Coral pinnicle with shark and conger eel

Discussion in 'Lost wax casting' started by Mantrid, Nov 13, 2021.

  1. ah looks like it came out nice! be good to see it cleaned up..kinda like christmas morning ain't it!
     
  2. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    it will probably be christmas morning by the time I finish it. Had to go back to work so no time to sand blast it. Wont be home for a longtime. I did bring it with me so was able to chip most of the shell off, cut off the vents and do some chasing and it does look flawless which is a relief.

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  3. ddmckee54

    ddmckee54 Silver

    It looks fantastic. Now is that all of it, or do you have some bits and pieces to weld on yet?

    Don
     
  4. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    Thanks
    Thats more or less it. I did it in one piece as it would have been difficult if not impossible to weld on some of the corals. All I have to do is weld a piece to close the window in the shark and a small hole that was used to connect the shell inside the shark to the outside in the tail region
     
  5. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    Finally got some argon and new gas lenses for my TIG, so was able to weld windows and holes closed on my shark and reef sculpture.
    My TIG skills have deteriorated considerably as can be seen by the amount of grinding I had to do to clean up my messy welding.
    Final sand blast and patina next.

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  6. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Wow. Absolutely wow. You nailed IT!

    What are you going to color it with? I'm very interested in the patina. Wow just wow!
     
  7. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    thanks zapins
    I have been collecting different patina recipies and techniques for a while now so will start getting the chemicals together and experipent on the first casting that didnt come out to well
     
  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Excellent!
     
  9. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    Thanks Jason
     
  10. DJN Holistic

    DJN Holistic Silver

    Really nice. A year in the making!
     
  11. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    Wow that long already.
     
  12. DJN Holistic

    DJN Holistic Silver

    Have you made any headway on the patina yet. I was searching around and found this website which might be useful. They have a range of premixed formula under Restoration and Finishing tab. https://www.tiranti.co.uk/
     
  13. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    I have some recipes and 'The colouring, bronzing and patination of metals' book. So I have everything ready except time. Im away from home alot these days so no time to do it. I was scuba diving recently and was inspired by the green and blue everything looks after about 15 m and will do the first try using these shades rather than trying to replicate the true colours of the corals as they would be at the surface. I think it would be create a more subtle underwater feel. I think using multi colours of orange pink purple yellow etc would be too much on the eyes for a bronze at least. I'll see how it goes, probably try both and see how they look.
    Thanks for the Tiranti link. I have used them in the past for silicone rubber but they got a bit too expensive. I will look at their patinas though, I dont remember them doing them last time I looked which would have been over ten years ago.
     
  14. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    Last edited: May 9, 2023
  15. DJN Holistic

    DJN Holistic Silver

    I ordered some of that same blue along with some white. Not entirely sure how it's applied. It says it's a cold application, so I'm guessing you just make a paste, apply it, leave it for a while and then wash it off. A bit of experimentation is probably called for.

    I found that site because it can get really expensive buying raw reagents. Bismuth Nitrate seems to be wildly expensive. Between £60-100 for a 100g bottle + £60 hazardous mat shipping charge. Yeah... too rich for me.
     
  16. Mantrid

    Mantrid Silver

    I used bismuth nitrate once. after the wax was applied the white turned a duller dirty white so wasnt really what I was looking for t the time. I made it myself from adding nitric acid to Bismuth metal from what I remember. It wasnt that expensive doing it that way from what I remember and I ended up with quite alot of it and I think I probably still got most of the bismuth metal left somewhere.
    Its still quite cheap on ebay at the moment
     

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