Garden Memorial Sign

[Dakota Sage]

I now have two questions in regard to this outdoor memorial request.

I don't know the best finish to use. So if anyone could help me figure that out. I will be coloring it with oil pencils, not paint.

Second question....about the stake(s) . I am making the sign on a basswood round and it is .69" thick. He loved tomatoes, so it will be in the vegetable garden. Should I drill holes in the plaque and insert metal posts or should I use something affixed to the backside? I have never made this kind of out door sign, so everything I do would be guess work. I could really use some expertise in making these decisions!

Thanks for whatever help you can lend!

Debbie

[Magicman]

How ever you color the sign you will have to put a good coat of clear over it to make it weather proof. You can get Clearcoat in a spray can or paint it with clear polyurathane. The stake or stakes can be as simple as a wooden stake affixed to the back or you could drill the holes and put the medal rods in either will work just fine.
Larry

[Dakota Sage]

Thanks, Larry. I think I will try the Clearcoat spray. I have never taken a class in pyrography and it has occasionally been a school of hard knocks. I have spend days on a sign only to blow it with the finish.One problem...I didn't set the colors. Now I do with turpenoid, but still go gingerly with the finish brush. Another time, some carvers said that the poly had dried too quickly. (I did it outside on a beautiful day.) I could use a good class in just "how to finish"; what to use and all the pertinent "w" questions. Thanks for helping me out. If you know of any fantastic sources for everything related to finishing, I could sure use it! Again, thanks! Debbie

[mobjack68]

I would lean you away from basswood....it is just not weather resistant.

If it has to be basswood???? get your project completed.....take some good quality polyurethane varnish, thin it to water thin with paint thinner (mineral spirits) then dunk it....and leave it for awhile. Let it soak up as much poly-u as it will. Let it dry for a couple of days, then dunk it again......You want the poly-u resins to soak in as far as it will go..this will extend the life of the part quite a bit longer than spraying or brushing something on....

[bob easton]

Second to mobjack68's suggestion, also be sensitive to any mounting holes you make into the sign. They too will be place where moisture might enter and start the decay process. Do your best to make sure those areas are also well sealed.

[mobjack68]

Okay Debbie....you have piqued my interest on this one. Spent more than a couple of hours scratching my noggin...

I hope you are watching this thread and will respond...Dialogue needed..

Will the basswood round be carved/incised or burned?
If you intend to make a 3 dimensional piece, consider making a mold of the completed carving (without all the trouble of coloring/protective finish).
There are many molding possibilities, regular old silicone rubber out of the caulk tube is the cheapest, quickest, easiest...let it set a couple of days, walaa...mold.
The next step is a casting material. Again there are a multitude of materials. If you know anyone in the ceramic business?? create a copy of the original in ceramic. That would definitely be weather resistant...Concrete...(well more correctly, Portland Cement) concrete without the gravel or the sand, can be purchased in powder form and small quantities from most hometown hardware stores and sometimes in Walmart (mine at least). There are also latex modified cement formulas, we know them now as "stucco", applied to store fronts, houses, etc..etc. Again, many possibilities.

Sorry this is so long, BUT, AND, not knowing your original intention....if the person you have in mind for all of this was a traditional wood boat builder, wood, is of course, the material of choice, sans effort. If your goal is a gentle reminder/memorial, make it as weather resistant as possible.

If interested, I can post some pictures of some silicone molds and originals/copies, if you need to see those.

just post..