Carving preservation

[John Bull]

I'm new at this and know near to nothing. But I have a great carving by W. Myer (Peru, IN) that is a standing bull figure with long horns, carved from one piece of hardwood. (picture attached) It is about 30 years old now and in some need of cleaning and/or preservation.

I'm just not too sure how to go about it and what to use. I believe Bill told me he cured his wood by sitting it a pan of linseed oil long enough to have the oil wick all the way up through to the top of the wood piece. It must work pretty good because the piece shows no signs of srinking, cracking or aging. It's like new but needs cleaning.

Now, knowing this, how do I go about cleaning this piece of art? Most of the surface is textured like the hair on a cow hide. I can see how a soft toothbrush would work well but do I use Linseed oil, some other type of oil, wax, water, saddle soap ???? what. Help me out here!

Johnnybugg

[rick-in-seattle]

John,
If it were my carving, (depending on the carvings original finish) I would try a light coat of lemon oil (most often used on furniture.)
Try it in some hidden area first.

I wouldn't soak the carving in linseed or any other oil.

If the carving was simply waxed, just wax it again with furniture wax.

[Mottles]

Hi John, and welcome sounds like Rick has some good and safe advice for your carving. It's a beauty!
Kathy

[John Bull]

Rick: Thanks for your reply. I will try what you have suggested. (I'm very sure that linseed oil is how he "seasoned" his wood before carving. Have you ever heard of that?)

[Mottles]

Originally Posted by John Bull

Rick: Thanks for your reply. I will try what you have suggested. (I'm very sure that linseed oil is how he "seasoned" his wood before carving. Have you ever heard of that?)

Hi again, John you might try posing your question to the folks in this forum also.
Wood Finishing and Painting - Woodcarving Illustrated Message Board.
Kathy

[carvendive]

John,
I'm new to carving but old to cabinet and furnature making. And while I do not consider myself an expert on finish restoration, I do know a few things.

First, on pieces that I've restored which were oiled, the "dirty" look came from micro fine smoke and dust that attaches it'self to the oil in the pours of the wood.

To clean it, you have to remove that top layer of oil and liberate both a bit of the oil finish and the grime that's imbeded in it.

In a un-noticable area first try brushing it with some mineral spirits (paint thinner). I'd use a small brush. Brush it gently and then immediately remove it with a lint free rag. (I get my rags from a paint store). It may take one or two applications to remove the grime.

If it meets your expectations I'd then clean the entire piece. Then before you add any finish to it make sure it is DRY. I mean the pours are dry - nothing leaches out AT ALL!!! Once it's clean (and dry) I ALWAYS try to use the EXACT same finish as the original finish. All to often I've seen a finish ruined because of using something that "should" work. (I seen enough others with pieces that stink-smell, have developed a mold, turned splotchy over time, etc. )

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Carvendive.....Just for infomations sake what are your observations about using Boiled Linseed Oil as a finish on woodcarvings vs. other available products. I'm of the opinion to prevent the problem you mentioned about "oiled" furniture collecting dust, etc. BLO is something to be avoided.

[carvendive]

Originally Posted by Lynn O. Doughty

... what are your observations about using Boiled Linseed Oil as a finish on woodcarvings vs. other available products.

Wiith furnature and cabinets, I haven't really noticed much of a dirt attractant difference between LO or BLO. What you may be seeing is that with BLO it's easier to leave more on the piece. It can require a bit more of a rubout. Sometimes I've had some pieces which are still bleeding oil after days or weeks. What I have learned is that anything that accelerates hardening of the finish reduces the "dirt attraction" aspect. However, open pores cling to dirt regardless. It's just a matter of time.

As I said, I'm new to carving and haven't used any finish "specifically designed" for carvings. I'm partially color blind so I DO NOT use paints (other than white.

But I'd suspect that here again the major issue is going to be how open the pores are. If you use chisels which burnish the woods surface (closing the pores) and don't sand, you'll get the least dirt buildup and the easiest cleaning surface. If you sand, that's going to expose the pores and raise fuz. Power carving and texturing - well... Think of that as you would velcro.

For me, I'm not a purest with finishing, I do mostly architectual carvings. As objects in the home or office, I find that more than anything they can get scratched. I use either sanding sealer and laquer which I apply using HVLP sprayer, Epifanes with a brush, or a product (ProFin - which I get from Daly's) that is a combination of oils, wax and schlac which dries quickly enough that I can apply 3 coats in ~10 hrs. The nice thing about it is that I can use steel or brass wool to apply it. By using the wool, I can easily remove minor scratches and the 0000 wool has enough "cut" to it that it removes any fuz. If the scratch is deep enough, this finish also allows me to steam the scratch out. It doesn't give the deep hand rubbed linseed look but it's tough and stands up to years of abuse.

For an object such as the topic is this thread (the bull), something that going to be a piece of art out of harms way, I use the raw linseed, hand rubbed and just plan on cleaning it every 15 yrs.