Restoring Concrete Statuary, With Masonry and Paint.
3 Materials
My father asked me if I could, "Do something" for his concrete deer. He'd enjoyed having them in his yard for so many years, I decided to see if I could give them a facelift. Even real deer used to come up and check them out.
Meet my father's deer family. They've sat in his front yard for over 30 years.
I really had to do some hard thinking on this project. I'd never attempted to rebuild/restore anything concrete except basic sidewalks or masonry. Notice that the fawn has a broken ear, and the original paint is all but gone. :(
Badly weathered, but survivors all the same.
The first step was to remove the antlers and wire brush the entire surface. The aggregate was exposed already, so this just removed moss and lichen.
Cleaned up!
Next step was to apply concrete patch. The nice gentleman at our local building center suggested adding a 'shot' of concrete adhesive to the concrete patch to make it just a little bit more dependable. No measurements were given. I used a little artistic liberty to add musculature to the buck and rounded eyes to the doe.....
Adding a new 'skin'.
Finished! The body was painted a light brown with a brush, then I used an air-paint gun to add body lines and contours.The nose and eyes were finished by hand.....Now to see if they can still fool the real deer!
Back home under their tree. :)
Follow-up.....Yes, a real deer did come out and check them out! Will try to get a photo of one touching noses with them.
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Comments
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2 of 38 comments
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I moved into a house in Georgia they left yard Deer for us. The buck is missing his antlers the metal stubs are there ant ideas as how to proceed with giving him his horns back
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So beautiful. To buy those deer now are very expensive I know because I’ve been looking. 2 years ago we moved into. Log cabin and I’ve been looking for some deer to put in my front yard.
Frequently asked questions
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Any thoughts on how to repair the hands on this Virgin Mary statue? It is a special piece that someone has asked me to repair.
Can you explain in a little more detail what you put on the deer? Did you just slather on a new layer of cement? I have some old concrete planters that came with my house, but the previous owner spray painted them black at one point and most of it has chipped off now. The rest would not come off with a pressure washer :/
WHAT WAS USED TO PUT THE ANTLERS BACK IN THE HOLE S THEY POPPE OUT OFTO KEEP THEM SECURE?