ideas on finishing process

[TNcarver]

Hi there, been carving for about two months and love it. Just finished my first two caracatures and they turned out great. My finishing process is this: I mix raw sienna oil paint with regular linseed oil to get a pine finish. (This is Pete LeClair's finishing process)Then once dry, paint with oils over that. Now my next step is what should I seal the piece with? I hear that paste waxes are wonderful. Can somebody recommend something for me to try. I do not want a shiny finish, but a dull natural look.

Also, is there a benefit with painting acrylics vs. oils? It seems like some like one and others like the other. Can you apply acrylic paints over the linseed oil and raw sienna base coat??? Thanks for the replies.

[GaryMc]

Hello TN,
Welcome to the board. I use linseed oil on my carvings like you did, but I use thinned down acrylic for the paint. The acrylic drys much faster that oil ( sometimes I use a hair dryer when in a hurry). I thin down my paint with flow medium to a wash and then layer the colors. Also you can start painting within several hours after using the linseed oil and not waiting till it's dry. As far as sealing the carving when done if you want a matte finish use Deft, matte finish spray, works for me, or just dunk the carving in linseed oil again and wipe off. I'm sure you will get several more suggestions, have fun!
GaryMc

[Lynn O. Doughty]

As a generql rule, it is not a good idea to mix mediums, i.e., painting oil over acrylic or acrylic over oil. The old adage "Oil and Water Don't Mix!" is a good one to remember when painting. Oil paints are nice but unfortunately they dry extremely slow. I don't think the color Ultramarine Blue in oils ever actually dries completely. At least it never seemed to back when I first started painting. If you're like me, and I imagine most are, we all look for instant gratification or something close to that so we can't wait to get that last coat on so we can set back and admire just how great we are. Like Gary, I use acrylics and occasionally use a hair dryer to speed up the process even more. One thing I do draw the line on though is that disgusting mix of burnt umber, raw sienna, or whatever mixed with linseed oil to slather all over my work once I'm finished painting. To me that's the same as tieing a rope to the piece and dragging it across the yard in the hopes of making it look older than it actually is. I spend just about as much time painting a piece as carving it so to make sure that that effort is presented in the best possible way I only apply a very light coat of Polyurethane varnish and even then wiping off as much of it as I can with a paper towel. This seals the piece and gives it a surface that you can keep clean with a damp cloth without any worry about damaging the paint job.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I usually don't even seal the carving...if I do, I use the min-wax pre-stain sealer.....and I always use satin Deft when finished.....I paint 90% of my carvings with acrylic and occasionally will just leave one natural or stain with min wax "Provencial" stain....just the way I do it, many ways to skin a cat!

[susieq]

HiHo,
That minwax pre stain sealer.....can you use acrylics over it? Really the only reason I pre seal before painting is because the wood often won't take the paint evenly, it will soak up more in on place that in another and windup looking splotchy. Does it dry quickly? Would love to know more about it.
susieq

[susieq]

Re: oil and water don't mix....

For the most part that is true. I accidently bought water color burnt umber in a tube once, meaning to get the oil paint instead. When I went to mix my antiquing solution, it sure wouldn't mix. I was just about to lose my mind (and I can't spare any) when I realized that I had bought the wrong tube of paint.

But.......for many years now I have antiqued my acrylic paint jobs with burnt umber oil paint mixed with a painting medium called copal. It does a beautiful job of antiquing. After it drys, I brush on an acrylic matte finish. Again, no problems.

I would be afraid to use an acrylic based antiquing over acrylic paints because it might "muddy" the colors. For the same reason, I would also avoid using oil antiquing over an oil paint job, not to mention the fact that it might act as a solvent and start removing the paint job as you antique.

Someone else might do either of the above and it works beautifully for them.
In the end, it is what ever works for you. We all have developed our own bag of tricks.
susieq

[Eddy-Smiles]

Lynn... Paper towel? Never thought about that. I usually keep an extra dry brush handy. Your method sounds far superior. Thanks for the tip.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Originally Posted by susieq

HiHo,
That minwax pre stain sealer.....can you use acrylics over it? Really the only reason I pre seal before painting is because the wood often won't take the paint evenly, it will soak up more in on place that in another and windup looking splotchy. Does it dry quickly? Would love to know more about it.
susieq

Yes you can paint acrylics over it and it stops the blotchy look...and it dries fast.....but even at that, once coated, give it a few minutes and if you are in a hurry, just wipe it down good. it gives a tooth to the surface and makes it paint well in my opinion. There always has been the old saying " you can paint oil over latex, but not latex over oil" works the same for acrylics..also, don't spray Deft on acrylics until they are dry either, can bubble up the paint....no problem after dry.

[BobD]

My favorite pre-stain or pre-paint sealer is ordinary white glue heavily thinned down with water. It's essentially cheap sanding sealer; it hardens the fibers so you can make sure everything is smooth, and it helps the finish to absorb into the wood evenly.

Bob

[susieq]

Thank you Hi Ho,
I will have to look for that at the Depot.....
Bob, that is another good use for glue! My husband's nephew makes a lot of reproduction primative furniture and uses white glue to do the crackle finish on it. I have been trying to get a good small pattern crackle to do on my santas but haven't got it figured out yet. The Nephew says use more water in the thining of it but I haven't gotten the pattern small enough to suite me yet......
susieq