Making the slate for the top & treads
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| I (scribbled) the water putty on to a piece of mat board - using a eye-dropper (see previous posts for details.) |
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| I let it dry - then sanded it... |
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| I painted it shades of grey with blends of red & blue... Next I'll cut this into tiles, then round off & paint / touch-up the edges & corners... |
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| I'll use this configuration for the slate that will go on the top (or floor) of the porch...on the treads I'll just use 3 tiles across the steps... |
Good luck, im intested to see how your slate turns out as Im looking into making slate for my roof, Im a DIY girl at heart and always prefer to make rather than buy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips, yes love sketchup could not make miniatures without it.
ReplyDeleteHi Browny, thanks !
ReplyDeleteI've also tried torn tissues; torn paper; torn poster board; old glue I had hanging around, instead of the water putty. The glue & the tissue peeled off when I tried sanding, but I think that was crappy glue I was using. The poster board or paper came out good but was a bit too large in the scale department (hard to tear small pieces.) So I went with the water putty. In the photo its difficult to see how textured it is. I wanted to keep the pattern in scale so its rather small.
When you dribble the water putty its edges are rounded & smooth, but after sanding - plateaus are formed which have sharper edges. The slate almost looks like dripping paint in a wavy motion.
If you're doing shingles you might want to use a wood veneer instead poster board & mix medium gray paint with the water putty. The veneer will cut & sand without peeling. I'd paint a large piece of veneer then cut it down & mix up the piece to get a nice random pattern.
I'm with you DIY girl! And I enjoy your blog very much. I think I saw that you were using Sketchup - if you have any questions about Sketchup - feel free to ask :)
Hi Mike I have been researching and we dont get water putty here in the Uk, is this the same as wood filler or if not could you recomend an alternative?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Browny, do you have DAP Water Putty over there in the UK?
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried anything other than Durham's Water Putty, but I would think joint compound or maybe plaster of Paris would work. I'm not sure if these products would crumble when you try to sand them, or even over time? I don't think wood filler can be thinned down, well not with water anyway. Wood filler is too thick & gritty.
Check your local hardware store or your equivalent to Home Depot / Lowes, ask them if they carry joint compound or plaster that is possibly lightweight, non-shrinking, & has adhesive mixed in. (These 3 things would be ideal, but you might not be able to get all.)
Explain your project to them. (hopefully they won't laugh...ask me how I know this...)LOL
water putty... hmmmm. I will be looking for some! Thanks for the tips
ReplyDelete