Ok, before I get the orange search button repsonse, I have beat that thing to death.....so here are my questions:
1) Used apoxie sculpt, greyish to make a G2 - looks good, but will not take stain, plus when sanding, took some color out of the horn and having trouble bringing that back to normal as well.....even put a layer of Lepages wood filler over the apoxie sculpt, but it looks porous and artificial..it did take stain. but does not look good
2) Bought some tech wood from www.nlsproducts.ca, an epoxy wood filler, beige in color...tried this on another repair....it is taking some stain, but not real well....basically the base color is too dark
3) I need help, no do not want to farm them out as have quite a bit to do, so need any help I can get....
4) other.....was thinking of trying to mold a couple using the cheap silicone method..does pam cooking oil or wd-40 work for release? What would you use to pour the cast with that will look close to the real horn (anything hardware store would have to speed up the process rather than waiting for an order or paying shipping, duty etc. on one item)...thought that I can stain (minwax - american) first before epoxing on to get a good color match...
Thanks for your help!
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The epoxy is smoothe and hard on the outside. you have to lay it on thick then file it or sand it depending on how much you want to shape it. We use Bucket brown stain from the craft store. The stain will only take on a surface that is somewhat pourous. that has been my experience using epoxy. Good luck.
I would suggest doing what you did with the apoxie. Let it dry thoroghly, then air brush it white. Then lightly air brush yellow ochre and let dry. Use burnt umber in paint brush form to do the veining and blending. Hope this helps.
Stephen
I repair the antler with Apoxie and sand it down. Then I cover it with Epo-Grip Antler Repair Putty. After it cures, I sand it lightly and then stain with whatever stain I have. It is the ONLY epoxy that will accept a stain, including potassium permanganate. But I think that's already IN the archives.
George, I did read about the Epo-Grip....was not sure how well it worked and wanted to hear from someone that actually stained it after putting it over apoxie sculpt....if this works I will order some....were you happy with it George?
Also with airbrushing, what do you seal it with something after?
what about the molding part, anyone have good luck with this and what products?
Thanks again!
Randy
so with those three colors you get good results....what finish do you put over it?
Thanks!
Randy
The method that George mentioned above (and also in the archives more than a few times) works very well. I have used the Epo-Grip Antler Repair Putty over the cream colored Apoxie Sculpt several times in the past with great results. I have just recently tried staining with Potassium Permanganate over this repair method and it comes out great. I actually had a customer not be able to tell which brow tine was 'fake'. The PP goes on purple, but dries brown and works well to blend your seam into the real antler.
Best of luck.
Steve
with apoxie sculpt. I start with small threaded rod and drill the antler and epoxy the rod into it.
Then I bend it to shape and put a coat of bondo all over it,so I only have to use a thin layer of apoxie sculpt over the bondo to prevent sagging.
Then I stain the apoxie IMMEDIATELY after I get my detail in it.It takes the stain a lot better BEFORE it dries.
Hope this helps.
When using the apoxies color them white by using oil tube paint when mixing, you want the apoxie to be white BEFORE staining. Then use oil paints to stain and color. I have rebuilt entire 1/2 rack deer on very large bucks and have had very good success.
George, a big thanks for the PM's. I appreciate your time help and expertise...look forward to trying the apoxie and epo...I'll let you know how it works out...will try it with the pot.perm.
Thanks to the other posts as well.