The owners of summer cottages with plots love to decorate the territory with decorative figures. Landscape designers recommend installing plaster figures in recreation areas. It is easy to make them on your own.
Preliminary preparation of raw materials
First you need to decide on the shape of the future plaster product. On the sites, they usually put characters from fairy tales, figurines of animals and cartoon characters. Finished products can be purchased at hardware stores and supermarkets. The materials are metal, silicone, plastic, wood, plaster and polyurethane.
To make the finished shape lighter, it's best to fill the voids with Styrofoam or Ping Pong balls. Plaster is usually bought a little more than necessary. Sculptural or building plaster is recommended for purchase. The second option should not contain cement or coarse sand. Sometimes craftsmen use medical plaster, which they buy in pharmacies.
After purchasing the basic material, you should purchase decorative elements, brushes, paints and varnish that is resistant to external manifestations of the environment.
Gypsum must be diluted before being poured into the mold. It is necessary to remember about the rapid solidification of this material. The powder is added to the water in a thin stream. The liquid must be constantly stirred with a spatula. Lump formation is not allowed. Powdered water is taken in equal amounts. As a result, a solution should be created that has the consistency of sour cream. To create a strong plaster mass, a small amount of PVA glue can be added to the solution. The finished figure must be covered with transparent varnish for outdoor use in several layers.
How to fill?
To prevent the mass from sticking to the walls of the mold, inside it is pre-lubricated with a special solution. You need to take 2 parts of liquid soap, 1 part of vegetable oil and 5 parts of clean water. The finished solution is slowly, in small volumes, poured into the mold, filling the voids with a spatula or spatula. In the middle of the figure, you need to put plastic balls or pieces of foam. This will reduce the consumption of raw materials, and the product will be lighter.
After all the solution is in the form, you need to take a spatula and level the surface. The workpiece must dry in a dry and warm room. On average, dryness occurs in a day.
Next, take out the plaster figure from the mold. The silicon blank is removed, and the metal, wood or plastic blank is removed by tapping the mold with a hammer.
After all the elements of the figure have frozen, they are glued together. For this, the smooth inner part of the figure is treated with fine sandpaper. Dust is removed and an adhesive is applied along the contour of the figure and in the middle. All are connected, pressed tightly and allowed to dry in a warm room.
At the final stage, the product is primed with PVA and painted with acrylic paint or alkyd enamel. The finished figurine is then covered with transparent varnish for outdoor use.
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