How to make terrazo planters?

[sandymandy]

Hi all, I make concrete planters as a hobby and soon opening my Etsy store to turn passion into money making business. I would like to diversify my offerings by introducing terrazzo planters. Can anyone advise how to achieve a terrazzo effect using cement as show in picture. TIA.

 

[Jason]

Hi @sandymandy,

Welcome to Workshop. We're really happy you could join us and look forward to seeing you develop your passion into a thriving enterprise!  

I'm sure our clever and creative members will have suggestions for you.

Feel free to post anytime you need a hand or have something to share. It will be great to see some of your other creations. 

Please let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site.

Jason

[Mathy]

Hi @sandymandy  and congrats on starting your business. You can aggregate to your concrete mix, I’m guessing that coloured stones/chips are available too. To get the smooth finish (as in your picture), you’re going to have to polish it. This clip shows the polishing process  Polishing Pink Terrazzo - in the comments it asked how the original product was made - but the promised video is not there yet. As you can see, it’s quite a bit of work, but you’ll be able to charge a premium price for something that looks good. Hope this helps, cheers Deb

[Stuardo]

Hi @sandymandy ,

Sounds like a fun project and terrazzo is a great look. Could you try a water based glue (or something sticky) inside your mold and scatter the coloured chips in first and then the concrete?  Cheers, Stuart.

[sandymandy]

Thanks. Really helpful 😊. Do you know what sander can be used to polish the concrete ? 

[sandymandy]

I have been thinking of that. I just can’t seem to find an inexpensive and a good option. Research is still on.

[Brad]

Epoxy can also be used to set the chips but it isn't much use outdoors as it can fade and flake off.

Concrete grinding wheels is how your supposed to do flat surfaces, having the pot spin while grinding is what I would look at.

I would go for a flat style wheel like -

Maxx Diamond 

I would think the 100mm would give the best surface contact.

If you have a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot it would make setting up something to spin it.

It would also create silicon dust which is not great for your health so you will need to think about how to deal with that too.