Plaster dries quickly - point taken

So I've always considered the edging portion of this endeavor as being one of the most interesting yet unfamiliar components. Stained concrete? Check. Curved mold? Check. Elaborate edge akin to crown molding? Umm, what?

Don't get me wrong - I brought this on myself. Call it a self-initiated goal. Until this point, I didn't really have any idea what would work, if anything, and how well it would work. So I went to Hobby Lobby and loaded up with some plaster of Paris and modeling clay, just to play around.

I started with the plaster, hoping that its make-as-runny-as-you-like characteristics would be preferable over the viscous clay. Wrong. That plaster start out all nice and easy flowing (as seen below - looks like egg whites) but quickly turns rock solid. By quickly, I mean within a minute. That's pretty freakin fast, if you ask me.

After going through the entire tub of plaster only to be left with sub-par edges, I took a break and moved onto the clay. It took a while to warm it up to the point where I could screed it with the template and make some smooth curves, but once I hit that sweet spot, it was pretty easy sailing. The difference is noticeable.

I haven't written plaster off yet and still feel that it holds some great possibilities, if only I could better control the speed to which it dries (or just get quicker at applying it). Oh well. Lesson learned: Plaster is even more unruly than concrete.

Bring on the samples

Tonight I finished making the two 2-inch deep reusable sample forms, each 12" wide and 18" long. I'll use them to test out different color combinations and finishing techniques. My wife tells me I'm abnormally excited about them. Oh well...

And I made the scraping device (technical term?) for making the countertop edges. As you can see, it'll have a couple steps down, with the first and last being rounded. The idea will be to load the edges of the mold with some type of material (plaster, modeling clay, not sure what will work best yet) and then use the scraping device to...well...scrape away the excess, leaving only the desired shape of material. We'll see how well it works. Worst case scenario, we go for something a little less elaborate, like a simple bullnose or something.

The Countryman mold is coming together nicely. I haven't used my steam box in about 6 years, but it was crucial tonight. The strips of hardboard wouldn't have made the corner curves without a little persuasion. and thanks to some PL400 adhesive and my finishing nailer, the edge strips fit perfectly, making a nice, flowing curve. After putting some spackle over the nail holes and sanding it smooth, the mold should be ready for the beveled edge work...stay tuned.

I also cut the pieces needed for small 1x1.5 ft sample slabs. These will be handy for testing color combinations and edging styles. The sample pigment and acid stain have been ordered and should be here tomorrow. Let the fun begin!