A Crowning Achievement

 13 February 2021

With the rain and generally cold, miserable weather, my current project has been an indoor one where the mess is very contained - repairing the crown for the column in the study! You might recall, it's a little broken.

I had ordered a mold making kit a while ago, like last July, and it's been sitting in the study taunting me. I got out the directions, watched a couple videos, and set to work.

First, I cleaned off the broken crown as best I could, and applied a couple coats of shellac. Then I hot glued it to a piece of glass to provide a flat surface to work on that the mold wouldn't stick to. After that came several coats of a release agent that came with the kit.

Once the release agent was dry, I mixed up the two component mold compound and started applying it in layers.

I let this cure for a couple days before trying to peel it off.

Success!

Time for making the repair. I set the mold on the side of the crown that is missing a leg and taped it in place.

I set the glass upright on the floor to begin filling the mold with plaster, using gravity to help me fill all the tight spots and float any air bubbles out.

After a few hours, I peeled away the mold and voila! 

A little sanding, a little smoothing, fixing some minor blemishes, and it will be ready for Amy's finishing touches and re-installation in the study.