Here is a list of the items I used to repair this rack
1) apoxie sculpt
2) 1/4in. threaded rod
3) 5 min. Epoxy
4) toothpick
Paints used:
All paints are Folk Art acrylic paint except seal coat
white
Med grey
camel
burn umber
yellow orchre
Krylon #1311
Ok here is what I started with a broken main beam and busted off brow tine.
You can see that they don't quite fit together, probably from drying after broken. This is ok
Drill both halves and epoxy the rod into the half that is less busted up.
While that is setting up I will use the 5 min epoxy again and to re-attach the browtine. As you can see this doesn't quite fit right either, just get it as close as you can.
Once this has set up I will mix additional epoxy and place it down in the crack with a tootpick and make sure I fill all the voids
Front view once epoxied.
Back view once epoxied notice the red circle there is a little piece that isn't flush with the rest of the antler
Go ahead and grind that flush with a dremel
Next, I will build a little damn in the side and bottom of the main crack so epoxy won't run out.
Then I will fill voild with additional 5 min epoxy just like the brow tine.
Next, rough your apoxie sculpt in and fether the edges real good with a wet thumb. Take a tooth pick or finger nail and put deep grooves into your epoxie sculpt try to follow the grooves naturally found in the horn, and try to make it random.
After the epoxy sculpt sets up about 45 min. come back and soften the grooves with a stiff brush wetted with water. At this time you can also work on fethering you edges even futher. You are looking for a soft look at this point.
Go watch tv for a couple of hours.
Ok now we are ready to paint.
For my base coat I mix white, med grey and camel acrylic paint by Folk Art. Start by adding grey to the camel and then a little wite at a time untill you get fairly close to the lightest color you will find. Sometimes you need a little more camel, sometimes you need a little more grey.
I thin this paint with rubbing alchol and run it through my airbrush. I pretty much white out the repair and fade it onto the un repaired part ( notice red circle)
Now make the unrepaired side to match. ( I don't fight blending paint untill it matches perfectly, so this is key to getting it to look "natural" )
sorry about the white out from the flash
At this point any flaws in your epoxy sculpt will stick out like a sore thumb. To correct wash paint off with a damp rag and hot water and once dry touch up any needed epoxy work. If satisfied seal with Krylon #1311
Do this by applying 1 to 2 very thin coats. Allow at least 30 min to for the krylon to dry before moving on to the next step
Ok now we are ready for some color.
For the top coat I use raw umber, medium grey and a touch of yellow orchre. Some times you might want to add a touch of clay red or something, but in this case I did not.
This color get applied by thinning in rubbing alchol in a cup and brushing it on building up the color .
see there isn't much paint in the cup ( about 1/2 in of rubbing alchol)
Now notice the side of the cup this is how thin you want it. It's hard to tell from the pic, but you will be able to see tiny specs of paint and when brushed on and the alchol allowed to evaporate will add nice random color.
Here is a close up of the repair. ( little washed out from the flash)
and Finally here is the a shot of the entire rack.
Now here is the important step...... Walk away........in this case I'm going to bed. Tommorow I will look at it again to make sure I am satisfied. If I am still satisfied in the morning I will seal this color in with another VERY thin 1-2 coats of the Krylon #1311
I hope everyone has enjoyed this post and I hope some of you may have learned something with it. It has been fun buy I'm going to bed!!
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