Bark Carving

[mwilleson]

Hi all,

I've been thinking about bark carving and have found a few nice pieces to experiement on.

My question relates to finishing the carving when I'm done. I understand that the carved portion of the bark is coated with some type of clear finish or varnish, but how about the uncarved portion of rough bark? Is that left unfinished?

Any advice would be appreciated.
Mike

[Ky_Whittler]

Personally I used deft semi clear and coat only the carving itself. I like the rustic gray of the bark as a backround for the piece.I'm still playing around with antiquing styles. Not sure which I like best yet.

I found a super piece of bark today myself. 4 inches thick and wide by 18 long. Not what I'm used to finding along the river bank.Whittler

[Don by the lake]

I also use Deft satin finish spray as a finish. I find that it doesn't turn the wood as dark as some of the other finishes. I like to spray the whole thing front and back to seal it. Looks great!

[artolver]

try Meltonian boot and shoe cream.!
neutral first, apply with a small paint brush 1", or tooth brush..
buff with shoe shine brush or a rag of a t-shirt..
use a tooth brush to get in the cracks..
some western wear stores have boot cream in a multidude of colors that you can use for stains... I started using it 30 years ago and I am still very pleased with it.
trust me, I don't call myself "the bark guy" for nothin'
art
p.s. I didn't invent this. Bark carvers were were doing this long before me...
meltonian was scarce (import) many were using kiwi to stain with johnson paste wax base

[Ky_Whittler]

I've read where some use the shoe polishes on bark and tried it once but didn't like it. There are some shoe cremes available here and I will try them. Maybe this will give me the look I want. I would very much like to see the v tool marks stand out and add more shadow.Whittler

[artolver]

whittler ,
that is where the the colors come in...
after a good coat of neutral, let it soak in and let it dry awhile, then you can use a shoe polishing brush or cloth and make it shine.
pick any color (I like a lite brown) brush it in the v cuts and other shadow areas. I usually do this quick (messy) then use a t-shirt and wipe softly leaving the color in the shadows. You can use any thing the least bit darker than the bark itself, right on up to black. This should be a good start...the rest is playtime. call on me for more tips
art

[Kenny_S]

I just finish a Plains Cottonwood Bark Carving and used BLO with a touch of Burnt Sennia in it. Looks ok but will not use BLO on bark verry much. Will try somethnig else and if not happy with results, go back to Deft Satin od Semi-Gloss. Haven't tried the shoe of boot cream. Haven't seen any of the brand Art posted so may look for something else.
Good to be back home for a couple of weeks, then a couple of weeks trip to Texas.

[carver6]

Kenny_S
The only place I've ever seen the Meltonian shoe cream is in a western wear store and I have some in my shoe shine kit now. I imagine it would work real well although I've not tried it. It is a real creamy consistancy and should be easy to apply and comes in lots of different colors. If you ever get over to Springfield, I think PFI Western Wear, on the South side of town just off Hwy 65 carries it. In fact, if you know what color you wanted I'd be happy to pick some up and ship it over to you. Just let me know.
See ya!!!
Garon (Carver6)

[Mike_B]

I've found the Meltonian in shoe repair shops.
Haven't done any bark carving yet, but it works fine on bass wood.

[Ky_Whittler]

I didn't find the boot creme either but did go with the nuetral then brown shoe polish after the deft. They look pretty good for the most part.You have to be careful and not rub the brown completely out of the carving though, I did that a couple fo times before I got it right.Whittler