How can I paint or Dye a Piece of Bleached Coral?
October 17, 2017 6:30 PM Subscribe
I bought a large branch of coral ( 1 foot high, 1 foot wide. I'm planing on Mounting it on a base as a sculpture. I've attached a few photos. I'm thinking watered down Artist Acrylics. Or maybe Inks from Ink Wells.
To second SaltSalticid,...there's a saying in woodworking, "test your finish on scrap or scrap your finish." I'd check art supply stores for coloured inks. Keep in mind that few pigments will stand up to sunlight over the long term.
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:21 PM on October 17, 2017
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:21 PM on October 17, 2017
Response by poster: The Coral is Already bleached ( It's dead Jim). I definitely do not want to take samples from this piece.
So,
- Use an ink or dye at the base and see the results
or
- Get another sample of bleached coral and test different techniques.
lastly,
- Maybe leave the coral as is, and use a creative set of LEDs to highlight the the object.
posted by Alt255 at 9:32 PM on October 17, 2017
So,
- Use an ink or dye at the base and see the results
or
- Get another sample of bleached coral and test different techniques.
lastly,
- Maybe leave the coral as is, and use a creative set of LEDs to highlight the the object.
posted by Alt255 at 9:32 PM on October 17, 2017
What color do you want it to be? You could get a bucket big enough to submerge this, or just get spray paint, and do it outside. Ink might be unstable, and subject to re-wetting. I would soak this, and get it free of debris first. Here is an article about bleaching it white.
posted by Oyéah at 10:03 PM on October 17, 2017
posted by Oyéah at 10:03 PM on October 17, 2017
Years ago, my father had a (dead) piece of coral he wanted to use as a fish tank decoration. He dyed it using nothing fancier than soaking it in a bucket filled with water and food coloring. He left it soaking for about a week, to get the depth of color he liked; ymmv.
posted by easily confused at 1:28 AM on October 18, 2017
posted by easily confused at 1:28 AM on October 18, 2017
That food coloring comment got me thinking; I wonder how easter egg dye might work. Eggshells & coral are pretty much calcium carbonate, from my understanding.
posted by gennessee at 3:52 AM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by gennessee at 3:52 AM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
My gut is to go with dye/ink over paint.
On another tack, I know various science folks dye living coral as a tool for research. After a few minutes with google scholar I found this paper that is both freely accessible and clearly describes two dyes used. One of the suppliers is Macrolex, but I don't know how easy/reasonable/expensive it is to order small quantities from them. A quick phone call would probably clear that up.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:56 PM on October 17, 2017 [1 favorite]