Need information on Cottonwood Bark ...

santagibbs · #1 10-25-2004, 06:55 PM

We purchased some cottonwood bark and finally got around to carving it... It is nice soft wood to carve and finishes very nice..... BUT..... we have a problem.... Curtis carved a sign for Santa to hold and when I started working on it, I found that it is easy to make a mark on the finished picece.. with your finger nail etc. If that is the case in all cottonwood bark, wouldn't your piece be easy to mar.
We have seen lots of nice cottonwood carvings and wonder if there is some way to toughen up the wood on the sign.. Is this way to far out to ask this question and could someone give us some information on this issue.. I was going to burn the words on the sign but Curtis said .. you better try it on another piece first ,as it might go up in flames.... lol

Now wouldn't that be terrible..? Thanks for your answer... The Gibbs

Colin_Partridge · #2 10-25-2004, 09:18 PM

Charlotte,
Cottonwood if not treated will mark easy because it is so soft. What I would advise is to put a coat of Polycrylic on it. You can get it at Home Depot and it is not very expensive. It is a fairly new product that is put out by Minwax. Comes in a blue can, it has three different finishes from matt to gloss to satin. What I like about it is that it is water based so you can clean up with soap and water. I use it on all of my bark carvings and it is great. Also no problem using a burner on cottonwood bark as long as you use it at a low heat. If it is too high it will tend to flame a little. Try a piece of scrap bark to achieve the degree of burn you are looking for. Hope this has helped these methods have worked great for me.
Colin

santagibbs · #3 10-26-2004, 02:11 AM

Thanks Colin for the good information on Cottonwood . We will go to Lowes tomorrow and see if they carry it.. We don't have a Home Depot in this little town but Lowes has a good supply of products. Do you put the sealer on before you paint it or after? Burn it and then seal and paint? or paint and seal or either way? Well... Duh.... one needs to be sure..lol :

Colin_Partridge · #4 10-26-2004, 07:14 AM

Charlotte,
If you have been reading the message board you will know I have a fear of painting wood

. Since I dont paint I just put it on (two or three coats) and that is my finish. I will let someone else advise you on painting cottonwood. Teri Embrey would probably be the best one to ask or Art the Bark Guy. Also Greg does some wonderful cottonwood Santa,s I am sure he could answer your question. Sorry I couldnt help more.
Colin

santagibbs · #5 10-26-2004, 08:49 AM

Yes Colin, I know you have a fear of painting...lol but we thought you were very wise on everything...See what a good impression you make! Thanks anyway... we appreciate your good advise on protecting Curtis' carvings...

Kenny_S · #6 10-26-2004, 11:02 AM

Colin is correct in putting a protectant on it to keep it from marring. Good Choice is a poly Acrylic. My little bride decide on her last one that she wanted to tint some parts and she found that if she did not protect the parts she did not want tinted, it bled to the unprotected parts. I have a piece of bark that I have carved down to main part and will be a Santa Face but I like the natural look of the bark so may not paint it. .
I would try the poly acrylic for sure.t Mrs Gibbs

santagibbs · #7 10-26-2004, 05:38 PM

Thanks Kenny for the good information.. Curtis reminded me that we bought a small can of the poly acrylic from Wal Mart that we used for finishing a small job around the house... Lo and Behold.. It was the same that Colin mentioned... so I have it here already. I noticed when I used it before that it had a lot of warning signs and to open windows etc. which I did but it dried in two hours and that was good. Thanks, The Gibbs