Old Planter Restoration (Small Project).

17 comments

Back in January 2014, we acquired a beautiful old planter off my late cousins family. It showed obvious signs of wear and tear, which is clear from the photograph below. At first, it appeared that it just needed a good cleaning.

When I moved it to our house and unloaded it, it became apparent that the damage was far more serious, as small pieces started dropping off from the outer walls. The first part of the project was to remove the loose crumbling pieces, with a soft brush. I then sealed it with several coats of a diluted PVA solution (Poly Vinyl Acetate). This was left to dry hard, which stabilised the outside of the planter.

Pieces of the top planter section needed building up again, I did this with a thick mortar mix (sand/cement and water).

I then coated the outside several times with a coating of “liquid” mortar, (thick custard consistency), with some York stone coloured masonry paint, to get the mortar mix the correct colour. I applied this with an emulsion brush.

The planter was then moved into position and planted up. I hope I have given this planter a new lease of life, to give us and future generations some pleasure.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.

1 May, 2014
12 likes

Comments

Teddygirlja..

Well done...it looks fabulous x

1 May, 2014

Scotkat

Alan well done from me to it's fantastic ,so beautiful .

1 May, 2014

Alanb

Tgj and Sk thank you, nice of you to take the time to comment.

1 May, 2014

Scotkat

Alan it's a lovely lasting memory.

1 May, 2014

Lincslass

That looks really good Alan, I love it when someone takes the time to renovate something instead of just chucking it away, even more so when its a treasure from a family member, things like that usually come along with a lot of memories and they then come to mind when one is looking and admiring..I also like the fact that you have explained how you accomplished it, always willing to learn from our goy pages, so thankyou...

1 May, 2014

Lincslass

We think alike Kath, lol....

1 May, 2014

Scottish

If looks great Alan. You've probably prolonged it's life for quite sometime now. It's a useful sized planter too. Well done!

1 May, 2014

Alanb

Hi Sue and Angie, glad you like it. It was a very satisfying and pleasing little project. One omission on my part ... It looked " too new" so I coated it in a secret potion, (pigeon poo and very old yogurt mixture). Hopefully this will artificially age it. We are hoping to see some green fungus and moss growing on it soon. <] :~))

1 May, 2014

Hywel

You've brought it back to life again :o) It's nice to have something handed down from someone close, and better still if it's to do with the garden ...

2 May, 2014

Alanb

Fully agree Hywel, my sentiments as well, cheers.

2 May, 2014