ROTFL - exactly how big is this lingam?

Twelve inches tall and 6 inches wide - classic from the Narada river in India with perfect red marking - now can you tell me what a good finish would be? LOL

Hi Maxie
I made a tufa lantern that ended up more Lingam than lantern.:)
It what the lingam appears to represent that makes me smile.
12 inches is a good size BTW, I'd be happy with that.;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Why we smile.

I got on the web to look up a design for the "receptacle" and my oh my - I'll probably be getting pornographic spam now. Now this is a SPIRITUAL representation of creation of the universe you guys! :)

I too was wondering what a "lingam" was so I followed the link provided. Turns out "The spout of the lingam is perfect for catching any liquid that is used during a puja." Wellllll, that clears it right up!

Yes, LOL, you may well be getting pornographic spam anytime now.

If my memory serves, the last time I was witness to a 12" lingam during a puja was at Woodstock..or was it at that Jimi Hendrix after-concert party...I forget for some reason. But I do remember that it was, indeed, a smooth tufa finish. Haarrrrrr.

Name Withheld

LOL, poor Maxie
No one is answering the question.
Maxie the leaf casters can probably suggest several products that will finish smooth. Many stucco and mortar products finish very nicely. Vinyl patcher is one product that comes to mind. I don't use any of these.

I use an almost neat Portland cement with admix and a bit of very fine powdered sand but it can be tricky to keep from cracking so I don't want to suggest that unless you like experimenting.

Thanks for the sympathy Tuf. Naive of me to mention something unknown and/or likely to be misinterpreted by some.

Only thing is...it ISN'T unknown.

For a smooth finish I'd use a mixture of cement and sand, mix with SBR (don't know what that would be called in US, it's Styrene-Butadiene Rubber, think it may be the same as latex?). Paint that on to the surface you want smooth. Allow to set, and sand any rough spots off. When completely hard sand it with wet and dry sandpaper, finer and finer until it has a milky smooth polished surface. When you have the surface that suits you, polish with something like Johnson's Klear (a floor polish you just wash on). Did a search for Klear in case it's different in US, found attached link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Johnson's Klear

OK, no more joking about your lingam. Attached is a link to a piece of my own that I finished as I described in the last post - a slurry of cement/sand/SBR, wet and dry sandpaper, finished with Johnson's Klear.

It was snow white (white cement, white sand), but when it was finished it looked too stark and perfect. I dribbled a watery pigment over it and allowed it to soak in before sealing.

Slightly over life-size, in case you're wondering.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:73989}}

LOL Dog
Recipe sounds good to me, I use latex paint in my smooth recipe and Briwax to give indoor stuff a nice polish.
I haven't made anything quite like 'that' however.:) Very nice work.

There's a tutorial on finishing concrete art;I don't know that HT would fall here.
Check under Charles Sthreshley.It's a program that I've followed.I used only a dry sanding(using drywall sanding paper)and it took too long,so I look to use a wet/dry combo when I get back to it.When our Karadon counter was installed,the fellow went thru 6 grades of paper on his orbital sander to get the final finish,three were dry and three were wet sanding.Finish is smooth(polymer surface,somewhat like a hard plastic).
Anyhow,my 2 cents worth...
Cheers from here