Toadstool repair - ideas needed.

[icowden]

HI all,

This project is somewhere between DIY and Hobbies,. My daughter has started as a young leader at Brownies and came home with their Toadstool which needs some TLC and repair. It has seen better days. Much better days. It looks like it has a sort of pre-formed MDF / card type base like those pre-formed shapes you get at hobbycraft. That in turn looks like it has been plastered over - hence the resultant cracking.

Anyhoo, I have now been over it with a scraper, knocked off all the loose paint and ?plaster? and given it a thorough sanding, and it's already looking tonnes better.

However - outstanding issues / questions:

• Those big screws on the top and the damaged plaster. I'd quite like to cover those up. The Toadstool top comes out of the base without needing to play with the screws. - they just hold a big block on underneath. Any ideas as to what to use? Just plaster? Modroc (plaster impregnated bandages)? Some sort of flexible filler? Ideally I need to be able to sand it smooth afterwards as I am not a gifted plasterer.
• What type of paint to use? Whoever did it before found a really thick shiny red paint. Possibly acrylic? It may have been varnished over the top.

I'm trying to make it reasonably robust - they don't sit on it, just dance around it, but it obviously gets knocked about a bit.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Iain

 

[Reynard]

Definitely acrylic paints. They're water-soluble, but the vector is adhesive-based, so they're hard-wearing, waterproof when dry and are unlikely to chip. Don't buy the cheap paints you see in the supermarkets and discount shops, as the coverage is poor. Get something like Daler Rowney's System 3 or Winsor & Newton Galleria from an art shop. Certainly with the former, you can buy larger tubs, which works out cheaper than buying the tubes.

Several thin coats are better than one thick coat.

I would sand the whole thing down to remove all the old paint prior to re-painting.

 

[Dogtrousers]

From a mycological perspective, it's a fly agaric (amanita muscarina) so for full accuracy the stipe (stem) should have a ring, and at the base there should be a volva. The "spots" on the top are remnants of the enclosing sac and should not be big round circles, but raised dots, often arranged in lines. You do want full mycological accuracy don't you?

Only kidding. Red with big white circles it is.

 

[icowden]

Definitely acrylic paints. They're water-soluble, but the vector is adhesive-based, so they're hard-wearing, waterproof when dry and are unlikely to chip. Don't buy the cheap paints you see in the supermarkets and discount shops, as the coverage is poor.

We are going for a few coats of spray acrylic with the white dots painted on by hand. The stem has already had several coats of acrylic by hand.
I've just posted on the hobbies board about resin plaster as the shroom has now had a coating of modroc bandage and is pretty rough. We need something now that will stick to the bandage lattice and provide a nice smooth surface for painting. Plaster of paris seems a bit brittle and likely to break easily hence I'm wondering about the resin plaster.

 

[Reynard]

How about papier mache? Namely, strips of newspaper dunked in wallpaper paste. Then sanded down prior to painting.

Other options are some of the acrylic mediums and / or primers. If you've a local art shop / craft shop (an independent, not someplace like Hobbycraft), then they might be able to advise.

 

[slowmotion]

I would try a polyester resin two-part filler. There are types called "spray fillers" that can be applied by spray gun but it's just as easy to use a paint brush. Once cured they are really easy to sand down on curved surfaces using a foam backed abrasive pad.

They are like a paint-on, easy sanding car body filler. Use cheap throw away brushes. It's not worth buying the special solvent.

 

[icowden]

News update:-

The initial approach was modroc plaster bandage, then covered with a two part plaster. Unfortunately during sanding this just fell off. Adhesion was too poor. I then tried @slowmotion's idea of a two part resin filler. I went for this stuff - https://www.toolstation.com/big-boy-plastic-flexi-filler/p31685

It probably wasn't the best choice but it did create a nice rubbery top to the mushroom. Sanding was OK but it would not sand smooth. Even after repairs and filling holes using more of the same, sanding just kept on making little layer holes. However, it was adjudged smooth enough for purpose, just giving a bit of texture to the mushroom.

The whole lot was sprayed with a red spray acrylic and it looks quite good. Daughter has painted the trunk and base of the mushroom. Next step is the white spots and then some clear varnish.

 

[Gwylan]

Well done. Looks spotless, sorry.

Anyway, I'd have suggested 2 part resin in fineish fibreglass mat cover.
What you've done looks great.

Anyway, I'd go for a 2 part resin to seal the whole thing.

 

[T4tomo]

looks....magic!

 

[icowden]

Well - it's finished. The Brownies are very happy with it

 

[alicat]

That's great!

And why does that floor look like every village hall I've been in?!

 

[icowden]

And why does that floor look like every village hall I've been in?!

I think it's a tradition or an old charter or something... (I've been reading too much Robert Rankin)