In this video, I showcase how I repair a broken plaster sculpture of Michelangelo's "Pieta" This is a great example of art restoration. This is a useful skill for interior designers, restoration professionals, or art enthusiasts.
Now retired, I worked on antique restoration for over 30 years in England. About a 50 50 split on oil painting cleaning/restoration and ceramics. I developed techniques for replacing and repairing parts for figures and plates, bowls etc. however, now relocated to Tennessee, I am in process of setting up a new studio to instruct a new and extremely keen student. I am looking forward to getting back to work after a gap of a few years. I also will be getting back into my other passion of sculpting the human form. It was a delight to see your skills in action. My main epoxy putty was Pliacre. In thin section it had a useful translucency although was a little difficult to work with as it tended to slump easily. Very nice and inspiring set up you have there.
out of all the stuff i found online so far your vid is the best. stop being so hard on yourself. you may not be a proffesional sculpturist but you are defintley an artist. your doing a great job,, most important, you gave me all the information i needed for my rerpair project. Thank you
Your video was very helpful for my project. My sister gifted me an angel statue and it broke during shipment into many pieces; glued most of pieces back into the statue, but will have to fill the gaps and some missing shapes. I bought the Das modeling clay, thinking that work, but after watching your video, I think the epoxy putty is a better choice. I’m very grateful that I found your video because I learned so much from your presentation. You did a fantastic job on restoring the Pieta statue. No one will ever know that it was ever broken. I can only hope that my large angel statue’s final result will turn out as well as your restoration. Thank you for posting!
Dude. Very cool video. Nice attention to detail. Came to my feed as I was looking to repair cement garden statues. Can adopt a lot from your approach. Thanks for an awesome post. P.S. really cool shop.
Thank you for your video. One of my husband's friends commissioned me to fix three animal sculptures for his wife that was her mother's. Although I am an artist, I knew nothing about repairing these things! Your video was so informative thank you so so much!
I enjoyed your tutorial immensely. I have to repair my Egyptian statue of the female Pharaoh Queen Nefertiti. Nefertiti separated at the middle of the neck. Fortunately it is a clean break. I was trying to decide what type of wire to drill into the neck area. The one penny nail is a great idea. I’m sure I have plenty in the garage that belonged to my grandfather. My suggestion would be to have googled Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci’s hand drawings. Then research the Pieta that is in the Vatican. You could also study the statue on RU-vid. I saw the beautiful masterpiece In the early 1970s after a Polish man attacked the statue with a hammer. I did not see any damage but my heart sank as I looked at the beautiful Pieta and thought how could someone do something so cruel? The statue emanates an awe of majesty.
Thanks David. I learned a lot and look forward to seeing more of your work. Would love to see some of your work with colorizing the models. What materials, mixing, getting quality color match, blending, etc.
Great looking work. Late last year I started work restoring nativity statues for my son's school here in Scotland. Some of them were in OK condition only needing some minor fills with milliput, primer and paint. I have been working on the statue of Joseph whose base was about 1 third demolished! I have used plaster to make a rough shape and have been sanding it down. When I'm happy with the shape I will be looking to sculpt some of the lower parts of robes that are missing, I hope I can do it justice! My wife works for the school and she put my name forward - my only experience is that I paint miniatures! 😂 Glad she did as I now have the statue bug. I had a lot of people compliment me for my painting of Mary which gave me more confidence. Really enjoyed this video, are you on any other social media - I could share my progress with you. Cheers. Michael. ✌️
An interesting repair and it turned out well enough. Something I do is build a support using plasticine. It helps to hold things in place and is easily removeable after.
Great job I love in Alabama wish I knew someone like you to take a dog statue that I have. Maybe I can watch more of your videos for help. It's a big dog, rockrilla.
Hi David. I just found your channel and subscribed. I am my parish's woodworker in St Louis MO. I have been asked to repair Jesus' broken arm on a crucifix. I have worked with Mohawk epoxy on wood repairs and am looking forward to learning more about statue repair and color-matching from you.
Love the work you do, very informative. I have been working on statues in my Parish and have been asked to look at a very old statue. the main body is made of wood with a fabric cape around the outside. both the wood body and fabric cape are covered in plaster and then painted. The cape over time has become loose and cracking off the plaster on one side. From what i can tell the cape is hollow inside and i was thinking of filling this void with expanding foam to give it strength. Love to know your opinion about strengthening the cape.
It's so great to watch this transformation! I just came across your channel while researching statue repair for a potential project. You're based in Maryland? Serious question, would you ever be open to having an apprentice for your restoration work? Thanks for such an informative video!
what epoxy putty would you use to repair an antique mirror frame made of plaster (covering wood)? It will require some sculpting to match the original design. (pieces missing)
What do you do if a statue has a leg broken off the body, and is used for the primary weight holding? I thought to use the nails after drilling holes but does it need to connect to the body again?
Excellent video! I enjoyed following you through the process and was impressed with the organization of your work space. What type of hand sanding tools were you using? I'm embarking on another self-taught volunteer statue restoration and my current project is going to require some detailed sanding.
That looks amazing! I have a huge mid century singerie monkey statue that got damaged on the ride home after I purchased it on vacation. How much does a repair like that cost ?
I had some questions. I’m fixing a 16” Michelangelo David a seller sent to me broken at the ankles. She thought wrapping it in plastic wrap and throwing it in a box loose with confetti paper and a couple of large bubble packing strips was sufficient. It was like a snow globe. Ugh… but that’s another story. I got my money back. Anyways… the break is fairly clean. It fits back together with just a few missing chips. I was thinking of gluing it with regular old epoxy and then filling in the chips with something. 1. Should I use the putty you used to fill in the chips? Then paint? Or should I use one of those marble counter repair kits with the colors so I can dye the box ahead of time? They are close to nail size chip. Maybe about three. 2. What do I paint the filling with if I don’t use the repair kit with colors? It’s very close to white, but it’s still an off white and will need a bit of color. 3. Do you think I need metal posts like you did since it’s 99.8% complete and fits together? The top is fairly heavy since it broke at the ankles, but I’m afraid posts would just weaken it by drilling holes and just add another pressure point at the end of the rods. Thoughts?
Hi, I accidentally washed the antique glaze off of one of my little Chalkware busts. What kind of glaze should I restore it with? IN the crack of the other one it looks like maybe burnt Sienna colour, and it's probably a satin finish. Thanks!
I have a life size NIKE concrete garden statue. After all the rains, the ground got soaked and then the statue fell over breaking off one of her large wings. (there is a rod of steel that the wing did cover.. The rod is still on the statue...the large wing on the ground). The entire statue probably weighs 300 lbs. Can this be repaired ????
Hi - I just saw your amazing video of the repaired PIETA! I have a 37" tall virgin mary that needs fingers replaced (both hands). I live in NC, but will be driving to PA. Is there any way that you can repair and paint for me? How do I get in touch with you? Thank you.
you are too a sculptor! I have a repair project with two large plaster sculptures, animals in a creche, that have entire ears and horns missing, cow and donkey. I don't believe the putty is going to work. the ears will be 6-8" long. Any suggestions? I am a potter/clay sculptor by trade. Using plaster to repair is new to me, only having used plaster for my handmade slump and hump molds. Thank you. enjoyed your video.
I ended up using paper plaster, called sculptamold. then a plaster fabric to hold it together. Once this dried I used plain plaster for the top coat to make a smooth and sandal surface. this worked well and was fairly inexpensive.
Darn .... I wish your volume was better .... your music is Loud but your voice is hardly adaptable .... I am working on restoring a piece for a patron and really wanted to hear how you did this ...
