HYPERTUFANEWS

 

Looking For Some Good Hypertufa Recipes for That New Project?

 

 

a mold to cast a face using a tested hypertufa recipe

There are proven, reliable and time-tested hypertufa recipes that will help assure your next project will be headed for a successful outcome. The only difference in this and the other hypertufa recipes on my site is this one uses a premixed blend of Portland cement and sand. There are a lot of different hypertufa recipes and I had to try several before I found one that let me do what I wanted to do.

I have read about and experimented with a number of hypertufa recipes. I just got a book that has many "recipes" for hypertufa and concrete for sculpting. I see that some recipes call for sand, perlite or vermiculite. In the quest for more searching for quick recipes online can be a big help. As you have already guessed, there are many recipes, all with plusses and minuses. I find that hypertufa recipes need to include sand to get good strength.

Portland cement,peat moss and perlite can be used, along with an old wire brush and a screwdriver to act as embellishing tools. Tips for success when using the Portland cement/sand pre-mix: some pre-mixes have an additive that can retard or speed up the curing process. The recipe calls for 2 parts Portland cement, 3 parts peat, 3 parts vermiculite. For a very light weight recipe use the same ingredients but sift the peat moss to remove clumps and sticks.  Increase to 2 parts peat moss to 1 part Portland and sand.

One piece molds are nice, I will not argue that, but remember, the intent is to get you the nicest possible casting with the most detail… and silicone molds are the molding medium to achieve that. I’ve had some folks ask me about buying lower priced molds. I expect my investments to last a long time without worry and I will pay for a higher quality product if it means I spend less in the long run. I have purchased latex and plastic molds and no longer will because I think that silicone is the best investment. The quality of silicone just can not be beat.