I've created a sculpture out of aluminum foil, but it's pretty flimsy. What can I paint or cover it with that would harden and support it? I was thinking a resin or something, but I have no experience with resins or epoxies... Any suggestions?
You have to make it thick, the aluminum IS weak material. or use harder raw material.
Rigid Wrap is plaster-infused gauze. You can buy it at the art supply store or at a medical supply store. The latter is cheaper. It comes on a roll so you can cut off small chunks. Wet each piece and apply it to your sculpture. The first layer may be the most difficult. I would wrap the plaster gauze around the structure so the gauze overlaps gauze. It may not stick to the aluminum but it will stick to itself. Start at the bottom and let it dry, then add another layer. As mentioned, adding too much may compromise the structure so work slowly and allow time to dry between layers.
you can use more aluminum and add layers to it. It would depend on the shape and size what is the best, but yes, you could use fiberglass and resin - as long as it is not so flimsy that the weight of the additional material will already distort it. If you just use resin that could work as long as it is reasonably flat, as the resin will run, but you could paint a number of thin coats on. Depending how it looks you could also use something like bondo which is car repair putty which is resin based. It might be easier to work with as it is thicker and it can be carved/sanded easily. Though you need to use it outside or with very good ventilation before it is set.
