Mending broken ceramic sculpture

[Katawomp]

Help! Attached you will see my dog sculpture made from commercially produced paper clay. I have used paper clay extensively with much success. This piece was slow dried over a month. I suspect that I failed to sufficiently compress the areas that cracked or broke off. I would like to rescue it since the head and face are intact. Is there a cold finish such as epoxy, bondo or other product that I can use to cover the cracks and build up the areas that broke away? This sculpture is very special to me and I want to do anything I can to rescue it. Thanks in advance for any kind advice.

[Bill Kielb]

55 minutes ago, Katawomp said:

Help! Attached you will see my dog sculpture made from commercially produced paper clay. I have used paper clay extensively with much success. This piece was slow dried over a month. I suspect that I failed to sufficiently compress the areas that cracked or broke off. I would like to rescue it since the head and face are intact. Is there a cold finish such as epoxy, bondo or other product that I can use to cover the cracks and build up the areas that broke away? This sculpture is very special to me and I want to do anything I can to rescue it. Thanks in advance for any kind advice.

Here is an idea

If you are done firing it, then I think I would inject epoxy under any areas that are loose and hollow including drilling as needed to get the epoxy under. I would allow the epoxy to fully cure. If the surface is too delaminated then I would remove anything loose. From there  body filler seems to be a pretty decent idea to feather everything out and make all the cracks disappear. If you have never worked with it you might be pleasantly surprised as while it is curing it can be easily carved and shaped to match your surface texture  early on, let’s say within 10 — 20 minutes of application. Testing  this out in advance  on any other surface is advisable just so you can figure out the speed you can comfortably work. I would use this to fill any irregularities and trim to match the surface elevation and texture. Lots of body work videos on the internet.

After all that I would consider finishing all with acrylic  or your preferred medium. I think this would be a fairly permanent repair if carefully done.

Just what strikes me at first look though.

[neilestrick]

I agree, body filler (Bondo) and paint will work. I believe pretty stinky stuff, though, so do it in a well ventilated area, wear gloves and eye protection, etc.

That spot that blew out looks like it was too thick for the speed at which is was fired.

[Katawomp]

I'm back to report about the various materials I tried while repairing my bulldog sculpture.  I started out (as was recommended) by using epoxy in the larger cracks. I was able to use the epoxy to reattach a few pieces of clay that had blown off.  I went to my local art supply store and purchased two items:  Sculptamold (modeling compound) by Amaco and Sculpt.it by Sargent Art.  Sculptamold is in dry form. Once water is added it can be molded on to an armature.  It does not need to be fired. The texture of the wet mixture reminded me of papier mache. It felt like it might have plaster in it after it dried.  I used this product on one of the blown off shoulders.  I used the other product, Sculpt.it on the other shoulder.  This product is soft somewhat like cylinders of putty. It comes in a plastic sealed bucket. According to the instructions it can be used to create small sculptures or patch sculptures. I molded this product on the shoulder and added some small scraps of paper into crevices with the moistened product.  Results:  The Sculptamold dried relatively quickly, cleaned up quickly with water and was easy to work with.  The problem was that it was lumpy so sanding was imperative.  The Sculpt.it went on easily with the hand and could be moistened with water to make a smooth finish. Clean up with water and easy. The problem with this product is  that it is probably intended for small sculptures. There were several cracks where paper had been covered and the area where the patch met the clay sculpture reflected cracks.  I sanded both sides to remove any loose debris.  I added the 3rd product, Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty.  It came as a dry powder in a canister. This product was recommended to me by a sculpting friend.  Well, the Rock Hard worked well over the Sculptamold. Only light sanding needed after it dried.  The Rock Hard didn't stick well to the Sculpt.it. I had to sand and rasp it off. I applied the Amaco Sculptamold to that side with success.  After it dried I added a layer of Rock Hard just like the other side and voila! It worked.  Unfortunately the file is too large to attach to this post.  Thank you to all of you who provided your kind and knowledgeable assistance. Now, back to work.