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rustinj

Hypertufa faux bois table WIP

rustinj
18 years ago

This is my current work-in-progress. I'm almost done but I've had a few setbacks (cracked leg). The milk jug is for scale :) Can anyone suggest a free picture gallery I can post the step-by-step picks on?

Justin

{{gwi:74726}}

Comments (58)

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Laura, that liquid glass is really neat stuff. I'm going to have to read up on that!

    Tango, thanks for the encouragement and insight! You're always so eager to help...we're really lucky to have you here. I'm having a blast trying to figure it all out, but I sure can't imagine having to do this under a deadline!
    Thanks, I'll try a finer aggregate next time around.

    Justin

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Well, I went back at it with all the advice and picture refs in mind. I think I'm calling it quits on the carving part. Do you think some sort of varnish or wood stain would look good on this? It is for indoors, so I shouldn't have to worry about fading.

    Justin

    {{gwi:74728}}

  • kobold
    18 years ago

    Justin, congratulation, fantastic job! Very tempting to try!

    Andrea

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Hey Justin --- WOW! Excellent! Looks like you already have "colorized" and sealed it...and done a fantastic job I might add. What did you wind up using?

  • bznmygarden
    18 years ago

    Hi Justin,

    Fantastic table! I really love your finished table top - the additional rings/textures/colors make all the difference in the world!

    BB, I immediately bookmarked your link to the tree rings - thanks for posting it. So far, I've been amassing information on faux bois, but haven't had the opportunity to try anything. (Last weekend got away from me, darn it! That's when I was going to attempt a stump planter.) :(

    Great insight on the tree ring development, Tango. I'd forgotten some of that stuff from hort school, but it's that kind of detail that will make faux bois look more 'real'. As for the Stradavarius violins...didn't they also soak the wood in a water brine of some kind? Same idea as the recovered ancient heart pine logs that are being salvaged out of bogs and rivers now...the water causes a change in the cells, and affects the strength/resonance of the wood? Or maybe this is another urban legend?! ;)

    It's SO great to learn from all of you talented folks... Keep on posting and explaining! (Someday soon, I'll have the courage to borrow a camera and post some of my feeble attempts here...aggggh!)

    - Lisa

  • ltd123
    18 years ago

    Justin, this is one of the most beautiful faux bois "tops" I have ever seen. Don't change a thing! except....... go outside right now and start making 10 (or whatever number sounds like a lot but do-able) of these table tops in different sizes and shapes. Try to duplicate the exact look you have achieved above while you still have the "muscle-memory" for repeating your work. I promise you, this will be a wonderful stockpile for your future table making. Or - you could sell just the tops!
    Great work
    Laura

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Wow, thanks for all of the encouragement! Laura, I wish I had the time. Besides, the neighbors already think I'm nuts from seeing me carving on this thing for hours at a time :) I should have mentioned that the pics were taken after I hosed it off, so all of the shine and most of the colors are a result of the water. I'm hoping a varnish or stain might have the same look to it. I don't think I want glossy finish, though. I'd really appreciate some staining suggestions...stick with made-for-concrete stains, or try something for wood?

    Thanks! Justin

  • ncgardengirl
    18 years ago

    Hi Justin,
    I think your table looks fantastic. The rings do have an old weathered appearence and I think it is super, I would say you achieved the look you were seeking.
    The last pic shot of the top is nice, it really would look great with the high sheen and color of that shot, but not if that isn't the look you are after at this time.
    Boohaha on your neighbors, I'm with everyone else. I think you should do some more and sell them. Even if you just do the tops for now. It really is a great piece, just super!
    :) NCGardengirl (another Lurker of the forum)

  • ltd123
    18 years ago

    Okay - go make ONE more table top.
    I like the results of an exterior spar urethane by Minwax. It comes in gloss, satin, and semi-gloss finishes. It adds a slight amber tone; very wood-like.
    I let it sort of slightly pool on some leaf surfaces to enhance the amber quality. I have just used it since May so I don't have a real history of how it acts during winter and continued exposure to the sun but it is used for marine applications like boats so it sounded good to me.
    Laura

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Laura, thanks for the suggestion. The amber color sounds perfect. I'll have to look into that this weekend. One more is on the way. I think you should at least try one for your self. For me, it took too much time and effort to ever be worth mass producing, but It's sure worth it if you're keeping it :)

    NCGardengirl, thanks, the "Boohaha" comment had me rolling...that's a new one for me :)

    Justin

  • artfart
    18 years ago

    Wow, what a fabulous table. I haven't been here in awhile, I've just been swamped. I'm sure glad I stopped by though, I wouldn't want to miss seeing this table. Wonderful work. Faux Bois is my favorite and this is especially nice. Thanks for sharing Rustinj.

