Concrete Lighting – Tagged "blanc"

What concrete is used to make concrete lighting fixtures?

To design concrete lighting fixtures, there are many types of concrete that can be used. It all depends on the desired end result. For us, we wanted the concrete to feel smooth and soft to the touch, while retaining its roughness, air bubbles and small imperfections that make this material so real. For this, you must use fine concrete: mortar.

How to paint concrete?

For the manufacture of concrete lighting, first to color the mortar, you must color the whole thing with natural pigments. For each color of concrete, there is a dose to respect, just like cake recipes! In fact, in general, it is calculated as follows: x grams of pigment are used for x kilograms of white concrete. A tip: Calculate x grams of pigment for 1 kg of concrete, this way the ratio will be easier to calculate.

Where can you buy concrete?

You can find concrete at any DIY store. But you have to be careful, you should not choose just any concrete! As mentioned previously, it is necessary to choose the best possible concrete to avoid unpleasant surprises during unmolding. It is not easy to find already colored concrete, so you need to find concrete paint. As you will have understood, finding colored concrete is not easy.

How to Create a Plaster and Concrete Lamp

1 - We will start preparing the mold from the inside. To do this, cut the plastic bottle into the shape of a funnel, it must be deep enough so that the concrete and plaster do not overflow. Check that the selected bulb fits. Next, cut the neck.

2 - Unscrew the lower part of the sleeve and set it aside. Protect the upper part of the socket with plastic film.

3 - Insert the funnel made from the plastic bottle from step 1 into the socket. Next, apply a good coating of petroleum jelly or oil to the outside of the bottle, but do not apply a coating to the sleeve or it will get stuck at the bottom.

4 - For the base, we chose a recycled mug that we will destroy when unmolding. Other easy-to-release but more randomly shaped mason bowl molds can be used, or even easy-to-cut bottle bases.

Brush the bowl with petroleum jelly or oil. Or, for a pleated effect, place plastic wrap inside the mold, but also brush with petroleum jelly or oil, then place the funnel and tip inside.

5 - First prepare the concrete because it hardens less quickly than plaster. Put handfuls of concrete in a bowl and add water little by little until you have a soft but not too runny mixture. You can use a stick or blender to mix.

6 - Then prepare the plaster, instead, first pour the equivalent of two small glasses of water into a bowl. Then sprinkle water with plaster until you get a hill, which indicates enough plaster. We recommend using gloves.

7 - Hold the funnel and the socket against the bottom of the bowl so that the concrete or plaster does not pass through, this space will allow you to screw into the lower part of the socket and allow the cable to pass through. Pour concrete and plaster as needed, which can be mixed with chopsticks to create a marbled effect.

8 - Let everything dry for at least overnight and distribute the weight evenly over it to keep the spout and funnel together and on the bottom of the bowl.

9 - To unmold, use a nail and a hammer to make a hole in the bottom of the bowl, being careful not to press too hard!

10 - Then, gently break the ceramic outwards until you can unmold the lamp. Remove the plastic bottle.

11 - Cut the edges with a cutter. We advise you not to wait too long for this step because it is easier when the material is still damp! For added safety at this stage, we recommend the use of protective gloves.

12 - Cut the plastic film that protrudes from the sleeve.

13 - Use a brush to dust the socket.

14 - Screw the cable to the electrical part of the socket.

15 - Assemble the socket, screw in the bulb and that's it!

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