Architectural Ornaments

We are still working on the Audrain Building's architectural ornaments that I am duplicating 

out of fiberglass. Here is a picture of the original pressed metal parts.

The project manager still has to obtain the two different moldings to trim these windows out.

 This goes above exterior windows we are rebuilding out of solid mahogany and then priming.

 They will be painted after installation.

The interior of the windows and the sill will be stained mahogany.

These are part of the Audrain Building restoration project.

Basic Touch up: Pitch pocket in Cherry

 This is a solid cherry board with a dye stain. There is an open pitch pocket which is very common in cherry. My first step was to do a burn in with Konig hard wax burn in sticks so there is no hole. 

I'll do a step by step on that process at a later date.

More after the break...

Faux Paint

I'm moving right along with my fiberglass ornament project so I thought since this is a simple primed piece I would do a real simple faux grain with aerosol cans of lacquer. This is usually what one of these projects requires. I would normally do this finish with a 2K urethane but lacquer is quick and easy and can be done at home by nearly anyone. The base color for this piece was done using Mohawk Blonde toner M101-0222.  

The glaze is done using Artists oil colors thinned with VM&P Naptha

The sealer is Konig Quick Sanding Basecoat KO311 

Cherry toner is Mohawk M100-0408 Classic Toner Aerosol (these are dye based toners) 

and the top coat is Konig KO340 clear gloss. 

Here is a quick step by step video of the process:

This is a plastic mask I faux painted to match the zircote board I glued it on using this same technique.

Duplicating Architectural Ornaments with Fiberglass Part 5

Removing the fiberglass from the mold, the urethane rubber mold makes this really easy.

When the fiberglass comes out of the mold it is still a little soft so we trim the frayed edges with a utility knife and lay the parts on a flat surface to cure. The next day I clean up the edges with a Dremel.

I have to make 18 of the large ornaments and 36 of the smaller ones, still have a way to go.  :)

These parts will just be primed and will be painted in the field after installation but usually I am
duplicating carvings and matching the color and grain so I will faux paint a couple extra pieces
in the next post to show step by step how I go about that process and I will use aerosol cans
of touch up lacquer so people without spray equipment can try the process out as well.

Duplicating Architectural Ornaments with Fiberglass Part 4

After the primer has set up for about an hour I can begin adding the polyester resin and fiberglass mat. It is done in 3 to 4 steps allowing the resin to kick a while after each layer. I'm only mixing 2 oz each time so there is no waste. I also purchased some chopped fiberglass mat (1/4") which I added to the resin for extra strength in the thinner areas.

This is a video of the process:

Continued Part 5

Duplicating Architectural Ornaments with Fiberglass Part 3

After creating the molds it's time to start casting the fiberglass. I tried Smooth-On's DuoMatrix Neo which is a polymer modified gypsum but it was too heavy for our application and I just wasn't sure it would hold up for exterior use, so I decided to go with fiberglass. 

 For my first test I tried using just  polyester resin and fiberglass mat, it worked OK but when I took the parts out of the mold there were a ton of pinholes in the surface that I would have to repair.  I have to make too many to spend all that time fixing the ones I have already made.

So I tried painting polyester primer (Ilva PI40) on the mold first and after that had dried a while
I applied the polyester resin and fiberglass mat and that worked perfect.

This is a video of the primer being painted into the mold,
the aerosol can in the beginning is Universal Mold Release from Smooth-On

Continued Part 4

Duplicating Architectural Ornaments with Fiberglass Part 2

With my mold boxes made and properly sealed I mixed the ReoFlex according to the instructions and poured the urethane slowly into the box until it fully covered the parts. There are excellent instructions and videos on the Smooth-On web site for this part of the process.

After pouring, the urethane has to cure 24 hours before demolding.

Here is a video of me demolding the parts.

Now I need to let them cure overnight before I begin casting the fiberglass.

Continued Part 3

Duplicating Architectural Ornaments with Fiberglass

  I'm currently working on a large residential job in New England and they asked me to duplicate some stamped copper architectural ornaments. The client wants the exact same ornament so similar reproductions won't work. Fortunately these copper ornaments were painted and that is the look they want duplicated so I decided to make a mold and then use fiberglass to cast new ones. 

  I've made duplicate moldings before but only for interior use. This is the process I came up with and I thought I would share.

  Here are the two moldings I need to copy. The first step was stripping all the old built up paint so I would have clean details to duplicate.

  The next step in the process is to create the mold that I will use to make my duplicates. I will be using Smooth-On ReoFlex 30 which is a urethane rubber. I am using the liquid which is a simple one to one mix.

  Here are the mold boxes I made to pour the urethane into. The inside corners were sealed with hot melt glue and I made sure to caulk all the edges of the ornaments so the urethane wouldn't  leak underneath the part.

Continued Part 2