davidinedinburgh Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Hello I have just started carving Attached, I hope, is a picture of my 2nd effort. The wood is rhododendron - unfortunately, it tends to get very grubby when handled - the picture shows it scrubbed up! Once I have finished all the detail, I would like to keep it from getting dirty. Any sugestions? It is the size of a pool ball. Dip it or brush it in Danish oil? followed by a polyurethane spray? Any guidance gladly welcomed. Thank you, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Hoshield Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Hi, David .. Sorry .. I don't see the attachment. I'm sure there will be better suggestions following, than mine, but I use a few different sealing coats: 1) burnish the wood (if applicable to your design), so the surface is hard and shinny. pieces of glass, flat or rounded dental tools, deer antler, etc all have worked in the past. I usually buff a hard wood through the grades all the way to 2000 grit, then turn the sandpaper over and burnish/buff with that THEN I apply a finish. The finish depends on the color of the finish wanted, and how the piece will be handled. If it just sets, and only occasionally gets handled, then a light coat of spray clear polyurethane works well. It usually doesn't darken the finish much, and is just enough to keep grubby pinky prints and dust from becoming permanent. It's available in both glossy or matt, etc. I brush shellac (either clear or amber), and tung oil as well. Both have light build-up, and you can keep the mat and finish as close to 'plain wood', if you are careful. Can you try posting again? I'd like to see what you did!! Best of luck, Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidinedinburgh Posted May 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Thanks Dennis I am struggling with the photos Maybe this time... You can see there are lots of nooks and crannies. Thanks for the advice. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidinedinburgh Posted May 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 3rd time lucky... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidinedinburgh Posted May 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 wow, that's a lot of detail for a second foray into carving. there is a lot going on in there. The penguin is cute. Depending on the style of work you are trying to get across, you could probably just spray with danish oil. for this I would use a well ventilated area, and dangle the piece off a string or fishing line. And spray lightly, a few coats should be sufficient. If you want it to really shine, you'll need to do some more sanding/buffing first. nice job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Hoshield Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hi, David .. Yes! I can see the photos now! Yes .. I'm with Izzy ... that's a big jump for beginning carving! I haven't tried doing a 'see-through' piece like this yet. Good job. I'm not familiar with carving that wood (much wood at all, actually ) .. most of my 'wood working' is woodburning and semi-pyrography. Is it pretty soft? You might try, once you are close to your final caving passes, ( if you aren't done, that is!), is to finish one section, sand with increasingly finer grit paper to at least 400, then buff or burninsh, to get as smooth of a finish as possible, then lighty spray that sectionwith a finish of your liking .. clear polyurethane, danish oil, as Izzy mentioned, etc. That might keep the pretty-much-finished section from getting any more grubbied up, as you finish working on the other sections. Other than that ... I might say try using a different, perhaps harder, wood for your next project. Perhaps you are fighting some inherent properties of the wood?? Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 While carving boxwood and when the piece is nearing the final surface, I have begun using light weight, inexpensive, white gloves with the finger tips cut off for the tool holding fingers. The carving peg also has a cloth drape. This approach worked very well to reduce the hand oils from reacting with the wood. I would not finish coat or treat portions of a carving until the whole piece is done. I work all over the piece right up until it is finished, doing successive rounds of detail carving. If at all possible prepare a test carving from the same wood and give it a modest range of detail. Sand or scrape it to the degree you will sand the main carving. Make it big enough to try various sorts of finishes and treatments to educate yourself about that material's responses to the finishes. You will notice that different finishes yield different results. It takes time to do this, but it is the best way to know how your carving will react to various, specific treatments. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidinedinburgh Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Dennis, Izzy, Janel, Thank you. Lots of information to digest - wonderful. You are very kind. This is a whole new world for me. The carving is challenging but extremely fulfilling, satisfying and enjoyable. Your website is marvellous - indeed, just browsing it a few weeks ago gave me the impetus to start carving. My wife is maybe not similarly impressed (!) I will let you know how things develop. Again, thank you for your interest and help. Kind regards, David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janel Posted May 14, 2011 Report Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hi David, Thank you for taking the time to read in the archives. There is much to learn from the experiences that so many have shared on these forum pages. I moved the topic from Photography to Tools & Technical, it seems to fit the latter better. Janel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yloh Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Learning from all above. Thanks. Yloh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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