Wow, I love the boot and the color. I agree with you about the shiny sealer....makes things look to commercially made.

When you say are casting a 15' couch....does that mean you have a mold of a 15' couch or your making a mold of the couch. I get the terms mixed up. Regardless of the term, that is one big project. Good luck and share a picture when you can.

SereneSeen

Gosh that's going to be one big couch. Should be very neat.I have used watered down latex for several years on my projects. They have all held up fine. If you want a matte finish maybe try a tile and grout sealer, should work okay.
Cindy

I checked the boot today, it's actually a lot less shiny than the one
in the picture. So the finish weathers, but the colors are like new.
I have Heliotrope in it this year.

Cindy, that's good news. I haven't really believed it before, but the
stains have been a bit disappointing, I'm ready to try something new.

SereneSeen, yes, a form is the going term, but it is a mold nonetheless.
We got it about half filled today. I'm using all the rubble I can find,
got some at the dump too. It still took six bags of Portland to get it
this far. At ten bucks a bag (! wasn't it 3.99 last time I noticed?)
recycling is attractive. Not to mention how much wheelbarrow mixing it saves.
I have two helpers until it's done, borrowed from my business,
which is past its June rush. That's one of them in the pic.
We should finish this rough shape tomorrow or Wednesday, unless it
pours again. Then I get to remove the form (need the block back for a big
compost bin we're doing next)

Here is a link that might be useful:

What a clever technique to form the couch. You certainly aren't afraid to commit to huge projects! This is going to be terrific. I look forward to hearing/seeing the finishing touches. I suggest an all-over mosaic depicting varied scenes inspired by medieval times!! wheee.
Laura

Linnea,
I do hope you will share ongoing project photos. Have your helpers decided this is for them too.
Great idea using rubble or what ever you can find to fill the void.
I see rebar at the back, will you be using expanding lath to create the back portion? The little pond on the end will be very cool. What does the 'sitter' view when on the couch?
Dena

I'm puzzled about this latex paint you keep talking about. Is it just a poorly named acrylic/polybutadiene or acrylic/pvc synthetic paint? Here all the shops sell what we call acrylic paint made from acrylic(PMMA) with a synthetic filler. Latex paint here is used mainly for (human) body painting afaict, and is quite expensive.

Nathan,
I believe the latex paint that is being referred to here is the type that is used for painting a house, which is a common use for this sort of paint. The (US) latex paint will bond to surfaces and maintain its color for a long time, it is also a heavy looking and feeling colorant.If houses are painted in your part of the country what is used?
There are also acrylic craft paints that have been talked about here as well. These are usually sold in large craft/art chain stores for small 2oz containers of lots of different colors.
The latex paint you are referring to is a theatrical paint, meant to go on the skin, which I suspect Linnea may be familiar with, given her work outside of concrete.
Dena

Nathan, "latex paint" here, is a generic name for any non-oil base interior
or exterior house paint, the kind that cleans up with water as opposed to
paint thinner. At least that's my understanding.
We're not generally up on the actual ingredients, which keep changing, too.
"Oil base" is really something else now, though it still thins with mineral
spirits/paint thinner. But everybody seems to know what interior/exterior latex is.
Stage make-up is still, I believe, (generically) referred to as "grease paint"

I'm glad you brought it up, however. I'd like to know, for concrete,
if there's a preference on what kind of "latex" to use for good results?

Laura and Dena, thanx! I'll take some more pictures today for more show-and-tell. I'll get the view too, Dena. It's a favorite.
Hi ho, hi ho..

You're up early Dena!

Google: "Latex vs Acrylic paint". At present paint mfg's are working to make the products more environmentaly and human friendly. The latest is finding a replacement for all alkyd (oil) which has been outlawed in some states.

This may help: Paint may be latex acrylic paint or latex PVA. I suspect that L&L are using a latex acrylic.

What types of binders (vehicles) are there in paint?
There are many forms but the most common in trade paints are:

1. Linseed oil.
2. Alkyd.
3. Polyurethane.
4. Acrylic.
5. PVA.

Why use so many different binders in paint?

Each binder is unique in providing different benefits and can be used alone or blended with other binders to compliment each other.

1. Linseed oil is used in exterior applications only and creates a flexible oil film that aids in preserving weathered wood.
2. Alkyd is used in both interior and exterior paint. Alkyd resin is very durable and forms a hard film commonly used for heavy duty applications.
3. Polyurethane has two common uses: one is used on automotive coatings, the other is used for products that come in contact with concrete (household and industrial use).
4. Acrylic resin in trade coatings is a waterborne latex. Acrylic is used almost exclusively for exterior paint coatings. Acrylic paint is a very flexible and weather-resistant paint for exterior use. There are oil base acrylics used in the automotive industry, but those should not be confused with acrylic house paints.
5. PVA is short for poly-vinyl Acetate. This is also a waterborne resin used mainly in interior paints. PVA can be used in exterior paints either by itself, or in combination with acrylic. Exterior moisture resistance and weathering of PVA will not be as good as acrylic.

