First, that birdbath is GORGEOUS. Love the colors and the design! For my outdoor stuff, I buy Helmsman spray poly, but I've never used it on a birdbath so don't know about that part. As for terra cotta pots, I seal them first, inside and out, with spray terra cotta pot sealer I get from Michaels Crafts. Then after painting with acrylic paint, I spray them either with the Helmsman or if there's any part painted white, I use Krylon Clear as its non-yellowing. I've had no problem with the terra cotta pots at all.
Wonder if you could use Marine Varnish on the birdbath, its what they put on boats. How long did you let your sealer "cure"?
Please tell us more about how you made that lovely birdbath.

hugs, Karen

Beautiful!! What's it made of?

I use marine varnish on EVERYTHING! It does yellow a bit on anything painted white even though it says it doesn't. But I've never had any other problem with it. Can't give you a name-brand cuz I live in Australia hehe

Super beautiful birdbath - I love it. Sorry but I don't have an answer to your question but you might want to go to the website of the product maker and see if they can help you. Send them an email and see what they say.

Sal

Thanks for the compliments! I just made it with the leaf casting technique, only I used lots of leaves instead of one. I did let the sealer cure for a week or so, but maybe it should have been longer. I can't seem to find marine varnish around here anywhere. Guess I need to look a little harder!

Please tell us more about the incredible birdbath. Ive never seen such a beautiful one.
You don't say what it is made out of, ceramic? We used marine varhish on the cream colored painted woodwork of the window that is in our shower (old house what can I say). It did yellow a lot which was a huge disappointment, but it didn't turn white. I think there is some way to remove what you have depending on what it is made from. Curing is also a question. Seems like someone who makes birdbaths could advise you.
As for pots (and cement) I just paint it with what ever is around and don't seal. Works ok on terra if you don't mind the aged look,lol. But my imitation rust look on plastic peeled off. :(
kp

How absolutely wonderful!!!!!! Having made a million or so cast leaves, I still never even thought of trying something as lovely as this!!!!!!!!!

Well, you can see everyone here is so talented and they have such great info! I dont have any help for you but I just had to tell you how beautiful your birdbath is! You have a great talent and it turned out so perfect that we are ohhhin and awinnn over it. Your colors are just gorgeous. Beautiful, beautiful job!! Please give us more info on how you done it!! We are anxiously awaiting!! blessings-sherri

Stunning! Hope you can solve this whitening problem and restore the lovely colors. Keep us posted.

Newbie in this forum. I find here the most generous, creative, fun people. God bless.

May I suggest: if there is a swimming pool company in your yellow pages that you give them a call. Perhaps they would know what product would best seal the birdbath. Your birdbath is probably the most complex design I have seen with cast leaves. I can say that because IÂm opinionated, bold, and adventurous. :)
What a great imagination you have.

Robert

Thank you all for the good ideas. I may strip the sealer off and start over with marine varnish. I AM going to call a pool company. That's a great idea! To make the birdbath, I started with a big mound of sand and put thin plastic over it. I used rhubarb leaves for the outside circle and nasturtium leaves for the middle, just laying them upside down in the design I wanted. I applied cement over this (very carefully so the leaves didn't move) and let it dry for a couple of days. Turn it over, peel off the leaves and there you go! I used acrylic paints and sealed it with shellac, which started to kind of peel off after the first summer, so this year I tried the polyurethane and here I am. I made a latex mold of it, so if I totally mess it up, I could start over. I have made several of these using rhubarb, geranium and nasturtium leaves. Sometimes I press fern leaves on the outside while the cement is drying and that looks awesome. I'll let you all know what happens with my sealing adventure!

Jane

That is to beautiful!!!
I would love to make one!
It looks like it was store bought!
I would love to see the one with the fern.
Thanks,Rochelle

It sounds like Robert gave you some great advice so I just wanted to add my oooohs and aaaaahs to the rest! What a remarkably beautiful birdbath! It beats the single large leaf ones hands down! I added it to my personal inspiration photo album and I hope purplemoon adds it to the group's!

Its in our Inspiration Album along with the instructions.
This is too incredible I think. By the way, we're up 444 photos now!

hugs, Karen

Perhaps the problem is that since its a water based product, it rehydrated a bit with constant exposure to water. Have you dried it out, and did it re-clear? If so thats the problem and applying a non water based product could fix it.

Polyurethane and marine varnish aren't formulated to be used on concrete.They are great for wood as these products can completely seal all the pores in the wood surface rendering it more weather resistant. Concrete and terra cotta are porous, absorbent and almost always contain some moisture. That's why concrete birdbaths will crack or flake in freezing temps as will terra cotta.
I'm hazarding a guess here but I think that your beautiful leafcasting itself is the reason the sealer turned white. The concrete held moisture which caused the sealer to not fully cure, hence the white spots.
I've had great success using concrete sealer on my leafcasting. I use the Behr brand of sealant purchased at my local big box DIY.(I won't mention any names but they use the color orange a lot in their signage.) It's made to be used on concrete, brickwork, masonry and some other surfaces that I can't recall at the moment. I find it in the paint department near other weather proofing products, mine comes in a big blue jug.... at least the last gallon I purchased did.
When purchasing a sealer to use on leafcasting, read the label. You want a product that works on vertical surfaces as well as horizontal, not all of them do. The ones that work on both surfaces seal much better and seem more durable. I check the sealed surface yearly and reseal them as needed. It's not a "once and forget it" thing.
I've never used it for this but I don't see why you couldn't use the same sealer for concrete and terra cotta, they're similar surfaces.
Good luck and let us know how things turn out!

Awesome help! I am going to just start over from the painting point and try your ideas. I think it should turn out great! I'll let you know. Thanks again.

Jane

Well...I'm no help here, just want you to know I think your birdbath is absolutely lovely.

I hope you get this figured out!

~Sandy

well heck, NMgirl, I had totally forgotten that I too used concrete sealer from HD on all those stepping stones I painted last year. That should work perfectly on these leaves. I even put it in a spray bottle to make it easier on me to apply. It went on real white and dried quick and clear. Forgot what brand I bought but it was by the concrete mix and stain.

hugs, Karen

Hey Karen!
A spray bottle IS the best way to apply this stuff. I'm with ya there!