These are three of the best, most versatile hypertufa recipes or mixes I have found. They are great for freehand work and can be adjusted for casting and use in molds. One is sort of special; it is a nice mix if you want to try carving your hypertufa after you have cast a rough shape.

Carving is sort of fun, but also requires a fair amount of patience. I guess that is why it never caught on with me. I can barely wait to de0mold my castings, never mind have to work on them after I get them out of the mold.

For me success is getting a casting out of the mold in one piece! I use the number 3 mix for this reason. It makes castings that are a lot tougher than plain Tufa. They have a better chance of survival when an impatient person says it should be ready now.

Carving Mix

1 part cement
2 parts vermiculite
1 part water. (this is an approximate measure; you should adjust to what you need)

Mix the dry stuff together and add water to get it about like mayonnaise.

White Carving Mix

This is the same as Carving Mix but use white Portland cement and Perlite.

The result is a startling white casting that is very light and easy to carve. It looks a lot like marble.

Tougher Tufa

1 part cement
1 part peat moss
1 part perlite
A small handful of Polypropylene fibers.
Water

Mix dry stuff first. Make sure you spread the fibers, dont dump them in a clump. They need to be spread throughout the mixture to give it strength.

Add water as before. You can make this mixture as thick as you want for use in making sculptures on armatures, etc. Thinner and you can pour it into molds like the other 2 mixes.