how to finish holly?

[Sharon of the Dell]

I'm carving a wood spirit out of holly and am wondering what I could use on it to keep it white? It's not pure white, but kind of an off white.
I put a little mineral oil on his nose and it darkened it up a bit.
I also did a test on the back side of a combo of beeswax, mineral oil and walnut oil. The oil is very light with very little yellow to it, but it still darkened it up quite a bit.
The effect isn't bad, it kind of looks like ivory, so I may end up using it. I just really like the off white of the wood.
Thanks,
Sharon

[Buffalo Bif]

How do you feel about varnish? The water based finishes (I have used water based urethanes only) impart minimum color, or no color at all, but leave you with a shiny surface. I've also used Minwax Wood Hardener, it's a nasty concoctioin that leaves acrylic resin in the surface of the wood. I tried it on a bottle stopper, looking for long wear and good water resistance. It worked OK, imparted no color on my paulownia. Smells really bad, use it outdoors only my reccommendation.

[Sharon of the Dell]

Thanks Brian!
Varnish is fine, I just don't want it shiny.
Does the minwax wood hardener make it glossy? Probably so?
Leaving it outside until the smell is gone is no problem, except it would probably take a long time here on the cool damp coast to cure or set up.

[ka0fan]

Minwax has a water base poly in a satin finish that dries fairly quickly. But don't use it if you used steel wool on the carving first--synthetic steel wool is OK just not the old metal type. Don't ask how I found that out :<) .
And you might try Deft satin on a scrap I don't think it will change the color too much but don't know for sure.
Best of Luck and let us know what you used.

[Sharon of the Dell]

Thanks Terry! I'll probably end up going with some sort of oil since his nose is already coated and I don't think I want to sand it off after thinking about it all morning!
But I will diffidently try Deft satin on some scraps of holly before I decide for sure. I have a spray can of it. Sunny day here, so it's a good time to experiment with stuff like that.

[Robson Valley]

A good part of the reason for the "whiteness" is that the wood is dry, there is air in the wood cells.
That makes the bulk tissue more reflective. Any thing at all that penetrates into the cells will change the light path and make the surface a little bit translucent. The degree of darkening will depend on what you use.
I can only imagine using something that sits on the surface wood but doesn't penetrate.
Possibly airbrush? Many, many thin coats for coverage with little soaking in?
I have a really nice piece of willow log, 6" x 24". Peeled the bark, made a big V-cut up the "ugly side", waxed the ends and fought off the daily mold as it dried. No checks, no cracks and nearly snow white. . . . . . I will face the same puzzle but I kept the V-shaped piece for experiments.

[squbrigg]

I have used a satin water based varnish on Holly quite often and have not had a problem with it yellowing. I use Holly on my ship models and also have used it on some canes, and it has stayed as white as I'm happy with for years.

Bob

[Sharon of the Dell]

Thanks for the input RV. I have some more pieces to experiment with.
This holly came from my dads place. He cut it in 2009 and offered me more, but we were moving at the time,so all I grabbed were small limbs. Some I sealed with wax and the others I didn't. The sealed ones didn't check.
He passed away the following spring. Went to start a fire in his house one day and found the big pieces of holly in his wood shed, so I pulled them out saved them. They're all checked, but still some decent wood to carve.

[Sharon of the Dell]

That sounds good Bob. I'll have to see if my husband has any. The holly is just so white and beautiful, it's a shame to loose that. Thanks!

[Buffalo Bif]

Minwax wood hardener penetrated very deeply on the paulownia I tried it on (open grain) and is flat as far as shine goes. It would likely build to a shine, but suspect it would take several coats. Holly is closed porous, so I'd expect less penetration.