need finish for redwood burl carving

wherearethebandaids? · #1 06-05-2005, 11:41 PM

I'm just finishing a carving of a buffalo in the round from a nice piece of redwood burl. The piece contains a LOT of endgrain that I expect to really soak up a lot of finish & darken in appearance because of it. I would like to apply a finish that shows the nice grain without an excessive amount of darkening. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Paul_Guraedy · #2 06-06-2005, 08:04 AM

I like tung oil on my natural finish pieces. It seems to bring out the grain and color without excessive darkening.

wherearethebandaids? · #3 06-06-2005, 10:02 AM

Thanks Paul. Do you apply a wax finish after the tung oil has dried? Does the oil need to be thinned with turpentine? What is the process?

Paul_Guraedy · #4 06-06-2005, 01:04 PM

The tung oil that I prefer is Formby's and there are a couple of varieties and I like the low gloss. I have my carving completely carved and sanded (if I am going that route). I then apply the tung oil, straight from the bottle, in light coats using either a rag or small brush (I think the rag does a better job but is sometimes hard to get down into narrow crevices). I allow it to dry for several hours and then go over it lightly with about 5-0 steel wool. I put one or two more coats and buff the final coat down with a cloth rather than the steel wool. That's it. No wax. Nothing else. Real easy!

This stuff is self combustible so I put my rags out on a rock behind the house and allow them to dry. They are then stable. I now use the disposable gloves but have used tung for years without any known ill effects. It does make your hands sticky and takes a while to get off.

My wife and I have furniture that is over 30 years old and had no finish but tung oil. Our dining room table is over 20 years old and has not had an additional coat of tung in the past 10 years. A water glass with ice, left overnight still does not leave rings on the table. But, it should have a new coat of tung every year or so.

rgbonehead · #5 06-08-2005, 02:45 AM

you can use any good clear spray enamel.high gloss or matt
I carve a lot of redwood and don't have problems with it getting dark. Tung oil is great also.
Ron