BEAUTIFUL Angel Restoration

ABOUT THE BROKEN ANGEL
I got this rusty broken angel from the local antique store. It’s made of cast Iron and is used as a metal decoration in people's homes or gardens. I think the angels are supposed to be rusty when used as decoration. I got this restoration project for absolutely free because it is hard to repair and weld cast iron and at the same time make it look good. But I am always into a challenge, and I was blown away by this little figure's beauty, so I have to save her. ❤

ABOUT THE RESTORATION
I started by sandblasting the angel’s base and body to weld those two parts together. I did a few tack welds which hold the two pieces very fine together. I prepared it for TIG brazing/welding by grinding a deep groove all around the front/back legs and heating the cast iron to around 175°C/350 °F. I TIG brazed it with aluminum bronze and had 110 amps on my welding machine in DC TIG mode. I used 100% argon as my shield gas. I slowly cooled it to normal temperature by burying the angel in the sand. I ground and removed the excess material and polished the welding.

After that, I used the same procedure when I welded the wings back on the angel’s body. Cast Iron is OK to solder if you know what you are doing. But it is very difficult to make it look good. So I had to grind to make the weldings look natural.

I decided to decorate the angel feathers by giving the wings a layer of smoky white paint with my airbrush. I also added some gold color to the wings. I dry-brushed a lot of details to make the restoration look even more beautiful.

Finally, I did a lot of polishing to make the metalwork look outstanding. I’m very pleased with this restoration video and I hope that you like it too.