Buddha Fountain Restoration - Help Needed

justanick on 27/07/2025 - 03:07
Last edited 27/07/2025 - 03:08

Hi All,

We have a beautiful Buddha water fountain statue. When the water pump is activated the water runs through the Buddha’s face and makes a calming effect.
The statue is left by the previous owners and I would like to restore it to its previous glory.

https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/100944/123097/img_2277…

https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/100944/123096/img_2276…

https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/100944/123098/img_2278…

Can someone with statue or painting knowledge and experience help me with step by step process to restore the statue? This is going to be my new DIY project and would really appreciate any advice and help.
The material is build of thin cement as some of the areas are getting broken.
I need something to protect against the water, bird drops and weather.
1. What colour and how much quality should I buy from Bunnings?
2. I have a steel brush to dust off the statue.

FYI I went to Bunnings Rockdale. The lady in the paint shop area said she can’t help me. I need to bring in the sample paint. I showed her the pictures and she said no one in any Bunnings can help by looking at the statue and advice me on the colour.

Any other materials I can buy apart from brush?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Jolakot on 27/07/2025 - 03:41
    +9

    You're going to ruin the statue with a steel brush, get a stiff nylon brush instead. A steel brush will leave rust stains and almost certainly scratch off more than you want to, I don't think Buddha is meant to have chickenpox

    You'll need to clean the dirt and gunk off with your nylon brush, then do a chemical clean to get rid of algae/mould and brush it again, then rinse everything off and make sure it's bone dry before continuing. Use some waterproof epoxy to fix holes and cracks, sand the repairs to be level.

    You'll need a layer of masonry primer, then two layers of outdoor paint, then finally put on two layers of clear outdoor sealer (don't cheap out on the sealer or it'll yellow over time). Also don't use textured paint, it'll ruin the details of the statue.

    The current colour isn't the original colour, it would have been sun bleached over many years, so don't worry about matching it too closely. I'd look for new Buddha statues online and show those images to staff instead, or use eyedropper tool to get colour.

    Personally I think something like Dulux Monument would look good, and I'd use a bronze metallic paint to dry-brush it afterwards to highlight lips and other details.

    • justanick on 27/07/2025 - 04:44
      -1

      Thanks a lot mate. Are you able to give me the links to the tools and paints?

      I just looked into Dulux Monument —-> https://www.bunnings.com.au/dulux-100ml-monument-sample-pot_…

      It’s black colour not like the retro mud colour. I can’t even tell what colour it’s called.

      • Jolakot on 27/07/2025 - 13:29
        +1

        I'd get a brush like this: https://www.bunnings.com.au/mr-clean-tuffmates-brick-and-con…

        You'd be better off going to a hardware store and asking the staff which products they recommend for a concrete water feature, I'm not sure what's best for waterproofing, I've only ever done regular garden statues.

        Monument is dark grey, would be my preference for a water feature to hide dirt and grime but you can get almost any colour. Get a paint swatch and bring it home, put it against the statue so you can see which is closest to what you want, impossible to know from a picture as it depends on lighting and phone camera.

    • sator on 27/07/2025 - 07:20
      +1

      A truly cracker of a response. Virtual Ozb praise to jolakot

  • justanick on 27/07/2025 - 04:46

    Found it online.

    What colour paint would this be?

    https://www.fountainsgalore.com.au/products/modern-buddha-fa…

    • brad1-8tsi on 27/07/2025 - 12:22

      What colour paint would this be?

      https://www.fountainsgalore.com.au/products/modern-buddha-fa…

      Have you sprayed yours with water to see what colour it goes?

      Why is yours in segments?

  • joka on 27/07/2025 - 05:57
    +1

    Please also provide op a step by step instruction manual with images like an ikea flat pack piece of furniture.

  • Kongzi on 27/07/2025 - 06:56

    I would just clean, patch up any holes with a waterproof epoxy then spray paint

  • tenpercent on 27/07/2025 - 07:05
    +2

    FYI I went to Bunnings Rockdale. The lady in the paint shop area said she can’t help m

    Most of the people at Bunnings can't help with any kind of advice relating to DIY or building or even any of the products they sell. The market has been concentrated into 90%+ Bunnings control and big corporations with profit maximising objectives like them tend to hire the cheapest people they can feasibly get away with. But at least the staff are diverse (albeit unknowledgable).

