Sealing the carving

[oldbearx2]

Question is what is the best to use for sealing a carving before painiting? I currently use 50/50 deft and laquer thinner. However on some of my bear carvings where the texture is really deep, at the top of the hairs?, the paint will sometimes come off from handling or packiing for going to a show. I do not like to top seal because I have not found anything that does not put a shine on the carving. I airbrush the paint on in thin washes so it will get into the deep part of the texture. Or is there a top sealer out there that will give me no shine at all? Have fun, carve. the oldbear

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I use the MiniWax sealer....or the sanding sealer, either one...but prefer the prestain sealer

[Kenny_S]

Maybe the sealer is keeping the paint from penatrating the wood.

I haven't sealed a carving before paint though.

[Hugh-P]

Be extremely careful putting a top coat or sealer over your paint. I finished an owl head for a cane just the other day. Normally I don't use a top coat, but this particular customer wanted it. I used a popular brand name matte or flat top coat. It turned the head almost completely white. I had to clean it up and repaint the head. Real bummer, as there was a lot of detail and fine picking to paint it. Don't know if there all the same, but check them out before applying it on your finished carving.

[Eddy-Smiles]

I've never tried pre-sealing. If I can get away with it I'll paint with an acrylic wash so that the grain shows through and the piece looks antique. If I don't like the way the color comes out then I just apply another coat, and another, and another, until I'm satisfied. Then I give the carving a light sealer coat of satin WB urethane. There is a slight sheen but it's not that bad.

[susieq]

I use both a pre sealer and a top coat sealer. I also hate a shiney finish on my work and have found that the Ceramcoat brand of matte varnish works well for me. I buy it at Michael's with their 40% off coupon from the Sunday paper.....one bottle lasts me forever. It is water based and you can thin it when it starts to get thick with age.

When applying it, mix gently first by rocking the bottle back and forth....do not shake the bottle or you will make bubbles. Also, brush in one direction only, no back and forth stuff or again, you will make bubbles in the finish. Use a damp brush to apply and rinse it frequently while you work. A small carving with lots of detail will take me a good half hour to coat because it is pains taking work to make sure you don't have "lace curtains" or bubbles in the work. I also keep a dry flat brush handy to use as a "rake" in case any varnish builds up in the detail and needs to be combed out before it drys.

As for pre sealing, it isn't for everyone. I use a can of cheap matte clear coat spray and apply several very fine coats. Shiney clear paint is hard to paint over...the paint doesn't want to stick to the shiney base coat. I have been using this system of painting for 10 years with no problems. Some finish rubbed off of a santa one time because that spot was rubbed hard.

If you are going for the thin wash of colors, it might be better not to pre seal. Lynn Dougherty recomends against pre sealing so I think it depends on what kind of painting you are going to do.
Good luck finding what works best for you
susieq

[bbeery]

Tom Wolfe taught me to use linseed oil before painting. Give it a good coat and then let it set over night to dry. He uses that technique on all his work. Works for me. After painting, spray it with a poly, several coats; can be satin, semi, or gloss. I prefer a high gloss on walking sticks, at least 4 coats, but matte on caricatures.

[Mitchell]

I found that I must put a top finish on pieces that I pre-seal....if not, I get the same thing that you experienced = the paint will rub off.

I have done this on purpose to get a real worn/antique appearance.

bberry, Tom uses oil paints, so sealing with boiled linseed oil (BLO) gives a different appearance if you use acrylics than with oils. I DO use this method with acrylics also and it works, it's just different.

My favorite method is to pre-treat with Deft, paint with acrylic, dip in BLO (allow to dry a few days), then seal with polyurethane.

[Eddy-Smiles]

SusieQ.... I can do coupons! Our favorite way of shopping and the folks at the three Michaels in our area know me by sight. However, finding that Matte Creamcoat varnish is like looking for hen's teeth? Does it come in a 2-OZ or 8-Oz container? I have no problem finding the Satin and Gloss. In fact, I think that it was three weeks ago I had a 50% off for either JoAnn's or Michaels and when I looked for the Matte it was no where to be found.

[mark yundt]

That finish that turned white ( have had it drive me nuts) Is usually found in using laquer base finishes. Call it "blooming" "blushing" "clouding over",,I can't tell you what I call it personally. It's caused by moisture in the air,especially when it's humid.The finish as it's sprayed is cool,,the moisture is caught by the particles on the way to the surface and condense,,and since laquers flash off really quickly it traps the moisture under the surface and it shows up white.At least that's the way it was explained to me. Seems to make sense as finishes sprayed in winter with the heat on never did it,,but during the humid summer,,it shows up ,,,at the worst places and times.You were using a can I imagine,,but an air gun needs an air drier to eliminate as much moisture from the air as possible.One trick that can help is to immediately wipe the surface down with acetone when you see the bloom start. It is just enough of a solvent to break the surface and allow the moisture to get out.Also ,,when it's humid,,VERRRRRY THINNNNN coats seem to eliminate the problem.A quick build up traps alot of moisture.This isn't the most perfect solution but it has helped me from stripping entire carvings and pieces of furniture.Additional coats,,heavy with thinner in the can,,helps as well.You may never want to use that product again,,but knowing what happend might be useful to know for future reference so you can make allowances or decide what you want to use.