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Ceramic Warrior

Treatment Goals:

They were initially a pair of ceramic warriors that came with detached fragments. One of them missed a left kneecap. Considering the owner wanted it looks like the original. We decided the below treatments for them:

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  • Clean the object with ceramic soap and water

  • Adhere the detached parts to the body 

  • Gap filling: filll the joining gaps with flugger to give the physical support. Create replacemnts for some missing fragments

  • Create a new kneecap to replace the missing one

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Adhesion

  • Adhere the detached parts with fynebond. Considering we wanted a secure permanent bond; reversibility is not our priority, but stability is. Fynebond is a clear epoxy resin that can provide strong support to these heavy figures. Its curing time is around 2 days

  • To facilitate a secure bond but not add too much strength to the object; We prepared a thicker fynebond, setting the resin for longer prior to the adhesion. This can ensure that the resin would not expand too much to add pressure on the object during its curing.

  • Secure the bonds with adequate supports (e.g. wax glues, rubber bands, clips, and tapes etc.).

Gap Fillling

  • To facilitate a secure bond, we had to gap fill the joining gaps that gives the whole physical strength for the support.

  • Clean the excess resin

  • Then apply Flugger into the gaps 

  • Create replacemnts for some missing fragments and chipped areas with expoy putty (Aradite 2011)

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Creating a Kneecap - Moulding and Casting

  • Take mould from another part to duplicate: the right kneecap is not accessible. So, we take a mould from the elbow (though squat) 

  • First time: tried moulding with silicone rubber, but too rigid, and not too flexible enough to shape to the desired shape.

  • Then take mould with a more flexible material, latex.

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  • Cast with epoxy putty (Aradite 2011) inside to a thin layer, so that it can be easy to shape afterwards

  • Place it in situ to set: Tried a couple of times placing it to the right angle and direction to accommodate. 

Creating a Kneecap - Polishing and adhesion

  • Polising: Use diamond discs and heads to polish a smooth desired surface. Then, we use sandpaper and micromash cloth to refine the surface.

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  • Adhesion: Adhere the kneecap to the body with Paraloid B-72. Considering that we wanted it to be replaceable and reversible, we used Paraloid B-72 in case the kneecap will be changed in the future.

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Creating a Kneecap - Inpainting

  • Mix paint with acrylic paint, glaze and water.

  • Paint for several layers to get depth and transparency. Each layer should be dried before applying the next.

  • We tried to accommodate the general appearance that it is not newly made. We painted the cast a bit dirty.

  • Glaze on to finish. And this is for a shinner appearance.

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