another challenge

Alice in Wonderland · #1 12-24-2007, 05:46 PM

Merry Christmas everybody

I have the feeling I ask this before , but can not find it on the board.???
I am still working on my Mongolian Man , it is Poplar and since it is very light almost white I think it is mainly Sapwood. I like to keep it that way, but... the stringy hair and beard I would like to have a bit of black on it, HOW??
Do I seal the wood first or paint first? Like I said I like to keep the wood natural hopeful as light as it is now.
Thanks for all your help
Alice

doris · #2 12-25-2007, 03:48 AM

sorry, alice, i cant help with your question, but maybe the link you search for is this one ?http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/forum/f53/glazing-13196/
is not about making black, but darker

have nice christmas holiday :-)

AlArchie · #3 12-25-2007, 10:10 AM

Alice, there may well be another approach to this, but here is what I'd do. Because you are using poplar which is a fairly soft wood with an open grain structure, with any finish applied to some areas where end grain may be exposed, you can expect some "bleeding" of the paint. So my advice is to get all the work done you want and then seal the entire piece with a solvent based sanding sealer, such as Cabot's or Ace. These sealers are clear and will not discolor the wood at all once they are dry. It will make things look a little off color when first applied but things will return to normal when the sealer dries. Then give the whole piece a light sanding with very fine sandpaper, wipe all the dust off with a lint free cloth dampened with either mineral spirits or paint thinner. Then go ahead and paint the portions you want to paint. With this treatment, there should be no "bleeding" of the paint through the little grain pipes.

Al

Alice in Wonderland · #4 12-25-2007, 06:10 PM

Thanks Al
That sounds right to me too ,I haven't got my camera anymore ,gave it away because I was looking for a better one ,so when?? I shall send a picture,
He is looking good :-)))
Thanks again Doris too for trying ,I shall look at the link.
Merry Christmas
Alice

GeorgiaCarver · #5 12-25-2007, 07:26 PM

Yup, I think Al is right. Let us know how it turns out.

I just did a turkey standing on a stump. I wanted to keep the stump light (it was poplar as well) I put the sanding sealer and laquor finish on it and it looks great.

The sanding sealer did not change the color, the laquor did darken it a little. Soooo... be carefull with the final finish.

Greg

Irishman · #6 12-26-2007, 08:18 AM

Hi Alice,

I carve a lot of poplar and it doesn't take oils and paint the same as other woods I find. I carve mine green as well so its still has a lot of moisture in the wood. I'd be interested in seeing your Mongolian carving as I just posted a character that I thought might look Mongolian, however, I was going for an oriental look and my daughter said he doesn't look asian...so I ended up calling him Mongolian. My approach lately has been very similar to how Mark G. paints and treats his carvings. Al's suggestion should do the trick for you. Let me know if you need any other ideas...that is if your looking for the same look my carvings have. Be sure to post when you get a camera as I'm not really sure what a Mongolian looks like.
Patrick

Hi_Ho_Sliver · #7 12-26-2007, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeorgiaCarver

Yup, I think Al is right. Let us know how it turns out.

I just did a turkey standing on a stump. I wanted to keep the stump light (it was poplar as well) I put the sanding sealer and laquor finish on it and it looks great.

The sanding sealer did not change the color, the laquor did darken it a little. Soooo... be carefull with the final finish.

Greg

That sounds like a song! "Turkey Standin' on a stump!" LOL now Greg will write it, make millions and we will never hear from him again....

GeorgiaCarver · #8 12-26-2007, 05:59 PM

Not that easy to get rid of me

Alice in Wonderland · #9 12-26-2007, 06:13 PM

Hi and Thanks to all for your reply,
as soon as I get into Town I will get the sealer ( we are iced in) I gave my camera to a friend and I have been waiting for the shopping rush to cool down and I will get another camera .
An Mongolian man ( I have faced them) a long smooth faces slanted eyes and an unusual long and stringy black beard and hair, sometimes fuzzy and matted.mine is stringy.
Alice

dicktilley20 · #10 12-26-2007, 07:20 PM

Hi Alice

Poplar green is usually quite wet wood, you could try burning the parts you want black and wire brush all the carbon off, dust it off and apply a coat of spirit based varnish, mixed 50/50 with solvent, wipe off the excess and leave over night.
Apply aerosol black to darken, a light sanding down will remove some surface colour creating hi-lites, a little white paint on a dry brush is another way of adding hi-lites.
Varnish as normal, I like to wipe off excess varnish in between coats too, you dont get a puddony finish
Maybe try it out on some scrap wood first.

Vinegar and steel wool works very well on oak and sweet chestnut (Butternut) but on poplar it tends to go a mucky grey, maybe an old Mongolian????

Its fun trying out new methods to create the finish you are after.

Good luck and I hope you get your new camera soon.
I spent about a month without mine, its an important tool to keep a record of your carvings.

dick