'Pressure'- Metal Steel Sculpture Part #2

Metal steel sculpture entitled 'Pressure' nearly finished.

A few weeks ago I posted a workbench update with early progress shots of crafting my latest work of art.
Thank you all for your comments of appreciation saying you enjoy seeing the artistic creative process and the detail that goes into these sculptures.

"Pressure" - A wall hanging metal sculpture, the perfect industrial art piece for a luxurious apartment or boardroom.

Continuing on with that series, Part 2, has some more photos, almost up to the completion.

Click on pictures to enlarge...

After spending a few weeks driving around to hard rubbish collection areas, or looking in thrift stores for the right shape in a solid steel saucepan I gave up. I bit the bullet and just cut what I wanted out of sheet steel. This turned out way better that what I might have found by accident anyway. Next time I will choose the DIY option first and save a week in time too!

I spent about two hours in Mitre10 - a local hardware store, working out the right bits of pipe and assembling them like a Lego set. All to the wonderment of the staff.

Then in my workshop made a rough layout of the components on the sheet steel background. If you look closely you can see that they are not actually connected.

This way I can make sure that there is a good visual balance. I follow the rules of "Measure twice, Cut once" and my other favorite, "It's a lot easier to cut something that's too long shorter, than make something too short longer".

You can also see my trusty art critic Merlin the Schnauzer in this shot. He loves to come see what I'm doing.

...or see if there is food or walkies involved at least.

Each galvanised metal pipe had to have the threads modified so that they would screw closely enough together as you can see in this first photo with the modified thread on the right.
Some spare parts from a discarded gas stove were welded to the ends.
I then manufactured some metal plates to facilitate mounting to the steel background, and welded these on.
The galvanised pipe was then 'aged' using the heat from a blowtorch. The aim is to achieve a chunky industrial weathered look.

At this point, all of the metal parts have been either welded or bolted in place, so now it is time to add the painted detail...

I quickly realised how physically heavy this has turned out when I nearly dropped it on my foot.

The sheet steel used is the minimum thickness I could find while still being thick enough to give the sculpture that realistic chunky industrial look.

Now the painting begins. Great care is taken to get a perfect finish...
   ...which I then rough up with the aid of a screw driver and scalpel.
         ...and then spray with salt dissolved in vinegar.
                  ...followed by a coat of hydrogen peroxide.
This results in some lovely foamy, rusty goodness.   Mwahahahaha!

Now the painted areas have a great finish, it's time to rough up the rest of the sculpture.

Many coats of vinegar with sea salt dissolved in it, applied through a water spray bottle. This was then followed by the hydrogen peroxide applied with a paintbrush.

Dribbles of hydrogen peroxide around the areas that 'leaks' would occur gave a realistic years old look to the sculpture.

After achieving the desired level of ageing on the steel, I brushed off the loose powder and then sprayed with several light coats of clear matt lacquer. This will offer some protection to stop further rust, and also prevent orange rust dust getting everywhere.

Once the lacquer had dried I cut up an old computer mouse mat to make a rubber seal to go around the 'porthole window'.

This was then pegged in place while the glue dried...

You might be wondering what is going to go here....

...well keep wondering!

In a week or so I will post pictures of the finished sculpture.

There are a few surprises in store so remember to come back and look!

Update:

You can see part one of the sculptures creation here: 'Pressure'- Metal Sculpture Part #1

You can see the finished artwork of the sculpture in the art gallery here: 'Pressure'- Metal Sculpture - Finished artwork

Tags: Sculpture Painting Mixed Media

Comments (3)

3 Monday, 30 January 2012 07:46

darin holzheimer

looks great! what did u use for the rivets that look to hold the pieces together?

Monday, 30 January 2012 10:05

Martin Dolan

Hey Darin,
The "rivets" are the tops off "coach bolts" - I just cut them off with the angle grinder and then gave them a quick 'zap' with the arc welder from behind to hold them in place.
As you can imagine this thing is bloody heavy, so I only kept the head of the bolt and about 1-2mm of the shaft - That way the 1mm of bolt was enough to hold it in place while welding it from the back. It is amazing how much just a few millimetres of metal can weigh - when you multiply it by 40 or 50 times/bolts!!
The bolts were galvanised which can be a pain in getting them to rust, however if you grind the top of the bolt with a sanding or wire disk, it gives a good "random" rust effect where the galvanised metal is thin/gone. Using plain steel bolts is easier however they rust too evenly.
I also had to grind part of the top of each bolt anyway as they had the brand of the bolt cast into the top of each one... a simple thing to do x 50 = pain in the backside!
Warmly, Marty

2 Friday, 18 December 2009 20:42

tommi

Hey, this looks great.

I would install it in some hidden place in my flat, like behind the sofa or something, so when people discover it they wonder for a while whether it's real ...

1 Friday, 18 December 2009 20:21

Anders

Will it keep rusting? Great "old" effect!

Saturday, 19 December 2009 07:04

Martin Dolan

Once rust starts, it is virtually impossible to stop - That said, as it is covered with a clear coat of matt varnish, this keeps the air, more so the oxygen off of the metal to a great extent.
Rust needs oxygen so hung on a wall indoors, it will last for a few hundred years or more... Geek