    Amy

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Hey Justin, have you completed the finish on your table yet? We're all dyin' t'see the final results!

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks, Amy!

    Tango, as you can see in the pic below, I had s slight setback. I got too eager to finish and cracked one of the legs. I guess I'm fortunate, because it was bound to be the leg or my back. I figured the old dental approach would be best...carve a big hole around the crack and fill it in. It just means I'll be waiting a little longer before moving it again.

    As far as the finishing goes, I'll be trying something different (Hint: it's not organic or synthetic, but it burns like hell). I'll fill you in when I figure out if it was a waste of $60 :)

    Justin

    {{gwi:74733}}

  • wannadanc
    18 years ago

    I am so impressed with all of this that I can barely stand it - yes, faux bois gets closer and closer all the time - I must at least "try it" once. What an inspiration your work is!!!!

    grins

    Vicki

  • ltd123
    18 years ago

    Now, how can I go to sleep wondering what could possibly be not organic, not synthetic, and burn like hell? (and cost $60)???? This forum has made me wish I had taken a few chemistry courses or maybe an engineering degree.
    Laura
    ps sorry about your broken leg

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks, Vicki. If you're interested in faux bois you should definitely try it. I think it's something you can read and read about, but you only really start to get it when you try it yourself. A lot of the tips Tango has given in the past only made sense after I started this thing. For instance, there's no magic faux bois tool. I used a piece of diamond mesh to carve 90% of this, but that's just what was comfortable for me.

    Laura, it's not worth the loss of sleep :) I'm attempting to limewash it for a finish, but I no experience with this stuff. I don't know what to expect, but I'm hoping it will give me the look I'm after. It may be a while before I know.

    Justin

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Hey Justin...just had to check in and see how the repairs are coming along as well as your final finish/color/seal/ choices. What's the latest...???...

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Hey Tango,

    Thanks for the interest. I bought some lime putty and was using lime-saturated water to coat the table. I was hoping that would give it a hard calcite shell/finish, but the table just keeps absorbing the stuff. I must have put on 8-10 coats by now. I do think it is fortifying the heck out of it, but it sure isn't doing anything for the appearance. It was a nice experiment, but not the result I envisioned. I'm going to let it dry out and then try a different approach. I'll post some pics when i can.

    Take care, Justin

  • rockhewer
    18 years ago

    Just had to say Job Well Done, Justin. You certainly have a flair for that style of Faux Bois. I hope you find what you're looking for! LOL We all think it looks great. But I know about that knowing a thing from the ground up, you know all its supposed flaws. It's a great piece and you should be proud of it.

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Rock,

    Thanks for the feedback! I am really happy with how it's turned out, but I'm definitely still learning. I now know lime wash doesn't look like I had hoped...it took 10 coats to figure it out , though :)

    regards, Justin

  • ltd123
    18 years ago

    Justin, sorry the limeputty didn't work like you had hoped. In your experimentation with the product, did you think of anything it might work better for? I have never heard of lime putty so I don't have any idea of its usual uses.
    Laura

  • rockhewer
    18 years ago

    Hi Laura, I too am unfamiliar with Lime putty so I did a quick search and here's what I found to help.

    http://www.restorationtrades.com/articles/art30.shtml

    http://www.restorationtrades.com/articles/art38.shtml

    http://www.jjsharpe.co.uk/material.html

    Hope these help.

    GW wouldn't let me put these in the link option, so you'll have copy and paste the url's into your address bar. sorry.

  • ltd123
    18 years ago

    Rockhewer - now I know a lot more about Lime putty!
    Thanks,
    Laura

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Rock, those links look familiar...I guess there's not a whole of info out there on the subject. I had a hard time finding suppliers, but you can look up Niagara if you're interested in experimenting.

    Laura, I haven't given up on it completely. I found this stuff while trying to figure out how to make calcite (Calcium Carbonate). Calcite has special light refractive properties (see bifringent). I am hoping these properties will give depth to the surface of my table, mimicing that of finished wood grain. Other than plasters, limewash, and what I'm trying to do here, I haven't come up with any other uses for the stuff.

