Hypertufa Moai Easter Island Head Sculpture - Other Crafts

W Wavy_Davy Member St. Somewhere - Newburyport, MA Joined: Apr 29, 2010 Posts: 5	W Wavy_Davy Posted posted on Sun, Oct 26, 2014 8:18 PM Hi Lori! Thanks! I would definitely put this at the TOP of your To Do list. It was a blast to make and yours will be much better an more rewarding than anything you can buy. If/when I make another one there are a couple of things I would do differently. I would add more foam to mass out the shoulders. I ended up mixing and mudding a lot of extra hypertufa to get the shape right. I have never worked with hypertufa so I had no idea what the final color would be. It was perfect for the first month or so then it got very light in color. I ended up sponging on some diluted Quikrete concrete stain to get the look I wanted. I called Quikrete and they did not think it would work. So far...so good. We'll see how it makes it through a New England winter. Wear gloves when you are doing any shaping after it dries in the first few days. The set up hypertufa carves beautifully and sometimes I would grab a chisel and make a small adjustment here or there. I was too lazy to put on gloves and...the stuff burned off my fingertips. I plan on scraping off some lichens from some nearby rocks, mixing it with buttermilk and brushing it on "Moe" I read that this will promote lichen growth to make it look more like a natural stone. I now have a small MIG welder and I would weld up a wire frame instead of using the foam. Just because we have to endure the cold Northeast weather doesn't mean we can't enjoy the Tiki lifestyle. Until I can move to a warmer climate I will have to improvise. When we put in a pool years ago there was no question that we needed a Tiki Bar. But I had to construct it to withstand the New England weather. It is 2x4 and 2x8 construction under some nice bamboo poles and covering. I got the bamboo and matting at Bamboo and Rattan Works in Lakewood, NJ. Sadly, I learned that they have now closed. I played a lot of Jimmy Buffett, Jim Morris and John Frinzi music during the build. I frequently open the bar in the winter months. This was "Leap Tiki" and it was about 6 degrees and snowing. We still get thirsty even if it is cold outside. Good Luck with your project and let me know if you have any questions. "I've got a far North latitude with a Margaritaville attitude" Dave

Hi Lori!

Thanks! I would definitely put this at the TOP of your To Do list. It was a blast to make and yours will be much better an more rewarding than anything you can buy. If/when I make another one there are a couple of things I would do differently.

I would add more foam to mass out the shoulders. I ended up mixing and mudding a lot of extra hypertufa to get the shape right.
I have never worked with hypertufa so I had no idea what the final color would be. It was perfect for the first month or so then it got very light in color. I ended up sponging on some diluted Quikrete concrete stain to get the look I wanted. I called Quikrete and they did not think it would work. So far...so good. We'll see how it makes it through a New England winter.
Wear gloves when you are doing any shaping after it dries in the first few days. The set up hypertufa carves beautifully and sometimes I would grab a chisel and make a small adjustment here or there. I was too lazy to put on gloves and...the stuff burned off my fingertips.
I plan on scraping off some lichens from some nearby rocks, mixing it with buttermilk and brushing it on "Moe" I read that this will promote lichen growth to make it look more like a natural stone.

I now have a small MIG welder and I would weld up a wire frame instead of using the foam.

Just because we have to endure the cold Northeast weather doesn't mean we can't enjoy the Tiki lifestyle. Until I can move to a warmer climate I will have to improvise. When we put in a pool years ago there was no question that we needed a Tiki Bar. But I had to construct it to withstand the New England weather. It is 2x4 and 2x8 construction under some nice bamboo poles and covering. I got the bamboo and matting at Bamboo and Rattan Works in Lakewood, NJ. Sadly, I learned that they have now closed. I played a lot of Jimmy Buffett, Jim Morris and John Frinzi music during the build.

I frequently open the bar in the winter months.

This was "Leap Tiki" and it was about 6 degrees and snowing. We still get thirsty even if it is cold outside.

Good Luck with your project and let me know if you have any questions.

"I've got a far North latitude with a Margaritaville attitude"

Dave

Post #730358 by Wavy_Davy on Sun, Oct 26, 2014 8:18 PM