Fall 2023

The finger and cross of this sculpture were bent due to a fall. OnAim planned to use heat from a propane torch to carefully bend the soft heated metal back to shape, but unfortunately due to the high copper content and low tensile strength the finger cracked along the knuckle joint once pressure was applied. These factors also led to breakage on the bent parts of the cross. Due to differing characteristics of the finger and the cross we went with two separate methods of repair.

An epoxy putty was used on the finger to fill the cracked section and sculpt it back into its original shape. Once cured, a rotary tool was used to make the repairs seamless. For the cross, we removed the old patina and waxes and bevelled the broken section to prepare it for welding. Once cooled, a rotary tool was used again to create a seamless finish.

Finally the repaired areas were treated to match the existing patina, followed by an application of various tinted metal waxes to ensure a uniform appearance.