Product Overview. Do not allow Powertex to freeze while in its liquid state. Allow completed sculpture to cure for 2 weeks before placing outdoors.

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1 Product Overview Always stir Powertex thoroughly from the bottom. Do not allow Powertex to freeze while in its liquid state. Allow completed sculpture to cure for 2 weeks before placing outdoors. Always varnish transparent with a good quality outdoor varnish. Bronze, Lead, Ivory Green, Black and Terra Cotta colors are weather resistant. No varnish is necessary unless you paint over Powertex, then you must varnish. Powertex is non toxic and cleans up with soap and water (before drying). Remember to protect ceramic, brick, wood or similar floors as Powertex will bond with these surfaces and become permanent. Transparent Powertex can be colored by adding powdered pigments like ColortricX or Powercolor, or by adding Folk Art brand paint at a rate of no more than 2 oz paint to 1 liter of Powertex. Not all brands of acrylic paint are compatible with Powertex. Any type of paint can be used over dry Powertex. However you must seal the paint if the finished item is to remain outdoors. Powertex can be thinned slightly with small amounts of water. 100% natural fibers such as cotton, work best. Always test fabric by coating with Powertex. If the fabric sticks to itself when folded, it should work well. Natural fibers will cure harder than those with a high synthetic component. Powertex does not stick to thin plastic such as food wrap or garbage bags. Cover with masking tape if you need to coat plastic. SCULPTURE SUPPLY CANADA 345 Munster Avenue. Toronto, ON. M8Z 3C6 Tel

2 Powertex Technical Bulletin What is Powertex? Powertex is an environmentally friendly, water based polymer textile hardener. It will harden most natural textiles and some manmade materials, making them durable for use outdoors. How do I store Powertex? Because it is water based, Powertex must not be frozen. Store at room temperature in the original bottle until ready to use. Avoid extremes of temperature. How is Powertex applied? Working time? How long? Do I need an armature? You can apply Powertex any way that works. Dip the cloth or item to be coated in the liquid Powertex, and then squeeze out excess medium. You can also paint it on. Powertex dries extremely slowly, so you will have several hours of working time with the fabric. In most cases Powertex requires an armature to provide shape and support for three dimensional sculptures. Armatures are generally constructed of wire, covered in foil wrap and secured in key spots with masking tape. Masking tape is essential as Powertex will not stick to foil wrap permanently. The tape allows the cloth impregnated Powertex to anchor to the armature during the mummy wrap steps. Drying time? How long do I wait between layers? Creating a three dimensional sculpture requires the following steps: #1 twist wire strands to form a stick figure #2 flesh out the wire stick figure to create a realistic human form using foil wrap and masking tape #3 Using strips of 100% cotton t-shirt material, create an Egyptian mummy style wrap over the fleshed out armature. The strips of mummy wrap must overlap and adhere to each previous strip. This creates a stronger structure but is also essential to keep out moisture and stop the decaying process. #4 Using only pieces of cotton or other natural fibers, drape the figure. This does not require any sewing. Powertex sets up slowly so that you can pinch and fold the cloth to form folds, creases or volume to the clothing. The length of time that Powertex remains workable is dependent on room temperature, thickness of fabric and relative humidity. If working outdoors on a sunny day, drying time is significantly reduced. It is not necessary to wait for each layer to dry before adding another. You can continue working on the draping process immediately after the mummy wrap stage is complete. Powertex can also be added to itself after fully dry. It is recommended that once the sculpture is complete, it be allowed to cure indoors for days. This insures that all layers of the sculpture are completely dry and weather proof.

3 What surfaces will Powertex adhere to? Powertex will stick to virtually all natural fibers such as cotton, wool, linen, gauze, denim, silk etc. Powertex will also stick to wood, leather, stone, concrete, most pottery, Styrofoam and ceramic tile. A quick test for adhesion is to coat a small amount of the fabric to be tested and fold it over onto itself. If it immediately delaminates, the fabric is not suitable to work with. Although Powertex can be used on many types of fabric, the most economical and easiest to work is 100% cotton t-shirt material. Cotton doilies, lace, crochet cotton, and wool are also great additions for embellishing the sculpture and do not absorb large amounts of textile medium. Denim, leather, canvas etc, will require significantly more Powertex and are therefore more costly to work with. Does Powertex require any sealers for sculptures placed in outdoor environments? All varieties of Powertex liquid textile medium have their own built in preservative, with the exception of the Transparent medium. It is necessary to varnish anything created with Transparent before placing it outdoors. Once the sculpture is finish, allow it to cure indoors for days, coat with varnish, allow the varnish to fully cure according to manufacturer s recommendation, then place outdoors. All colours of Powertex require a coat of varnish if paint has been added on top of Powertex. The varnish is necessary to protect the paint. Compatible paints Any type of paint can be used on dry Powertex. Transparent Powertex can be custom tinted, but only compatible polymer based paints should be used. It is recommended that pure pigments, like those sold by Powertex be used to custom tint Powertex medium. As well, the pigments can be used in a wet on wet technique or dry brushed using our water based varnish to float the colour. How long do I wait before painting Powertex? You can paint Powertex wet or dry, depending on the effect you choose to create. When painting wet, remember to use a compatible acrylic paint or pure pigment. What mediums can I apply Powertex over? Powertex can be applied over most anything it will stick to. It is often used on canvas for mixed media art, on wood to create dimensional signs or in the special effects industry. Paper mache and Styrofoam shapes make excellent quick armatures and are a cost effective way to introduce Powertex to the classroom.

