[Muscade]

Hi,

I am just about to complete a one piece grouping of seven horses out of an 18'' x 16'' x 8''h laminated block of African Mahogany. What would be the best finish to apply I do want to retain the darker shades of the mahogany.

Some say tung oil, which I feel would be a long and tedious process for the amount of detail in the carving.
Others say 4 or 5 coats of air sprayed lacquer, or again, water-based varnish.
Or maybe wax

I am at a loss as of what to use. All my previous carvings were simply painted or rubbed with BLO. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Muscade

[AlArchie]

I've never used this stuff, but have heard very good results have been obtained by friends of mine. You might look into this TYPE of product, not necessarily this particular brand.

http://www.formbys.com/products/tung_oil.cfm

With all the work you put into the carving, the extra time in finishing should be a welcome diversion, especially when the wood comes to life with a great finish.

Al

[Woodartist]

Tung oil and related finishes work well and keep in mind that you will need to put on several coats to get a "depth" to the finish. Formby's is fine, and I have used it. You'll get other opinions but I like penetrating oils rather than spray on lacquer. The lacquer (to me) gives a gloss finish that "cheapens" the look of wood and imparts a commercial flare. As always, check whatever finish on a scrap piece of wood.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

try several things on scrap and see what you like best!

[sitesby]

You can experiment with a basic sanding sealer and serveral coats of bees wax.
The wax is not as durable as oils, and the spray on options, but I like the look and soft sheen it gives and is extreamly easy to repair finish damage.
Also as stated in the other replies, test your process on scrap before attempting on the real thing.

Good luck and post a picture with how you finished your project.

Jerry
http://woodcarving.sitesby.com

[Woodartist]

I've never used bees wax, but do hear it is also a great finish.....sometimes it is mixed with a thinner ( not sure what type of thinner...not paint or turp). I have used regular wax and found it is very difficult to "buff" it in crevices and tight spots.

[Muscade]

Thank you all for these fine and accurate suggestions.
If I go by AlArchie and Woodartist, Tung oil is the best way to go about finishing my horses. I already have a few quarts of regular commercial tung oil on hand and I will follow HiHoSilver's recommendation to try it first on scrap pieces off the same original block of wood.
By the way, I also have some Danish oil ( in various shades of oak, walnut, etc..) and I am wandering if Danish oil and tung oil are equivalent.???
Thanks again, I really do appreciate. And, yes, Sitesby, I will definitely post a photo when done.
Muscade

[AlArchie]

Muscade, like most everything else today "Tung Oil" ain't necessarily tung oil. Most modern marketed tung oils are a mix of tung oil and some type of varnish. Different manufactures have different formulas so you may get subtle differences from different brands. If your several quarts of tung oil are actually pure stuff, you may have to adapt a whole nudder procedure for using it as a finish. Check the lable instructions and ingredients so you know what you are working with.

I'm not a great fan of wikipedia, but here is a link to their page on Tung Oil. It appears to reflect pretty accurately the source, processing, use and application.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tung_oil

My understanding is that Danish Oil is a linseed oil based product. I did a search and found this describing the stuff.
http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.co...what%20is%20it

There is a term used in these postings that might be a bit intimidating; "polymerization" used in both tung oil and linseed oil. Hey, it's only a chemical enhancement to single molecules bonded into multiple strings or links through a heating process, thus "boiled linseed oil" or polymerized tung oil. Same process. Both these oils dry or more correctly "cure" better when they are polymerized. If not processed, they act a lot like vegetable oil, and will give a finish that dries in months rather than hours.

Don't be intimidated by the big terms these folks throw around!



Al

[Kenny_S]

I would not discount spray ons as you can get them in Satin finish also which leaves a softer finish than tung oil. How ever, whatever the type of finish you decide, I would do as Hi Ho suggested and try on a piece of scrap. Might try different types of finishes to see which you prefer. I as well as severl other here have tried many different finishes on carvings and some not as good as others. When you find what you like, keep on. One last thing, I would hate to mess up a great carving so try on scaps before actually using on the carving.

[Woodartist]

Here is a link from my forum, that might be of interest:http://www.sutherlandwelles.com/tungoil.htm