    Justin

    To read about calcite:
    http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/carbonat/calcite/calcite.htm

    to picture bifringence:
    http://www.olympusmicro.com/primer/java/polarizedlight/calcite/


  • ltd123
    18 years ago

    Justin, I am flattered that you think I could understand bifringence. I don't think I mastered all the info on the site (wild laughter) but those neat interactive graphics gave me the idea of the quality of depth you are talking about. You are bound to discover some interesting results from your experimentation.
    Laura

  • kobold
    18 years ago

    Am I older or wiser than the rest of you ( chuckle, chuckle)? I grew up in Europe after the IIWW, I remember builders used the lime putty for mortar, people white washed the walls, fences with it. Very strong and dangerous stuff.

    Andrea

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Andrea, you're right...those are the buildings that are ancient and will still be there long after the cement structures fall apart. As Tango can testify, lime is very nasty, especially the stuff that hasn't had water added to it yet (quicklime?). I'm not sure what he was using it for, but I avoided most of the danger by buying preslaked (water saturated) lime (also the only form I could find), but it is still nasty stuff if you get it on your skin or in your eyes.

    Laura, I'm flattered you think I understand that site...you were only supposed to look at the picture. Hee hee hee!!!

    Here's a few recent pics of the repaired leg and after "limewashing" it....not much has changed.

    Justin

    {{gwi:74736}}

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Wow, Justin...excellent aged effect! Have you sealed it yet? I really like the softer matte finishes, but "flat" sealers can be hard to come by and all of them I've been able to find are solvent based. Supposed to penetrate better & last a lot longer than the water based, but are nastier to work with. Guess everything has a price.

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks, Tango. No, I haven't sealed it yet. I'm still tinkering with the colors and the lime wash. I think I'm just afraid to commit to something :) I'm going for the worn-wood finish, but I haven't figured out how to get it yet. Maybe rubbing it down with raw linseed oil? I have the advantage in that this is going to be an interior piece of apartment furniture, so I'm really not worried about sealing so much as getting the final look right. I can't really imagine anything penetrating very deep into your "neat" cement surface finishes, compared to the sponge-like hypertufa. I guess every little bit helps. I'll post a few pics when I get it done.

    take care, Justin

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Justin...Most of the work by well known concrete guru Buddy Rhodes seems to be finished with nothing more than a penetrating sealer (matte or gloss of your choice) and good neutral old bee's wax. That's basically the same combination I employ for both interior & exterior use. I also use Carnuba, such as you find in most high-end automotive waxes. Gives a nice low sheen that mimics old wood that's been handled a lot and also resists water/stain penetration. Another trick is to turn the sealer into a "glaze". If you want to highlight the texture, you can add a little color tint into the sealer. Takes a little experimenting to achieve the right color/intensity, but can make a huge difference in the finished appearance. There are also tinted waxes made for "dark" furniture finishes (see Min-Wax)that provide a similar effect and would be fine for any interior application. Another nice thing about tinted waxes is that, unlike tinted glazes, if you decide you don't like the way it turns out...you can either add more...or completely remove it with relative ease.

    Whatever route you take, we're all cheering you on and anxiously awaiting pix of your final product. Outstanding work, sir.

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Tango,

    Wow, that was a huge help! The Carnuba finish sounds exactly like what I'm going for. Do you use that after the penetrating sealer or as a stand-alone finish? I'm going to try and find some on my way home, but I can't figure out whether a craft store, grocery store, or an autopart store is the best place to find it...seems this stuff is in just about everything. I actually tried to buff it down by hand, but one blister was enough to see the folly in that (The tiny section I buffed looked real nice though!@#$). Also got carried away with the limewash and now have a chalky-white layer on the base to get rid of. I keep tinkering with it and en up getting farther and farther from the look I want. I'm hoping it will be aquick fix.

    Thanks again for all of the great insight. I figured the indoor and outdoor sealers and stains would be completely different. I'm going to keep my eyes open for the tinted waxes. As you might have guessed, the do-over option of the tinted waxes sounds really appealing.

    Regards, Justin

  • davidmcdn
    18 years ago

    Briwax is great.
    Comes in several wood colored tints as well allowing you to gradually add woods tones to your work.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Great wax on concrete

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Justin...the penetrating sealer needs to go on first, then the wax. The BriWax above is excellent and should be great for an indoor project such as yours. For a finish exposed to the outdoor environment, I'd reccommend pure Carnuba. It is quite a bit harder and lasts longer under those conditions. Pretty easy to find at auto parts stores, but check the labels for contents. There are a lot of synthetics and such labeled as "wax" that don't really contain any and while I do know the history of Carnuba & beeswax...I'm not sure what "silicones" will do over time or to concrete.

