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JennGM
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| Posted: June 29 2013 at 6:31pm | IP Logged
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While dh and I enjoyed an overnight away we bought a vintage outdoor Mary statue. She's big and heavy (about 100 Lbs).
The face and shape is pretty--I have been looking for a long time, but She needs to be refinished. Right now she has a painted body and the face and hands are a bit garish to my taste. I prefer the statues to look like stone or all white, so that's my plan.
Has anyone ever redone their statue? I'm not sure the material , I think concrete? What to remove the paint and what kind of paint to use?
Thanks for any tips!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 10:19am | IP Logged
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Well, I dove in. I should post pictures. It's about 3 feet high. There are layers of paint. Someone painted her mantle white, then dark blue, then burgundy, then white.
I bought the least offensive stripper and slowly taking off the layers. It's fun, though!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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MaryM
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Yes, would love to see pictures of the process, Jenn.
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Mary M. in Denver
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 10:30am | IP Logged
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I'm with you, Jenn - I prefer a natural or mono-color statue, too.
I'd love pics, too!
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Jen Mackintosh
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SallyT
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 10:35am | IP Logged
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I also prefer white or stone-look -- I'd never thought of buying an old painted statue and stripping! After almost five years in this house, we still don't have an outdoor Mary statue, because I've been waiting for the right one to come along. It hadn't occurred to me that the right one might be hiding under layers of paint!
Third-ing the chorus of "show-me-the-pictures!"
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SallyT
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 10:36am | IP Logged
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What material is yours made of? Stone? Concrete?
eta: Never mind, just reread your first post!
Sally
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 11:05am | IP Logged
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It takes me a while to downsize the photos, so sorry it wasn't immediate.
I'm very picky about the statues and have been looking for years. My criteria was the face...the newer ones seem to have uglier facial structure, like a wide nice or barely any features.
This one could pass as pretty on the road, but close up I can't stand the paint job. Plus, with our HOA I think one color look will be less obtrusive. I want to make a statement, but not a tacky one.
It's cement and I can't tell the age. The base is solid, no holes.
This picture is before removal
These are part of the process of paint removal:
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Jennifer G. Miller
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MaryM
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 11:10am | IP Logged
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How tall is she, Jenn? She looks pretty big. I like it a lot.
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 11:13am | IP Logged
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MaryM wrote:
| How tall is she, Jenn? She looks pretty big. I like it a lot. |
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Almost 3 feet. She is big, but not monstrous.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 11:14am | IP Logged
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Oh, it was around Emmitsburg we bought it...and it was a barn sale. The price was too good to pass it up.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 11:16am | IP Logged
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Looking at my picture with the close-up, it looks like her nose is big, but it doesn't look as big as others I've seen. I'm not a good photographer.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Mackfam
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Oh she is beautiful, Jenn! I definitely affirm your decision to strip the paint, too! That would bother me! She's beautifully tall, and I love her humble downward looking face! Some statues have her more looking outward and that's just personal pref for me, but I like this very humble look for her.
You always make me feel validated in your visual preferences, Jenn! I'm VERY picky about the face of my statues, too! It's why I am STILL hunting for a good St. Joseph statue! I am always disappointed in the look of St. Joseph in modern statuary.
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CrunchyMom
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For those looking, I've long admired the outdoor statues sold by our friends at Holy Images. They are picky about quality and source with the outdoor statues made in the USA, and their other statues and nativities made in various places but never in China or sweatshops. I have seen the statues in person, and one would not guess they were not made of stone, and there are a variety of patinas to choose as well as painted options. They also have traditional indoor statues as well. I know that their business came out of the frustration in finding quality modern pieces, and they are very picky in what they choose to have commissioned for their store. Years ago, I ended up ordering a statue from Italy (a wedding gift for dh) because I didn't like any of the statues at the local store, but the Mary they gave us as a gift is just beautiful!
Another friend refinished the full sized Mary for our parish. She turned out beautifully, but she was plaster, so I don't know what technique would be best, but I can ask her what she'd recommend since she did a ton of research. The fear imo would be that in removing the paint, you might pit the concrete. Something like a powerwasher or too caustic a chemical could definitely do that. Dh used a product called peel away on the trim in our old home. I would think sanding would be the least aggressive option, but you would need to take care since the paint is old and likely contains lead.
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SallyT
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Oh, me too. That's why we still don't have one. All my flower gardens are Mary gardens -- mostly because most plants seem to have some Marian connection or other -- and I would so love to make an outdoor shrine, but she's got to be the right one.
Jenn, I love your statue and agree that "humble" is just the right word for her face and posture. She's not too unearthly, but she's not crudely made, either. And I too would want to strip off the paint and have her be simple and unadorned.
What a wonderful find. If I were in your family, I'd be so excited to crown her next May!
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SallyT
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Lindsay, I think we were cross-posting. Going to look at your friends' site.
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stacykay
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We have an old cement statue of Our Lady. I was never able to afford one, and my bil spotted this statue at someone's curb on garbage day!!!!  He stopped his car right away and rescued her!   He already had one, so he came over straight-away, and gave it to me. 
I had not even thought about lead in the paint!!! Our's is definitely in need of sprucing up, so I will be anxious to hear what all is suggested and how your's turns out!
I will try to get my boys to help me post a picture or two, so you can see the condition of our statue. I am not very techie. 
In Christ,
Stacy in MI
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Jenn, that's quite the find!  Can't wait to see the finished product!
For anyone looking for a nice Mary statue, I have had my eye on this one, , I'm hoping maybe next year when the house is done and we can landscape a bit. She has a sweet face, and I love that they are resin, like the one's Lindsay linked to, as they will be durable, and not require paint touch-ups ever.
Love the statues Lindsay, thanks for the link!
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Betsy
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I am late to this thread...but I love all things Marian and Crafty! Jenn, please keep posting pictures. It's such a gorgeous statue.
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JennGM
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| Posted: July 02 2013 at 8:51pm | IP Logged
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I was wondering about lead paint. Not knowing how old it is, I can't say.
I talked to our local hardware guy. Most strippers work on masonry. There will be residue on the statue, I probably won't be able to get it all down to cement without sanding a bit. I also have some filler for some of the crackers.
I'm using a Citrus Stripper which is minimal chemicals, but will take longer. It will keep the paint in chunks and safe to use indoors. But I'm using it outside on our porch.
I'm also going to try a heat gun/embossing to see if that works.
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MaryM
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OK, so this is kind of crazy...but I have the same statue. At least the same style/mold though maybe not as big - ours doesn't weigh anywhere close to 100#. It looked familiar but because yours is painted it didn't hit me that they were the same until I went out yesterday evening. Here is a picture.
We got it last spring after my father-in-law died. He and my mother-in-law had several garden saints and since we are the only practicing Catholics in family no one else was interested in taking them. So we got the Mary, also a St. Anthony, and 2 St. Francis ones. We couldn't fit them all in the vehicle we had so left one St. Francis in the care of Erica.
When you started this thread, Jenn, I was planning to tag on anyway about sealing/restoring damaged stone statuary. So, this Mary is not painted but she has quite a bit of weather damage to lower portion of her dress. The concrete is getting very pitted and thin/brittle on the ridges.
What should we do to halt that and preserve her from the elements better? Anyone know?
SallyT wrote:
| All my flower gardens are Mary gardens -- mostly because most plants seem to have some Marian connection or other -- |
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That is my strategy for Mary gardens also - pretty much all the flowers can be traced to some story or connection to Mary, so we have what we have and I dig up the Mary connection/name. 
Great story about your rescued Mary statue, Stacy.
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Topic: Outdoor Mary Statue
