Hypertufa Mold

These are three of the best, most versatile hypertufa recipes or mixes. They are great for freehand work and can be adjusted for casting and use in molds. One is sort of special; it is a nice mix if you want to try carving your hypertufa after you have cast a rough shape.

Carving is sort of fun, but also requires a fair amount of patience. I guess that is why it never caught on with me. I can barely wait to de0mold my castings, never mind have to work on them after I get them out of the mold.

For me success is getting a casting out of the mold in one piece! I use the number 3 mix for this reason. It makes castings that are a lot tougher than plain 'Tufa. They have a better chance of survival when an impatient person says "it should be ready now".

* Carving Mix

1 - part cement 2 - parts vermiculite 1 - part water. (this is an approximate measure; you should adjust to what you need)

Mix the dry stuff together and add water to get it about like mayonnaise.

* White Carving Mix

This is the same as Carving Mix but use white Portland cement and Perlite.

The result is a startling white casting that is very light and easy to carve. It looks a lot like marble.

* Tougher 'Tufa

1 ½ part cement 1 ½ part peat moss 1 ½ part perlite A small handful of Polypropylene fibers. Water

Mix dry stuff first. Make sure you spread the fibers, don't dump them in a clump. They need to be spread throughout the mixture to give it strength.

Add water as before. You can make this mixture as thick as you want for use in making sculptures on armatures, etc. Thinner and you can pour it into molds like the other 2 mixes.

Hypertufa Project

How You Can Make a Hypertufa Flowerpot

Try this Tufa mix when you do this project.

* 1 part cement * 1 part sand * 1 part colored aquarium gravel * 2 parts peat moss or potting mix. (be sure the potting mix has no fertilizer) * enough water to make a heavy stucco type compound.

You will also need a couple of containers. I have used everything from milk cartons to Styrofoam coolers. These will be your molds.

Never start this with only one, you will have some left over and it is nice to have someplace to put it. Besides that, when you are finished you will have 2 pots. That is always good. If you mess one up you can do better on the second one. Look around and see what you can find. Maybe a 5 gallon pail cut lengthways and laying on its side. You can get them free at a lot of wine-making stores and micro breweries. Useyour imagination here, the more unusual, the better it will look.

Sometimes if you have a good container like an old cooler you can slop on a coat of 1 part cement - 2 parts water with an old paintbrush. Let it get semi hard and then mix your hypertufa as above, but make it a little thick. So you can pick it up in your hand and form a ball that will stay together.

Plaster this on over the cement/water mix. Start at the bottom and work to the top. Make it at least 1 inch thick. Do the inside the same way but put 2 inches or more in the bottom.

Now cover it and let is setup for 12 or more hours depending on the temperature. When you uncover it you may decide to try to wash it gently using a spray bottle, not the garden hose! This should uncover some of the colored aquarium gravel you used in the mix.

If you have a favorite mix you can use it instead. I add some white glue mixed with 2 parts water to mine when I do it. I am not sure, but I think it gives the concrete / hypertufa a little more strength.

Learn more about hypertufa

Hypertufa Project