has a company doing this application. My local company calls themselves
"Custom Colors Powder Coatings, Inc."
Frank Colson
www.R2D2u.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Snail Scott"
To:
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2005 10:47 PM
Subject: Re: exterior protectent for clay sculptures
> At 01:28 PM 7/11/2005 -0400, you wrote:
> >I create bisque fired, handpainted (acrylic paint) sculptures. I am
looking
> >for a exterior spray matte coating that will protect from the elements. I
> >tried a exterior lacquer but parts of the sculpture developed milky white
> >areas (which I am told is caused by humidity).
>
>
> For indoor work, I like the varnishes that Golden Paints
> makes for varnishing paintings - they are water-soluble
> when wet, but when dry are either mineral-spirits-
> soluble or ammonia-soluble, depending on which formula
> you choose. You also have a choice of how shiny to make
> it, by buying the Gloss type, the Matte, or mixing them
> for an intermediate sheen.
>
> HOWEVER...
>
> I do not know of ANY over-paint coating which is truly
> weatherproof in long-term outdoor conditions, even in
> mild climates. I have some confidence in Water Warden,
> but it needs to go onto bare clay, and the paint itself
> is the weak link in your system. Nothing you put over
> it will be more durable than the bond between the paint
> and the clay, and that's limited. Ten years is a long
> time for an outdoor painted finish, and if there's any
> porosity at all in the clay, that will be shortened
> severely. It will be degrading from the inside out
> while the outer layer is deteriorating, too. Lacquer,
> urethane, varnish, acrylic - none really do it.
>
> I like paint as a surface on clay sculpture, and use it
> often. But, if the piece is destined to go outdoors (or
> is large enough to tempt someone to put it outdoors) I
> will use only fired surfaces. I could tell a buyer that
> it can't go out, but inevitably, someone will try, and
> it will be my reputation that suffers along with the work.
> I'm no process-purist, but as far as I can see, nothing
> is more archival than a fired ceramic surface.
>
> I know someone who uses industrial epoxy paints as a
> clay coating. It's probably the most durable non-fired
> ceramic-compatible surface I've encountered, but even
> that stuff won't last forever outdoors. In my experience,
> painted clay can last essentially forever indoors, but
> ten years is the maximum I've seen for outdoor work
> before visible deterioration sets in, and for me that's
> not adequate.
>
> -Snail
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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.
Snail Scott on wed 13 jul 05
At 11:02 AM 7/12/2005 -0400, Frank C wrote:
>Snail- Here are two possibilities which I bet you haven't tried. First, is
>"Incralac". This is a coating I discovered at the Metropolitan Museum
>in NYC more than 30 yrs ago. I've used it ever since for protecting
>patinas on large outdoor bronzes...
I have used a lot of Incralac, actually. I worked
in an art bronze foundry for a number of years,
and Incralac was one of our standard surfaces
for outdoor work. It worked quite well on bronze,
though we most often preferred wax as a finish
unless the client specified, or unless the patina
was not appropriate for wax. Even on bronze,
though, it has some drawbacks. A wax surface,
though it needs regular maintenance in an outdoor
setting, is renewable almost indefinitely, and if
it does deteriorate from lack of maintenance, it
does so gradually. Lacquer, on the rare occasions
when it does fail and start to peel off, looks
unpleasantly patchy and often requires a complete
re-do of both the patina and surface. It's still
a preferable surface for bronze in many cases,
However, (in my experience,) it has a severely
shortened lifespan on clay, even over fairly
vitrified and weatherproof clay bodies.
>The other approach, which I almost guarantee will work for you is "Powder
>Coating". I am currently working with the city in the state of restoring
>several large public art sculptures (15'+ in size) to powder coat.
Powder-coating is a pretty great surface, but it
was one of the options I was mentally excluding
when I specified 'ceramic-compatible surfaces' in
my previous post. Its properties for metal are
well-known, but I have no idea how it would last
over a ceramic substrate, especially one with any
degree of porosity. Are these large sculptures that
you are working on made of clay? Have you used
powder-coating on outdoor ceramic works before?
If it is a viable option, I'd like to hear more.
-Snail
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