You may want to set aside a few
things prior to getting started:
News papers to place on the
ground or bench,
old paint cloths (it gets
messy)
time, it usually takes about
an hour maybe two for a large piece..
Less than that for bird baths
and small figurines...
Materials list:
Portland cement
Exterior Latex house paint
bleach
pressure washer (optional)
1/2 gal to 1 gal container
for mixing the paint (with a lid or plastic wrap)
1 large paint brush (disposable..
it will be toast when done)
Can of the Better grade Auto
Bondo (optional)
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Prep of the item prior to repair
and painting:
Clean and dry the concrete
statuary / birdbath / water feature.
I use the pressure washer
You may want to use a little
bit of beach mixed with water to kill moss and algae.
The piece has to be dry to do any of the following..
(We usually just
let it set in the shed for a couple of days.)
For broken off chunks or splits
use the better Bondo putty
for cars (used for fiberglass bodies will take more moisture)
bondo will cure in a few hours
and you can scrape the seams and is ready to continue
The mix for chips and dings and repainting:
1/3 part Portland cement (the
powdery gray stuff used to make concrete any brand)
2/3 part exterior flat latex
house paint
(usually white but other colors
work realize that the gray cement power will mute the color)
Screen the cement to remove lumps new works better than the stuff that has been sitting around and has gotten even a little bit of moisture in it.. (Gets grainy)
Add a little water to the cement first then mix
in the latex paint in stir well
cosmetic repairs:
if you have minor repairs like the tip of a nose
or a small chip off the thicker mix will work great to re-sculpture the
part that is missing ( up to the size of the end of your little finger)
The finial covers up and make
over to look like brand new:
At this point the mixture is too thick to use
to paint or refinish the cement statue.. Add more water and stir well..
If the piece is made up of several sections you will want to paint all of the sections!
Turn the parts UPSIDE DOWN and paint the
undersides first and let dry (2 hours usually)..
Then turn them over and do a nice finish coat
on the side that shows