4 Are there any materials or substances that can inhibit the curing of Powertex? Allowing Powertex to freeze, become wet or dry too quickly will all affect the ability for Powertex to fully cure. Powertex is a polymer based product and therefore needs to fully dry to enable the polymer structure to completely form and make a permanent bond with the material it has been applied to. How do I store Powertex and what special care do I need in handling this product? Powertex has earned the AP seal of approval. Powertex is safe for use by children and is completely non toxic. You can use your bare hands to work with Powertex and will not suffer any ill effects. Powertex is easily washed from skin with soap and water. Also, wet naps can be used for quick clean ups. Can I thicken or thin Powertex? It is not recommended that you thin Powertex as this may affect its ability to harden properly. However in rare instances where the product may be too thick, simply add clean water in very small amounts to thin it down. Nothing will thicken Powertex except allowing it to stand in the open air. Drying can be speeded up using a blow dryer on a cool setting however, this may allow a skin to form and hinder complete curing. How do I achieve various surface textures/finishes? Metallic use metallic powdered pigments in combination with water based varnish or simply paint using a metallic paint. Stone Stone Art is a fine cellulose base powder that is sprinkled onto Powertex while slightly damp. Shake off any excess Stone Art and save to use again later. Then rub the Stone Art/Powertex in random areas. The areas that have been rubbed will have a smooth stone like finish. The untouched areas will look like rough stone. Terra cotta or gray Powertex medium together with Stone Art, work best to achieve a life like faux stone. Stone Art can also be combined with liquid Powertex to form a clay, paste or thin slurry, depending on the final application desired. Can I add fillers to Powertex? Powertex can also be used as an adhesive. This property also means you can add many things to liquid Powertex and when fully dry, they will become a permanent inclusion. Since Powertex is a polymer based product, certain items may not be compatible. These would include most plastics and manmade fibers such as polyester, rayon etc. Styrofoam, rock, brick, wood and most natural elements can be safely added to your sculpture simply by coating the surface and securing them to the sculpture until dry. Cure time may have to be adjusted depending on the size of the object.

5 What is the difference between Colortricx and Powercolor pigments? Colourtricx are the specialty line of powdered pigments. These include metallic, pearlescent and interference colours. Powercolor pigments are base colours that include black, white, red, green, sienna, blue and many more. Both can be used in the same manner and provide pure, rich finishes to your art. What is Bister patina? Bister is a liquid designed specifically to add a patina to our Ivory and Terra Cotta varieties of Powertex medium. Bister is a very watery liquid that can be poured or sponged onto a surface, left to soak in briefly then wiped off. The result will be a textured look achieved by darker dimension in the grooves and folds and a lighter colour on the elevated area. What is Stockinette? Stockinette is a fine cotton textile that stretches in all directions. Once dipped in Powertex medium, Stockinette will stretch to many times its original size. Stockinette makes excellent draping material to achieve flowing, graceful garments for Powertex sculpture. What is Paperdeco? Paperdeco is the inner bark of a plant. It is very fibrous and paperlike in texture. Shred Paperdeco by hand to achieve a tattered, primitive look, brush on Powertex medium than apply to your piece as a draped garment or use smaller tufts to create a unique hair treatment. What is Powercotton? Powercotton are 100% cotton thin thread like fibers used to achieve the look of life like hair. Coat with Powertex medium, squeeze out all liquid and set aside for a few minutes to dry up a bit. Then place it on the area desired and move it around using bamboo shish kebob skewers. It is better to work with small amounts and layer Powercotton from the bottom of the head toward the top. Wet on wet technique works best as the wet Powercotton will slide off a sculpture that is fully dry.

6 What is Powerprint? Powerprint is a transfer medium that will imprint an image to canvas, cloth, wood, clay and many other surfaces. Using a laser copy... inkjet copies are not recommended... coat the surface area where the picture is to be placed. Paint the area both vertically and horizontally to insure Powerprint fully penetrates the fibers. Coat the image; place it on the surface face down; then coat the back of the image. Allow to dry, then using water, dampen the image and begin rolling the paper out from under your fingers. There are several You Tube videos illustrating instructions for Powerprint. Also, the Powertex DVD will explain the entire process in detail. What is Stone Art? Stone Art is a powdered cellulose product that when mixed with Powertex, mimics the look of real stone. It can also be used to make air dry clay. Varying the ratio of Powertex to Stone Art determines whether Stone Art becomes clay, textured paste or slurry. Ideal for faux stone effects by coating over Styrofoam shapes, modeling as a clay to create jewelry or small sculpture or as texture elements for mixed media art. Use with Colortricx or Powercolor pigments for beautifully blended colours simply by sprinkling the pigment onto the clay. Stone Art is not suitable for outdoor applications or items in contact with moisture. Dry Stone Art is compatible with all paints. Refer to the Powertex DVD for more information.