Mixing and Blending Coconut to match existing coconut.

Post by **Tom Hull** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 6:34 pm

Sometimes the coconut doesn't quite match the existing coconut and it becomes necessary to work with it a bit. I discovered that mixing more than one color of coconut together does the trick. This first photo is of a rainbow house needing total restoration. Even though it photographed much nicer originally than it actually looked I noticed in the dark blue field to the right that it sort of looked like it had some white flecks in it. And the blue coconut I had looked too dark of a blue so I put some silver gray with it. As seen in photo 2.
I had to do a similar thing with the fence that required replacement. In this instance I mixed an orangey red with yellow. This was done to replicate the orange and gold flecks that developed in the reds to produce what friend Kathi calls tomato soup red. I had to paint the cardboard of the fence a dull red which I have mixed up to duplicate what was originally on them but as it turns out the coconut didn't stick well as it dried up too fast. So I had to redo that and on the rainbow house by mixing water with Aileen's Tacky glue so that it was the consistency of cream and then painting it on. Then it is a matter of sprinkling the coconut you have mixed up over the area. Of course over a piece of paper as you will need to catch it and reuse it. The photo flash sort of overexposes the fence and makes it look lighter than it actually is. Also NO white in it at all that is just reflection. Hope this helps. Tom

Post by **Howard** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:05 pm

tom...

thanks for the detailed closeup pix of this very colorful house...it's one of my favorites...

also thanks for the "why" and "how" of another one of your restoration techniques...mixing "coconut"...

since we're on the subject of "coconut"...have you ever made your own ?...anything you can share with us on the subject?...

Post by **Tom Hull** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:21 pm

No I have never made it I am using Pete's. I LOVE the stuff. It is making true restoration possible and is not NEARLY as painful as it once was. We use to have to buy bad houses and save them for the coconut we could scrape off of them. Tom

Post by **Howard** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:43 pm

tom...and the rest of the putz community...

i've seen pete's coconut product...it certainly is everything it is supposed to be...a nice texture, vibrant colors and easy to apply...

i'm trying to remember...was ted was still with us when pete released the product?...and...did he ever get the chance to use it?...

Post by **paulrace** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 10:52 pm

Ted, that looks great! Thanks for posting all the photos.

Post by **Tom Hull** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:08 am

I am sure Ted was gone before Pete released this product. He certainly never used it as his last year would not have allowed it at any rate. I Don't think he was big on restoration but he did put the doors and windows in whenever they were missing. Ted would have been amazed. He had insisted for some time that it was cellophane (which it isn't) and that route led down a lot of blind alleys cause I tried to chop it up and it just didn't work.

Post by **BrianB** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 12:14 pm

Great Restoration Tom! Your Rainbow house looks awesome! I often mix two or three colors of coco together too. It is a great way to get that vintage look. When I did my repros of the The Fair set, on the Chruch, I mixed a teal, a green, and a blue together to make what is my favorite base that I have done so far. Thanks for sharing your restore pics! Love them!
-Brian