Blog 2: Recyclus Cactus

Technique 1: Painting Metal

Part I: Googling Everything

Upcycling has already proved more difficult than I anticipated.

1. I don't know how to paint metal.

2. I started reading how to paint metal and I can't read

3. What do "ferrous" and "galvanized" mean?

Hi I'm Katie interrupting your regular Allie program:

What Allie should do is dumpster dive in the back of the school. She can use the school's many many articles of trash. I know the school has a large supply of  it. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Well Katie, I'd love to dumpster dive. The suits are my favorite. Very attractive.

Only there's one minor setback... it's sorta kinda illegal in Pennsylvania.

Anyway, painting metal actually depends on whether the metal is ferrous or galvanized and whatnot.

Non-ferrous metal is defined as metal that doesn't contain iron, so I think it's pretty safe to assume that ferrous metal does. (I mean, I guess that makes sense since the chemical symbol for iron is Fe...yay science.) Ferrous metal needs to be cleaned to get all the rust off of it, and then you can prime it.

Galvanized metal is just iron or steel with a coating for protection, which is usually zinc. "The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerged in a bath of molten zinc." Those aren't my words. They're Wikipedia's. But am I the only one imagining this?

No? Just me?

Also, can we take some time to appreciate the extent of my editing skills? I wouldn't call them trash..I'd call them recyclable.

Part II: Actually Doing Things

So after some extensive work of asking my mom what to do, I got a metal primer.

:)

And now it's painted

:)

I affixed the primer (I don't think I used that word correctly).

Then I applied the acrylic paint on top.

Here's a badly edited video that's pretty trash recyclable.

Wow Allie, good for you. You accomplished something. Can you make the actual thing/up-cycling-trash now?

ummm....tomorrow :)

Part III: Actual Thing/Up-cycling-trash

Surprise!!!  I actually started it.
My indecisive mind finally decided to make a cactus thing.
So I took a 3rd grade project's poster board and used a pencil to draw on this shape.
Wow Allie you're so entertaining.
No you're not.







Then I cut out the shape.
Scissors weren't going to work
So I got to take this creepy picture and use a kitchen knife to cut it out.
It's not a power-tool, but it's better than safety scissors.

And this picture that looks like it's from a crime scene is just me using my not-so-big brain.
"Um Allie....I don't think you thought this through. How are you going to fill up most of this empty space in the can?" And then I saw Styrofoam, and pressed the can on top of the Styrofoam which cut into the can. This is what we ended up with (after I painted the Styrofoam in the can a weird shade of brown)

And then I used my not-so-big brain and covered the cut out thing that I used a knife for with a pair of really disgusting and old jeans.
And since I was too lazy to get a needle and thread I used hot glue to make the jeans stick to the board.
And I will commence (I definitely didn't use that word correctly) and cover the other two pieces and then paint it a funny color of green.
We'll see if this turns into a disaster. It probably will.

Instead of a disaster, I made a Popsicle. I think that's better than having a disaster though. I just covered the "arms" of the cactus with the same old pair of jeans then used paints to color it green. Except, acrylic paint doesn't like to cooperate so I had to find my fabric paints that are 3 years old and then add coats of acrylic on top of it.

Then I stuck my Popsicle into the somewhat suspicious looking Styrofoam, and with the help of a little bit of hot glue, I created a child-safe cactus. If I added thumbtacks in the cactus, I think it would cost me a lot of band-aids.


You can create this too! All you need is:

- a can
- metal primer
- paint
- cardboard
- fabric (jeans are the easiest to paint on from my personal experience)
- more paint
- a Popsicle stick
- Styrofoam
- a whole lot more patience than I have

Should I add a pun on the can, or would that be pointless?

I seek validation. Please laugh at my jokes. I'm not funny.

Citations:

"My mother and the guy at Home Depot who picked out the primer"

“Painting Metal.” Kelly-Moore Paints, kellymoore.com/homeowner/exterior/metal.

“The Difference between Ferrous & Non-Ferrous Metals.” Understanding Grades of Copper Scrap | Blog | ASM Metal      Recycling, ASM Metal Recycling Ltd., www.asm-recycling.co.uk/ferrous-and-non-ferrous-metals.html.

“What Does Galvanized Mean | What Is Galvanized Metal? | Galvanized Steel.” Tampa Steel & Supply, 14 Feb. 2019, tampasteel.com/what-is-galvanized-metal/.


Music from:

"Flying Kerfuffle" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/