Whats the best paint fer a carving oil or acrilic, acrylic, acrelic(what the heck, that water based stuff) ???

How's about earl or late x?

I use ter know earl and his late x, that was before she left him for a feller she met on a internet woodcarving forum ! :P

[Captain_Bandaid]

Welcome, Old Fred! Regarding paints, I think most carvers prefer acrylics over oils but it depends on the carver and the carving. Acrylics can (and should) be thinned with water and applied in 'washes'. This is applying several very thin coats which tints the wood without covering up the grain. Thin washes can be blended nicely into various shades on the carving. However, I see that you have a carousel horse going. I think most of the ones I have seen were done in oils and sealed with a clear varnish.

I've been carving for about a year now. I've tried acrylics twice and always came up with a dull look. The oils gave me much richer colors. I'm working on my 13th carving and all but one have been with oils. I use a wet on wet technique to control the intensity of the color. I enjoyed your carvings. I have a 2 1/2 year old son and I've been thinking about carving a rocking horse for him. Guess I better get busy.... if I wait too long he'll be asking for the keys to my truck.
John H.

John, I have a 3-yr old boy and another due in January, so the rocking horse bug has bitten me too. There are very few books on the market, but I can give FULL endorsement for one by Tony Dew (I 'think' that's his name)...it has '9 patterns' in the title. It goes from start to finish, from easier projects to small/medium/large rocking horses, some have rockers and some are gliders, etc. Great book. I also ordered the 'Kid-sized Rocking Horse' book by Tom Wolfe and wasn't as impressed with the resulting rocking horse. Nice to have both as a reference tho.

Good luck,
Brian

Oops...I forgot to mention the 'good' book is currently out of print. I couldn't get it from Mountain Heritage Crafts online, but a buddy of mine has it and got it at BarnesAndNoble. I have one on order and have been told it takes 1-2 weeks to get it. Hopefully they come thru! I'll post again if they send me a note saying they can't get it.

- Brian

we have used acrylics on a lot of things and then I usually spray a coat of semi-gloss or gloss on it...I carved a fish however and could not get the blending the way I wanted so I used my artists oil paints (been painting 30+years) and I think that is just habit, but works great. Also just bought some Chroma paint, designed for airbrush, but haven't tried it yet. See I tol ya i used earl and late x

The best paint is the one you feel comfortable working with. I will say this, no mater what you use you should seal it first so you get an even color. If you don't seal it the wood will asorb the color uneaven and give it a splochie look. This gos for stains as well.

Jack D.
What do you seal your wood with? Does it change the color of the wood? ???