Post #144213 by Aaron's Akua on Wed, Mar 2, 2005 1:01 PM

Palama,

To answer a few of your questions:

1. Don't use those point and tooth chisels on the AAC. In fact, don't even look at it like stone. Those chisels are used for real stone like alabaster, marble, and such. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) is a very lightweight concrete that is baked in an oven (autoclave) like a loaf of bread - hence all the little bubbles (aerated). You could literally scratch it with your fingernail if you tried real hard. The trick is to carve it in a way that you don't end up with sharp edges or thin features that can be damaged. Put the sealer on when you're done & it will be fine.

2. I tried some concrete stain on a sample piece with bad results - it ended up looking like I used a magic marker on some styrofoam. I have heard that it does paint up well though. I'd test it on a sample waste piece first.

3. Queen Palm can be carvable with great results! I didn't think so, but I remembered this post by Benzart on TikiRex's work. Check it out:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=13235&forum=7

4. I've not yet done a step-by-step on an AAC sculpture in the making. Good idea though! I'll do something on the next one after I finish a couple of wood pieces that are at the top of my list right now.

A-A

"Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness."
-Pablo Picasso

[ Edited by: Aaron's Akua on 2005-03-02 13:03 ]