This past week has been spent trying a different way to form our concrete nest, we attempted to cast the concrete rather than mold it. The first photo was the molding method, which we tried twice and it worked both times. Building a sand castle and pressing the concrete to that was easy and presented no challenge when removing the mold. We tried that method again with a pot on the inside, but while the interior surface was better, getting the pot out was very challenging. Our issue with this method is that the interior surface of the nest (where the pot is inserted) is too rough.
The casting method used two pots and sandwiched the concrete between it. This method gave us trouble when removing the concrete from the mold. The top surface broke and was scrapped. The interior surface was much smoother and the exterior surface was the best we’ve been able to produce. It is strong, smooth and has a reflective sheen. What caused the outer surface to be so smooth and shiny while the inside is smooth and matte will be researched this coming week.
The whiteboard is melamine, it’s top surface is a thermoset plastic film that the concrete does not bond to. This makes it a very good choice for a surface that is both easy to use and reuse.
For our edge, we used 3m tape to set a boundary. This has been easy to remove and has provided a clean edge.