    • joka on 27/07/2025 - 09:32
      -3

      What did Bunnings do to upset you?

      • tenpercent on 27/07/2025 - 10:55
        -1

        Nothing in particular. Their staff are just mostly useless for customer service. They can point you to where things are (sometimes) but not much more.

    • ihbh on 27/07/2025 - 10:19
      +3

      Most of the people at Bunnings can't help with any kind of advice relating to DIY

      OP sounds like they are looking for 100+ hours of step by step guidance and then buy a $5 item. Computer (old geezer's wisdom) says no.

  • apsilon on 27/07/2025 - 07:10
    +1

    Go to an actual paint shop for advice. Perhaps an exterior render coat would be the way to go. At the very least you'll need something rated for exterior use but I don't think any of them are designed to have constant running water over them so whatever you do likely isn't going to last very long.

  • stickingly on 27/07/2025 - 08:03
    +5

    To me the rustic weathered look is part of the charm. I would avoid doing anything that makes it looks too perfect and brand new

    • mskeggs on 27/07/2025 - 08:07
      +5

      Be accepting of change, accept you cannot recapture the past.

  • elgrande on 27/07/2025 - 08:39
    +2

    Step 1, remove.

    All sorted.

  • GordonD on 27/07/2025 - 10:05

    Buddha is apparently supposed to be that colour.

    https://serenitywatergardens.com.au/product/buddha-face-pane…

    • joka on 27/07/2025 - 11:16

      Op might be suffering a mild case of racism

  • Protractor on 27/07/2025 - 10:12
    +2

    Just leave it.It looks perfect.I doubt Buddha, of all deities gives a toss about vanity

  • Doug Dinsdale on 27/07/2025 - 11:58

    The way it looks is the way its meant to look. In fact that is probably what it looked like brand new and it hasn't aged at all. Besides Buddha won't look kindly on anyone messing with his face. Have you heard of karma?

  • jizmo on 27/07/2025 - 12:58

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayon#/media/File:Bayon_0759_(27773814040).jpg

    I'd leave it, too.

  • Muppet Detector on 27/07/2025 - 20:47

    I need something to protect against the water, bird drops and weather.

    A blue tarp.

    1. I have a steel brush to dust off the statue.

    What happens if you use a gurney?

  • justanick on 28/07/2025 - 02:01

    @Jolakot firstly thank you so much for the detailed post and all of it in such a quick time.

    I’m going to buy the brush and the paint materials but looking for more of a rustic look or deep brown mud like Color. If you look into the picture there’s some garden beds which are brownish red colour. I don’t know what colour they call it. I’ll give another Bunnings a try this week.

  • dtc on 28/07/2025 - 13:54

    Why would you paint it? This unpainted stone look is what you find in almost every Buddhist temple or monument. Just clean it up and leave it

    • justanick on 28/07/2025 - 14:40

      How do I clean it up apart from the nylon brush? There’s small chunks of the stone that got stained due to the bird Poo.

      I’m really now thinking if I should not just paint as most of you are suggesting.

      • dtc on 29/07/2025 - 11:33

        Just give it a scrub with cleaning brush you would use for the bathroom. Try some outdoor cleaner perhaps (glitz from bunnings) but do a test spot to make sure it doesnt bleach it or change the colour too much. can also use dishwashing detergent with hot water, scrub and then gently wash off

  • Doug Dinsdale on 28/07/2025 - 22:59
    +1

    Getting shat on by a bird is good luck.
    Messing with Buddha is bad luck.

    • justanick on 29/07/2025 - 01:54
      +1

      Where did you find this?

    • Muppet Detector on 29/07/2025 - 03:42
      +1

      Getting shat on by a bird is good luck.

      Surely that only applies if you're wearing somebody's jacket and hat and you're not looking upwards with your mouth open?

    • Doug Dinsdale on 29/07/2025 - 22:08

      I don't know why, it's what I've always been told. I saw a gorilla at Melbourne Zoo many years ago throw shit at all the people watching him, I have never thought that would give you luck. It was very funny though.

      • dtc on 29/07/2025 - 23:47
        +1

        When my sister in law was standing outside the house in her wedding dress and waiting for the car to pick her up to take her to the wedding, and a bird crapped on her, we told her it was 'good luck' and, no, she didnt have time to have the dress dry cleaned.

        She is still married some 25 years or so later, so lesson for us all

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