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My first attempt at casting silver with delft clay and I’m cuffed that it actually worked. My question is about the grainy surface texture. Is that just how it is with delft clay, or could I get a smoother surface if I hammer the sand harder (I think I hammered it pretty hard). Also what would be the best type of Dremel bit to clean up rough edges. Thanks.
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The surface (with the exception of any possible porosity) will be an image of the sand. The best way to finish the surface without destroying the delicate modelling, might be to burnish it, using a magnetic polisher.
A relatively inexpensive one for low volume work is the Bumblebee: http://www.technicalsupermarket.com/...id,1636/vmcchk.
As far as finishing the edges to remove unwanted flash, I recommend that you use a jewellers saw with a fine blade and assorted needle files.
Good casting, BTW. Welcome to the forum, Dennis.
Thanks Dennis. I’ll have a look at needle files. I was hoping there would be a Dremel attachment that would be tough enough to polish away the grainy texture, avoiding the expense of a larger piece of equipment.
You could buy a hand burnisher from Cookson along with the files. I like a bit of hand burnishing myself as I don’t have a magnetic polisher.
Lovely detailed casting, it’ll be perfect once you have the rough edges smoothed away and it is more controlled to do it by hand rather than with the dremel. You probably only need a couple of shapes to get you into the corners
You could use Everflex rubber burrs on it although you will need some flame burrs as well as the barrel burrs to get into the tighter areas:
https://www.cooksongold.com/category...query=everflex
I use them on my delft cast horses and am happy with the finish.
Lovely work, you did well to get the legs to cast!
Thanks. The everflex burrs look like they would be good. I wonder is the Abrasive Nylon Buffing Balls would be suitable for rubbing over the whole piece to reduce the grainy texture. I didn’t expect the legs to cast all the way to the ends, it came out much better than I expected.
They give a satin finish so probably not what you want?
Yes I’d like a shiny finish.