the great concrete statue experiment

Every once in a while I step outside my wrought iron maiden box and venture forth into uncharted territory. This was fun. A homeowner had this gorgeous garden statue/fountain of a nymph. The statue was getting along in years and had deteriorated due to weather and the the general hard life of being a concrete statue in Southern California sunshine. The homeowner contacted the store where she had purchased the statue and they told her to fill in the cracks with bond-o, a putty used to fix small dents in cars. She had another worker apply the bond-o but after they were both at a loss as how to make the statue look statuesque again. (Har, har. I like puns, I can't help it.)

This is where I came in. While I was on property doing other faux work she asked me if there was anyway I could help her. I said yes. I had no idea if I would be able to make the statue look presentable again but I wanted to try. I sanded away the excess bond-o to smooth it out. I applied a few coats of a sealer I've been using for years, then bronze paint, I went to town with a patina then sealed the whole thing. I was pretty impressed with my work and have been wondering if maybe this is another little niche I can pursue.