Good day to all, I continue the series of articles about my crafts. I really want to show you my tiger, which I made in 2015. I can say for sure that this is a durable craft, which was well preserved until 2022, before the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Most likely, this concrete tiger is now destroyed. But I want to show you what it was like before. Concrete is a durable material. By the way, not long ago I wrote an article on how to make leaves from concrete, if you are interested in reading, then click here.
The concrete tiger is a very interesting craft and I really want to show how I created it, unfortunately, Russia destroyed these photos too. I only have a few pictures left. So I will have to tell you in words how I created this craft. Below you can see a screenshot, unfortunately, I have no way to enlarge this photo.
How I Made a Concrete Tiger
So, following the old tradition, I used plastic bottles as a base, which I wrapped with a medical bandage. It is worth mentioning that a medical bandage is a very accessible and inexpensive product in Ukraine, which can be bought in any large supermarket. Therefore, I used the materials that I had on hand. On top, I put a concrete solution at the rate of 1 part cement to 3 parts sand. I made the tiger in a few days. I wrapped the craft in polyethylene to prevent it from drying out quickly. If you have fibers to strengthen the concrete, it would be good to add them too.
After a few days, I removed the polyethylene, the craft dried in the shade, I also used a spray gun and periodically moistened the tiger with water so that the concrete solution dried evenly. Then I covered the tiger with a concentrated solution of deep penetration primer, painted it with water-based white paint for outdoor work on top. I did the artistic coloring using acrylic paints of white, gold and black colors. And finally, I covered it with 2 protective layers of marine varnish.
Restoration of the tiger
Ukraine has very hot summers and snowy, frosty winters. The concrete tiger stood outside all the time and was exposed to atmospheric influences. After a few years, the marine varnish began to peel and affect the acrylic paint. The concrete craft itself was in excellent condition, not a single crack appeared on the concrete. In addition, thanks to the plastic bottles inside, the craft was light, and I could move it myself. It was decided to remove the old coating and paint the tiger again. I decided to add pink shades. After restoration, the tiger took a new place near the greenhouse. Below you can see this photo.
