THE BRONZE PROCESS
There are many steps to produce a bronze sculpture.
A mold is made of the original. Wax is cast into the mold to get a hollow wax sculpture. This wax sculpture is cleaned up and coated with investment. When the investment hardens, it is put into an oven to burn out the wax (this is the lost wax method). Once the wax is removed, molten metal is poured into the investment and fills the space the wax occupied.
After it cools, the investment is removed from the metal hammering it off and by sandblasting.
The metal then gets welded (sometimes sculptures have more than one mold and need to be welded back together) and polished. Once the metal has reached the desired finish, a patina is applied to color the piece. The patina involves the use of chemicals and a torch to achieve desired colors. Some colors can be done without a torch. A protective covering of wax is then applied.
A mold is made of the original. Wax is cast into the mold to get a hollow wax sculpture. This wax sculpture is cleaned up and coated with investment. When the investment hardens, it is put into an oven to burn out the wax (this is the lost wax method). Once the wax is removed, molten metal is poured into the investment and fills the space the wax occupied.
After it cools, the investment is removed from the metal hammering it off and by sandblasting.
The metal then gets welded (sometimes sculptures have more than one mold and need to be welded back together) and polished. Once the metal has reached the desired finish, a patina is applied to color the piece. The patina involves the use of chemicals and a torch to achieve desired colors. Some colors can be done without a torch. A protective covering of wax is then applied.
BRONZE SCULPTURES
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