Need Hypertufa help!

10 years ago

Hi everyone,

I'm new to Hypertufa and could use some advice I've made a few pots that are in the curing process right now and they look great. But my second attempt was a "pot head", using a styrofoam wig head as my mold. So in this project I was applying the Hypertufa mixture to the outside of the styrofoam and I had a lot of problems trying to get the mixture to stick to the styrofoam. I tried a spray adhesive on the styrofoam and that helped a bit, I also tried wood glue that I allowed to dry until it was sticky, but with both techniques I still had a tough time getting it to stick and not pull away from the form

With this in mind, I have two questions...first one, is there something I can put on the styrofoam form to get the Hypertufa to stick to it, and second, is there also something I can add to my mixture to make it more moldable?

My recipe was 2 parts peat moss, 2 parts vermiculite, 1 part Portland concrete

here are a few photos of my project

When end I got up to the more vertical places on the mold, my mixture would just fall off. So frustrating! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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Comments (3)

Mike Larkin
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Advise - Try to mix - portland and sand into a slurry, apply a thin coat, instead of hypertufa. Dont try to the all at once. Do one side at a time, then after it drys a little turn and do the next side. Look at the photos on my blog of the concrete orb. I used the portland and sand mix, and place over a large exercise ball. My Blog
sixtoomanycats84
10 years ago
If it's a one-time use of the styrofoam head, make a bunch of U's out of wire, like hairpins, maybe about 2" long and 1/4 to 1/3" wide. Stick them all over the wig stand, sticking out a little less than the thickness you want to make the first layer of concrete.

Don't expect to do the whole thing at once -- wet concrete is susceptible to gravity. Set the head in a smaller container to keep it from rolling. Do one side first (like the back of the head), and down the neck as far as you planned, and let it set a few hours. Carefully pick it up and rotate it in the holder so a side is facing up. Spray a little water along the edge you'll be pressing the new section of concrete against. Apply concrete, let it set. Turn to the expose the other side, repeat. Turn to expose the face, repeat. Now it SHOULD be fairly balanced, and should be able to stand up so you can do the top of the head. When the top is set, spray the whole thing to moisten it, and smear your next layer of concrete over it. Keep the whole thing damp or covered with a damp towel.
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Charles Miller
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I just recently saw this, but as an experienced maker and seller of hypertufa art pieces, containers, and fountains, I thought I'd comment. I have never had any success with using such a thin coat of hypertufa. As you say, it does not adhere well to anything much when it is wet, but, when dry, I just don't think it will hold up being so thin. About the thinnest I have used is 3/4" to 1". If you put more cement in the mixture, I think it will work better. It may even work fairly well if you use a quick drying cement. I believe more cement will help it to adhere to the form as well. If possible, make the layer of hypertufa a little thicker. You may need to take some foam away from the form to accomplish this with a thicker layer.