[Kenny_S]

Merle, after painting with acrylics, I dip in BLO, then I let the BLO dry several days before using Deft on mine. Seveal carvers lets the blo dry for a couple of hours then spray with Deft. Works for me!

[Merle Rice]

Thanks for replying Kenny. I believe you and will give it a try on my nrext piece. Thanks Merle

[mark yundt]

Some I paint with oils..some with acrylics..some stained ,,,some natural..some with poly,,many with laquers..some with oil..some with Deft....you get the idea...it depends on what I'm doing

[Merle Rice]

Mark; If I understand correctly, are you saying you can spray Poly. over any kind of finish? Acrylics, oils and etc..? Nothing to worry about? Merle

[Merle Rice]

Ps. What about spraying Deft on raw wood before doing any finish. Acrylic BLO,OR Stain? Merle

[Mottles]

Hi Bob, some I like to paint (acrylic or oil) and some I like to leave unpainted. I guess it just depends on the subject and my idea of how I think my carving would present itself best. The final finish would be Deft matte or simi-gloss spray finish.
Interesting thread and chocked full of information.
Thanks for starting it,
Kathy

[Kenny_S]

Yup Merle, You can do that also. I usually don't seal the wood before painting washes as sealing them with anything does not allow for the washes to penatrate a deep in to the wood.
There are so many different combination one can use. Natural,painted, acrylics, oil,stain, show polish deft, varnish, etc. I like the washes method and BLO, then Deft. Doesn't mean I don't use other methods to finish a piece.

[mark yundt]

Merle,,I was really just saying that there is no one way I'll finish a piece.Some I do seal then paint and seal with a poly,or a laquer. I have put Deft/Poly/Laq. on bare wood and then either painted it with either solid or wash colors or simply a glaze or antiqueing type finish. I'll stain some and finish with either type of finish. Lately I have been working with Acrylic Poly over stain which I just used this A.M. on an oak,stained candlestick.Though for some reason I always seemed to like the oil polys better.And I've always loved laquer,,but it's getting harder to find (osha,,voc's etc.) so I'm looking for a substitute.
If you brush/spray Deft on a piece you have essentially sealed it. That's how I used to prep my birds. On top of that,,blo,stains etc won't accomplish much.Deft is a variant of Laquer I think. Poly generally will stick to most anything,,as long as the base isn't "oily" as no finish will really stick to that.Even stains,,leaving that "oily" finish,,I'll let them set a day or so before I apply the final finish, and still wipe them down. I have applied almost immediately,,but I feel uncomfortable with the wet stain sitting under the finish. It hasn't failed yet,,,but somehow it just seems wrong.One thing I don't do is to try painting directly on to bare wood,,I know it's done,,and well by many,,but it's not the type of thing I do,or is required by most of my work.I have restored many statues that were done with this type of finish,,where you can still see through the color,,almost a wash,,but I didn't use acrylics for that resto/repair work to match the original colors.

[Merle Rice]

Thanks Kenny and Mark for taking the time and making it clear the procedures on finishing. My big concern was the spray not sticking to BLO. I see that you must leave it dry completely before spraying. It's to hot in my shop today so I went Ace Hardware browsed around. I bought a can of Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner. It is supposed to prepare wood for staining and prevent blotchiness. I'll give it a try and see what happens.
Thanks Guys. Merle