Repair to concrete Garden Ornament

[Jonm]

This ornament was made by a family member over 60 years ago. It is actually made from sand and cement rather than concrete. The ears and one paw are missing and I would like to repair it. It will be painted, as before. Photo below shows current state and one with putty replacements to give an idea of what it could look like.

I have thought about making a mould and casting the replacements then attaching with drilled holes and wire but that seems complicated.

I could try getting some sand and cement to a putty like consistency and form by hand, then drill and wire as above. Has anyone done this might save me some trial and error.

Anyone have any better ideas?

 

[johna.clements]

I would clean the site of the ears and paw with a small wire brush then wash with clean water.

I would make the repair in two stages the paw first then the ears.

On a dry overcast day with little wind.

Lay it on its back on a towel wedged to stop it moving.

Mix up sand and cement. I would go for 2 sharp sand 2 building sand 1 cement. I would mix up at least twice as much as you think you need, it does not cost much and you want to do it in one go.

Spray the paw with water.

Then add water 20% of the volume of the cement and mix. If the mix is not workable enough add another 5%. It is better to keep adding water till you get it right than have to add more sand and cement.

Check that the excess sprayed water has soaked in or dripped off.

Put on some water proof gloves and form the paw. Use a small trowel to help. You have about 45 minutes working time after adding the water. You can work the shape after but you may loose some strength.

Next day put an old cotton tea shirt over the paw and spray it is wet. keep it wet for the next week.

Then do the ears with it turned upright.



I would not drill and insert wire as I would be concerned about cracking the creature.

 

[Tris]

If it's going to be painted I'd look at using Milliput, worked well for me when fixing a reconstituted stone statue

 

[profchris]

I was going to suggest Milliput as well. I'd reinforce those ears with a bit of stainless steel rod.

 

[ChaiLatte]

I'd reinforce those ears with a bit of stainless steel rod.

Can I see your stainless rod and raise it to stainless threaded rod please? That would provide a better bond.

Drill the hole using a non-percussion drill, maybe a diamond tile drill or one of the Bosch multimaterial bits. Car body filler (same as two-part wood filler) would bond the rod in.

 

[Flynnwood]

Also have a look at the data sheet for: Toupret Rock Solid Repair Exterior Filler
It might fit your requirement.

 

[LittleEars]

Is there a cement rabbit specialist on the repair shop?

 

[Stigmorgan]

I would do as above, a mechanical fixing such as threaded bar, especially for the paw as it has gravity trying to pull it off, 2:2:1 sand sand cement ratio mixed to a putty consistency remembering the dry volume will reduce by about 1/3 once you add water, I would also add a bonding agent like PVA to the mix for added peace of mind, clean the site thoroughly and you're good to go.

 

[Jonm]

Thank you for all the responses, very helpful. I had not thought of milliput, used some many years ago and it was good. Certainly some reinforcement is needed. I will give it some thought then post on here when it is done. Thanks again.

 

[johna.clements]

Thank you for all the responses, very helpful. I had not thought of milliput, used some many years ago and it was good. Certainly some reinforcement is needed. I will give it some thought then post on here when it is done. Thanks again.

At the moment you have nice square edges to join too. If you drill into the creature there is a reasonable chance that the back of its head or shoulder will blow off. You will then end up with feather edges which will require further work to square off.

Do you know what is inside of the creature. It may have been formed around chicken wire to reduce the weight. You could weight it and get a rough idea of its density. I would expect it to be about 2000kg / m3 if it is solid.

If you follow my advice and do not drill what have you lost if the paw falls off in six months time.



I would like to add to my other post do not do the repairs when the temperature is likely to get below 3C that night.

 

[dickm]

Possibly add some PVA to your sand-cement mix, and paint the raw joins on the original with some too. It makes the mixture more plastic and will also help bonding.

 

[johna.clements]

Possibly add some PVA to your sand-cement mix, and paint the raw joins on the original with some too. It makes the mixture more plastic and will also help bonding.

Whilst PVA will allow a reduced water cement ratio so making the mix slightly stronger it will as you say make the mix more plastic or workable. The longer it stays workable the more it will slump which may not be so good when you are trying to form paws and ears that are cone shaped. PVA would need to be water proof if it is used outside or used very very sparingly not like a wood joint.

 

[Homeless Squirrel]

Myself i'd get some thin Stainless steel wire/welding wire etc 2-4mm ish but upto your choice but bunny don't look that big?
Form loops for each item and with a similar size drill used on slow with no impact(I used to use my Metabo electric Screwdriver that takes hex bits and used masonry bits from my snappy kit to drill in very old concrete'y type plaster board when did electrics in a very old place)
once done and checked for it! mix up a little cement only! wet holes if big enough ie bit bigger than wire little blob in them push wire in then blob up around area and you can build up a bit but only get short while as will set soon then fashion some chicken wire around loops to taste!
Do a first pass of rough then a finish coat which can be higher finer sand and shape as drying and can always repair if get some wrong just need to make damp so bond.
Once allowed to air dry fully bit like do with timber! you can coat with likes of Thompson dry seal or two pack resin/lacquer if it's fragile creature but some "Decent" Masonry paint like Dulux Weathershield etc will work as has a sort of plastic ish coating to surface once dried.

 

[baldkev]

If damaging it would be catastrophic to you, I'd probably follow johnaclements advice, allowing a few days before attempting to move it.... my reasoning is that once the new paw or ears are formed, they can be glued on with clear epoxy if they come off.
If the statue is held in your hand and carefully drilled on rotary only, you'll probably get away with small diameter holes, but it's a risk

 

[MikeJhn]

I would cast the ears and paws off the Rabbit and stick them on afterwards with a Polyester resin, I have repaired a number of statues with that method.

 

[Jonm]

Once again, thank you for all the responses, very helpful. I still have not got around to doing it, I shall wait until the weather warms up a bit.