Stain, Tung oil, Danish oil, or something else?

[Tannikca]

I'm a beginner at woodcarving and I'm finishing a low relief carving of a horse standing in a field looking at a nearby barn. What should I use to to finish the carving? Someone at our woodcarving club suggested Tung oil. He said regular stain leaves blotches.

Any suggestions? Thanks for your time!

Tannikca

[markken5889]

For my thinking, alot depends on the kind of wood you've carved. I have used stain with quite good results on basswood and pine. For more figured wood, I'd prefer Tung oil.

Mark

[fpace]

Mark is right... you will gets lots of different answers to this dependeing on the type of wood as well. A lot of it comes down to personal preferences and trial and error. Some folks like the oils (BLO, Tung, Danish, etc.), acryilic paint, others like polyurethanes, spray finishes like Deft, some prefer waxes and pastes, even shoepolish. Then there are those who use a combination of the above. Generally the darker woods with the pretty grain look better unpainted and finished with Tung oil or something similar. I'm sure others will have more ideas.

[TOEKNEE]

something i have tried lately for a natural finish on some ornaments is... i scrub the carving with warm water and dish soap, rinse it well, dry with a towel, and let it dry overnight. then i brush on boiled linseed oil, blot of the access, and let it dry overnight. then i take oil based gel stain, (i use a colonial maple color) slather on a liberal coat, let it set a minute or 2, the wipe the carving down. i let that dry overnight, then wipe on a coat of minwax antique oil for a nice satin sheen. it takes a few days due to drying time this process, but the time invovled in the actual finishing is less than 10 minutes... i have got alot of positive comments on how the ornaments turn out...

[vacation212]

CheersDepending on the type of wood that has been used,wax [briwax] works very well.

[Tannikca]

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate it very much. I should have mentionned the wood of my relief, it's basswood. I will check out your suggestions and then give it a go.

[Dan S]

Try your finish on a piece of scrap that has the same surface texture as your carving. i.e. If the carving is sanded, sand the scrap to the same degree. See what works best before you apply it to your carving. You may also want to experiment with some pre-treatments like sanding sealers as well.

Dan