  • davidmcdn
    18 years ago

    I should have mentioned that BriWax isn't the best wax for outdoors.
    But for Justin's indoor project I thought the selection of colors would be perfect for experimenting.
    Briwax isn't really cheap and the one pound cans go a long way but there used to be a sample pack of all the colors.
    That would be handy.
    I only use the clear Briwax myself but have been known to mix in a little shoe polish for a bit of color.:)

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Tango and David,

    Thanks for all of your help! I dropped a lot of money on this darn lime putty, so I think I'll stick to what I can find locally. There are two types of Aqua Mix ultra seal at Lowes, one is water-based and the other didn't list what the base is (at least on-line). I think I'll get one or the other and some carnuba wax at the autopart store (save the briwax for my next big purchase). I'll post some pics when a get back in town and wrap it up.

    Thanks again!!!

    Justin

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Here are the last shots. I'm really happy with the way the top turned out, but not as pleased with the colors on the base. I think it all boils down to which area was more comfortable to work on. I haven't had a chance to find carnuaba wax, but the sealer I picked up is pretty good stuff. The flash makes it look a little more glossy than it actually is.

    regards, Justin

    {{gwi:74740}}

  • ltd123
    18 years ago

    It looks wonderful. This was worth all your hard work!
    I still want you to make at least one more top. It would be a shame to waste all this hard-won expertise and those left over materials......
    Laura

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Bravo Justin!!! Excellent. The color on the top is great and has just the right look. Making the top surface lighter is consistent with how the real thing would age since it is more exposed and really would wind up more bleached by the elements. What's next?

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks!

    Tango, I wish I could say I planned to make the top lighter based on the fading, but it just happened to work out that way :)

    I am working on a coffee table, but it's been getting too dark before I get home. I made the armature out of 1/2" rebar from HomeDepot (apparently the only size they sell around here ). It is almost impossible to bend, so the base turned out more like an octopus than a tree trunk. I'm hoping I can make it look better by detailing the surface texture. After that, I'll be taking a break from tufa to focus on work :)

    Thanks again for all of the advice and encouragement.

    Justin

  • jazzbone
    18 years ago

    I'm terribly impressed, Justin. That looks like a lot of work. I have not attempted faux bois and I don't think I'm up to it yet. Your table will be a striking corner piece.

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Hey Justin --- See if you can find a commercial concrete supply house locally. Not only will they have more options and fresher cement, but you'll find their prices for rebar and such are generally much lower than even the big "discount" stores. WARNING...they can be like "Toy Stores". Be careful with your credit card!

  • paws4pets
    18 years ago

    Beautiful finish job.
    Paws

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks. Hey, Jazzbone, it looks like we're neighbors now...can you recommend any hardware or supply stores near Birmingham, other than Lowes and HD? Bending rebar is for suckers. I'm really jealous of anyone with welding tools! The last armature I made nearly did me in, and then I saw the thinner stuff at Lowes.

    Tango, good point. I'll be keeping my eye out. I'm inclined to do a little more damage on my credit card and a little less on my back.

    Regards, Justin

  • EutyTufa
    18 years ago

    SSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO UNrealistic -- I can't believe it!!! :)
    LOL! Good job, bro! If she doesn't like that, how can you like her? Ha!
    Phone disconnected & got too late.
    Hope you have a great Thanksgiving - we'll be in touch!

  • hammerspammer
    18 years ago

    Yr table looks so realistic that it's hard not to take it for granite. set it off with a bushite plastic turkey, and you're ready for the hollerdaze. as the twig is bent, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. hope you and yr rib have a blessed tanxgiv.

  • Running_Dog
    18 years ago

    rustinj - the table is SO convincing. I love the texture/colour that you've achieved on the top. And even your name scratched on the top adds to the impression of an old old piece of wood. :o)

  • daybees
    18 years ago

    Thanks Jusin,your table is great. If you get a chance to visit Butchart gardens here in Victoria B.C. ,check out the bamboo made from cement garden features.

  • tango88
    18 years ago

    Hey Daybees --- any chance of seeing pix of the bamboo you mentioned? I just happen to be working on designing some cast concrete bamboo edgers and I'm researching anything I can find. Went to the Buchart website, but didn't see what you referred to. Being near the Gulf Coast I'm afraid it will be a while before I can make the drive, but would love to see the gardens in person someday. Thanx.

  • rustinj
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Hey, Thanks! I think someone posted some pics of that a long while ago. I hear the Japanese gardens are incredible!

    Take care, Justin

  • daybees
    18 years ago

    Hi tango88,
    I hope your weather is getting better,we heard about all those terrible hurricanes!! I have some pics of bamboo-cement and as soon as I can figure out how to post them I'll show you.
    Have a wonderful christmas.

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