I have been thinking about various musical instruments, and with a blank that’s suited for something tall, I decided to make a copper plate of a tenor sax.
As always, the blanks are made by laminating copper sheet to 1/4″ plywood with contact cement, then cutting to size, filing-down edges, and sanding the copper surface. I need to make a stencil to form the colours on the copper.
I aimed to reduce the original photo to 4 colours: black, main body colour, bright copper highlights, and the background. After I finished the design, I converted it to monochrome for the cutting machine software. Minimal clean up was required before cutting out the stencil in vinyl. I used transfer tape to apply the stencil to the copper surface.
The paint layer is up first, so I weed-out the black pieces in the stencil and ensure the edges are masked before painting. I spray-on 2 light coats before letting the paint cure for a day.
Next, I weed the background, apply chemicals, and seal in the chamber to react. This one stayed in for about 12hrs.
I let the patina dry before rinsing the plate off with water, then sealing with clear coat. Some loose bits of the patina flaked-off during the rinse.
Next, I weed the main body colour. The trick now is to get a consistent brass-like colour in the body. I’m gonna try using a little alcohol to help quickly dry-up errant droplets on the surface to let the fumes in the chamber evenly form patina on the exposed copper.
Lastly for the colours, there are a few highlights left in the image. I weed the last few pieces of the vinyl to expose the bare copper, then seal the plate with clear coat. I apply 2 light coats before letting it cure. I add the hanging hardware to the back, and the piece is complete.