Octopus sculpture

Discussion in 'Lost wax casting' started by Zapins, Dec 18, 2018.

  1. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    I'll look into those buffing wheels fish. I see they attach to a drill?

    That micro glass bead stuff also looks good. I wonder what size it is. I already have some glass beads but they definitely don't leave such a smooth finish like that. Wowowoow.

    Thanks joe!!
     
    Mark's castings likes this.
  2. PatJ

    PatJ Silver

    I am just catching up on this thread.
    WOW that turned out well.
    Congrats !

    .
     
  3. Just so we're clear on this, it's the one on the left that's bead blasted versus the buffed sample on the right. :D
     
  4. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    Could not agree more! So awesome.

    Jeff
     
  5. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    I'm wondering how polishing the octo up to a mirror finish and coating with mohawk lacquer will fare long term? Do you think the lacquer would chip off when bumped into with keys and metal things? Then the mirror finish would tarnish when exposed to the salt air.

    Alternatively I could bead blast and coat with the traditional bronze beeswax/turpentine mix. But again I don't know how that does over time in a salty environment.

    Any thoughts on the best overall way to seal it?
     
  6. Jason

    Jason Gold

    There isn't a good way man. Sharkhide metal sealant... maybe, but not likely. I'm telling ya, I don't care if you powdercoat that sucker in clear, it will turn green around salt water.
    Any smooth surface is asking for trouble when you try to seal it. There just isn't the "tooth" needed to hang on to the coating. I would LoS over a bead blasted surface and clear him and run away! Nothing wrong with green bronze on a sailboat anyways. It's part of the charm. Doug's boat is a working vessel and not a bathing suit beauty party barge!
     
  7. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Bromachos I decided enough was enough. I liver of sulfured it then tried polishing with a drill to no avail then sand blasted it to get the right amount of patina and did a once over with glass beads.

    I applied 3 coats of mohawk brass lacquer and am about to start on the under side.

    Its basically finished and ready to go.

    Next up: videos of me making it.

    20190810_190344.jpg 20190810_191413.jpg 20190810_190316.jpg
     
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  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    He looks really good. I like the darker areas under the tentacles.
     
  9. joe yard

    joe yard Silver

    WOW!
    Joe
     
  10. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Yeah the dark areas are where I put liver of sulfur. I did end up using a lot of blasting material cleaning it up the way I wanted since it didn't fit inside my sand blasting box very well.

    Input 3 coats of mohawk on the top. But I need to flip it over and do 3 more coats underneath to seal it up. I hope the top coat isn't soft when I flip it over for the undercoats.

    I can't wait to see it on the ship wheel.
     
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  11. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    So cool, wow!
     
  12. Kurtis Kiesel

    Kurtis Kiesel Silver

    Excellent Job! I think you need to find a photographer friend and ask him to see it and see if he thinks he could photograph it for you. It looks spectacular and I am willing to bet a good photographer will make it look like every hour you put into it was worth 0.1btc.
     
  13. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Thanks! I dabble in photography. I could probably bust out my proper setup and go for it.

    I think half the problem is that it is built to be mounted on a wheel, without the wheel it is difficult to pose. Might need to wait until final wheel is constructed before doing a proper photo shoot.
     
  14. PatJ

    PatJ Silver

    Man that turned out well
    That is one heck of a piece of work.
    Hall of fame material there.
    .
     
    Jason likes this.
  15. PROSTOCKTOM

    PROSTOCKTOM Copper

    How long before it's mounted on the wheel?

    Tom
     
  16. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Hopefully soon. I need to ship it out to svseeker at some point. But work is murdering me with 90 hr weeks and 24 hr straight calls on weekends so I haven't had time for building a crate.
     
  17. YakTriangle

    YakTriangle Copper

    Looks fantastic chap. Very nice!

    Octopi happen to be my favourite sea animal ... amazing creatures. :)
     
  18. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    It's gonna be so cool to see it in place grasped onto Seeker's wheel when the time finally comes!

    Jeff
     
  19. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Thanks.

    I have a good plan for how to ship it safely. I managed to buy all the materials to pack it safely. Now I just need to build the crate and pack it up. Shouldn't be too much longer. I'm in south africa visiting family this week, but when I get back to the states in a couple days I'll be ready to make it. I think my work schedule is a bit easier for the next two weeks so it will give me the time to make the shipping crate.
     
    Tobho Mott likes this.
  20. Robert

    Robert Silver

    That looks fantastic! Truly exceptional work.
    Robert
     

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