A switch from bronze

[OFSO]

Having had two foundrys go bankrupt (due to EU taxes on imports of materials, designed to ensure materials are produced inside the EU, only nobody does*) and very high cost of social charges in Spain (roughly €1000 a month before wages) Mrs OFSO has been investigating new methods of producing her sculptures. As an experiment, she wired together a silicone mould of a cat, used formerly to produce a bronze cat, inverted it and poured Jesmonite (water soluble epoxy mix) into it. Ran out of Jesmonite so boosted it with builders foam. The result is excellent. Excluding the cost of the mould, which she had, the materials cost €30. The cost of the original bronze cat, including the mould, was around €850, excluding the usual 25% IVA/Vat. And, of course, all work in-house, so no three or four drives to the foundry, and took three days as opposed to three months or more, although the Jesmonite cat still requires sanding, two days work, and painting.

*The best casting sand comes from England, so 34% import tax. Silicone for the moulds comes from China, same tax, except supplies restricted due to Covid lockdown. Sculpture bronze was over €100 a kilo, last year. No idea from where. Wax also pricey (lost wax casting process).
Jesmonite last month was €32 or 2.5 kilos, which was sufficient for the cat. Local Chinese shops sell excellent metallic and metalflake paint.

[Hydromet]

OFSO, Mrs. O is probably aware that there are also available very good 'patina' and 'rust' finishes. I haven't used them, but I think they are two-pack finishes that rely on a chemical reaction, rather than paints.

[PHXPhlyer]

Today I went to tour Paolo Soleri's studio, "Cosanti", in Paradise Valley and watched a 100 lb pour of bronze for about a dozen bells.
It was a very interesting and worthwhile tour, especially as it was free thanks to a Culture Pass from my local library.
I shall venture forth to his much larger communal studio (Arcosanti) in the coming months ( \about an hour's drive north of here).

PP

[G-CPTN]

Early in my working life in vehicle engineering, I was a visitor to a foundry, where I walked between hot metals being transferred and poured.
Saw all the preparatory work of mould making and breaking down (at close quarters).

I doubt that it would be allowed today - even if the foundries had survived (all such work now being done 'overseas').

[OFSO]

The Girona foundry that went bust a couple of years ago possessed only one item of protective clothing: a pair of leather gloves which were worn by the person holding the metal shaft of the slag scraper, removing slag floating on the surface of the liquid bronze, as the hopper was tilted and the molten metal poured out into the moulds. Everyone otherwise wore t shirts and jeans. No leather aprons, no head gear, no eye protection.

Mrs OFSO, being asthmatic, is selective in her use of paints, solvents, and epoxy. Jesmonite is a non-irritant, as is the dust from sanding it. She even survived inadvertently making mustard gas and nerve gas years ago while applying home-made patinas to hot bronze. Looking up the chemical reactions subsequently was enlightening.