Cleaning carving prior to painting

[rvrbanker]

Hello,
I started carving about six months ago after retiring and am very much a novice. I have had some problem with painting and staining basswood and been advised that I need to clean the wood prior to sealing or staining. Two methods have been proposed, one is to use dish soap, apply with a stiff brush and blot dry with paper towel. The second is to use Simple Green, blot dry with paper towel. With both methods you let the carving dry for at least 24 hours prior to sealing. Any thoughts, I have put a lot of work into the piece I need to paint and want to do it the best way. Thanks, rvrbanker

[Don Yarger]

Hello rvrbanker,

I am certainly not an authority. But, I use soap and water and a soft brush to clean with. I let dry then use a stiffer brush to pull out any fuzzies. One warning is that if you have fine detail you need to be very careful. Wet wood is extremely easy to break or chip off pieces. I find with a little care that dish soap and water works fine. Good luck.

Don

[Tom-H]

Rvrbanker, No expert, but have had my share of failures. I gave up tryin to stain basswood with any penetrating stain. If I have to stain I use a gel stain. I would much prefer to obtain the color by using a wash of diluted paint. If this is done you do not need to seal the wood. What works for me is to wash and scrub (a denture brush) the carving with warm water, dish liquid soap, rinse, and paint while stil damp.

Tom H

[jillsy]

Tom and I are completely on the same page here.

When my carving's done, I always wash with normal dish washing liquid and little brush, being careful near the detailed areas. I blot it with a cloth and let it dry overnight.

If you're going to paint your carving, I highly recommend priming it first (I use Gesso), unless you want a washed finish. If that's the case, just water down your paint and thinly apply directy to the wood.

It's not mandatory that you wash your carving, but I've found that I like working with a nice, clean piece.
Jillsy

[Claude]

I, too, use soap and water, applied with an old toothbrush. One note of caution, though - be careful with colored soaps. I used a yellow liquid hand soap, and my basswood turned yellow. I've found a bar of Ivory works best for me - just dunk the wood under the running water to get it wet, apply a wet toothbrush to the bar of soap vigorously, and then gently scrub the wood with the soapy brush. Gets rid of graphite from your pencil marks, as well as the stains from your hands...

Claude

[Eddy-Smiles]

Same here... Ajax liquid and an old toothbrush. I would suggest taking a piece of wood similiar to what you carved, put some misc. detail on it, mark it up with a pencil, and then try scrubbing it off....see how it works for you. The aim is to get the grease from your hands and the graphite from pencils off of the wood so that the paint takes evenly and any marks don't show through.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I never have washed a carving, I have wet them a bit when painting, to get a more even color.....for staining....I use min-wax, pre-stain sealer....

[Just Carving]

Cleaning the carving works for basswood, but does anybody know if the same applies for white pine? Thanks

Bob L

[Eddy-Smiles]

Bob...

You can, but it raises the grain. I think worse than basswood!

[Bartster]

rvbanker,


the way i do it when i get ready to paint is this;

run carving under water and spray with simple green, scrub with medium bristled brush keeping brush wet. then i pat it dry with a towel, and go ahead and paint it, it is ok to let dry first, it is a preference i seem to get a more even coat if i i paint wet than i do if i paint it dry. once finshed painting you can use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process.

bart