Ok, so what we call acrylic, house or wall paint you call latex paint. It's almost a good name except that it is wrong. (I do not think that words means what you think it means. Inconceivable!)

Acrylic resin in trade coatings is a waterborne latex.

This doesn't make sense. Latex is the sap from the rubber tree (a kind of spurge). Acrylic is a general term describing polymers based on acrylates (often polymethylmethacrylate, 'melamine', 'perspex'). Latex is not an acrylate.

As far as I know, most water wash up paint here is made using acrylic resin.

Thanks for the exposee on paint components, guys!
I'll try the "Latex/Acrylic", Bailey 09.

We finished the pour today, I'll get a picture when the form comes off.
Laura, I'm leaning toward a huge flower or two, orange Montbretia?
Streaks of red-orange and black freckles, once I've tested the "latex" wash.
We can sit like drunken bees and gaze upon the glories!
Maybe I should use white portland/sand for the top coat?

I'd be coming up way above that rebar, Dena, if I can pull it off.
My helpers were excited enough to cheerfully put up with a zillion mosquitoes
in the inside-of-a-dog's-mouth air, but he's going for solar energy engineering.
She is very young, but we're happily sharing Jim Hensen nuts and bolts
and she lent me a book "The secret art of Dr Seuss" (great!!) which
I'd never seen, so who knows.. (I now feel totally justified getting a weeping
Norway spruce)

Here's an April view of the location, not the view, but you get the picture.
The couch is now over on the left, where you can just see a wood bench
on a levelled spot.
Those trenches still have to be "laid" with dry mix, heigh ho..
There's a glimpse of the pond on the far left.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Forget the bench... I wanna' hear the story on the volcano in the background! With a little white paint on top, it could pass for Mt. Fuji!

Tango

Your ideas sound great. I love Dr. Suess and especially "Oh the thinks you can think up if only you try!"
I do think that if you are using a latex paint (like you described earlier) that it can be either grey or white on the top mix. But if you are planning on thinning the color or using a colorant in the cement and want a truer/deeper color, then white is the way to go.
How are you planning to treat the rebar, I mean are you going to cover it, or make spires out of it (I have one naked spire and one in the making).
Please take pics along the way, your helpers will appreciate it too.
By the way I am usually up early and had been up maybe an hour prior to posting.
Dena

Hi Tango, it's soil, long story and pretty boring, we ran out of sod
and couldn't get any more (spring drought), and it's too steep to mow.
Maybe I'll make it a "Heligan troll", the "hair" is alrady there :o)

Yes Dena, I was going to do the thinned out paint, so I'll do a white top coat.
Does it have to be "exterior"? I have tons of leftover interior latex
in great colors. Probably no good?

Since this will never be seen from the back, I was going to
build the base with my dry mix bag method, attaching more exact rebar frames
as I go, then wire lath, tapering the "petals" towards the top, a bit like
Sargent's frame in the link (but much funkier, I'm sure).

I made a plasticine model, seems like it would work, shape-wise,
there was no plan, beyond some sort of back, when we placed the rebar

Not sure about the "ponds", I'll figure it out as I go. The top soil
goes down about 4' here, so I could plant in the holes, or one hole
(pond in the other, don't know). A palm would have been nice *

You mean like the L&L spires? Cewl! Can we see?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:71572}}

That is a very cool bench, or will be when it's covered.

Now I am even more excited to see what you do with your creation!

I feel like I'm waiting for Christmas here.... ;D

Jo

Love your couch, can't wait to see it all finished. A tufa palm would look pretty cool in the planter part :)
Cindy

Thanks for the vote of confidence! it's always a lift.

Tom Robbins said something about the palm being the clown among trees.
I guess that's what i'm after. But I want it to move in the breeze.
I'm going to get one of the whiskey barrel liners at lowes.
Chances are, of course, that we'll never get the barrels out, hehe.

here's my sloppy scale model with an ineptly photoshopped color sketch.
My intention is a lot darker/redder/multihued and grainy.
Forgot how greasy plasticine is, had to scrub my sink after washing up.

Here is a link that might be useful:

You model will serve you well.
What type of plasticine did you use. I have never been very successful at using it, as I can never get it soft enough to work with; any tips there?
Your couch design is going to look so awesome. About the indoor paint you mentioned earlier. If it was me, I would use it and make sure I also put a sealer over it. If it doesn't work, then next spring you can take in a couple sample boards of the colors to get outdoor house paint.
Dena

Dena, the cellophane wrapper says "Jolly king plasteline", came in a 1 lb. block
for 1.99, but it's been in a drawer for years. There was also some off-white
(and more expensive) "Roma plastelina", which was much harder.
This was perfect for a 10-minute "thumb" sketch, though the other stuff
would finish better, especially with tools. You can warm it to make it pliable.
I depend on scale models for big things, where my drawing skills test my patience :o)
Cutting shapes out with a sharp knife and smoothing them together saves time.

Thanks for your help with the paint questions!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:71575}}

I would like a couple buckets of that color too!
Laura