Whimsical house finish cottonwood bark

[Tony Agatucci]

Hi everyone,

I am curious to know what kind of finish you are using on your cottonwood bark whimsical houses. Please also provide a description of the resultant appearance (i.e. color, sheen, etc). Thanks for your time.

Tony

[Old Scout]

I have only carved one ,& the instructor provided "FEED N WAX". This gave a darker look looks good>than the natural color. It is a mixture of bees wax & a oily solvent, soaks in good &

[Bartster]

whatever you do dont use any kind of oil or stain it will darken it way to much, i have heard of alot of folks use the howards feed and wax as described before, you can get it at home depot for like 8 bucks that will be plenty to do alot of carvings.


bart

[jmischel]

I've used three different finishes on cottonwood bark:

Howard Feed 'N Wax applies easily, but darkens the wood a lot. When you first apply it, there is a quite visible sheen. The sheen goes away after a couple of days. You can bring it back if you want by buffing with a soft brush (I use a shoe brush). The Howard Butcher Block Conditioner would probably do the same thing. I know that it really darkens the piece when I use it on other types of wood.

Rick Jensen introduced me to the Meltonian neutral shoe polish. It's kind of a pain to apply (needs a fairly brush and some work to get it into the cracks). I didn't much like the smell of it, but it goes away after a week or so. This doesn't darken the wood much at all, and after buffing the sheen is pretty minimal.

I've also used Deft satin spray. It goes on easy, dries quickly, and darkens the wood just a little bit. If you want a sheen, you can use their gloss or semi-gloss spray.

[Mottles]

I understand the Meltonian neutral shoe polish that Jim mentioned is very good. I've not tried it yet as I can't find it locally, so have to order it from a woodcarving supply house. I think Rick at www.littleshavers.com carrys it.
My finish of choice is Deft semi-gloss or Deft satin spray varnish...oil and furniture polish darkens the bark to much.
There are liquid waxes, but if you don't get it out of the cracks and cervices it look milky...at least thats my experience.

[Norm3206]

I have used the Meltonian shoe creme a couple of times and like the way it turns out. As others have said, it takes a bit of effort to get the finish right but it's worth it.

[Kadiddle]

I like to use Meltonian shoe cream on certian things. I get it at a shoe repair store locally for $3. Some horse Tack Shops carry it also. Kathy, it does not work well on flutes though.
Carve On,
Kadiddle