Outdoor Finish

[Keith Rydberg]

I have just finished one of three bears. To date I have been finishing them with a mixture of 1 part stain to 3 parts boiled linseed. I have also finished them in an outdoor stain with a varnish sealer. Does anyone have any other ideas as to a finish.
Thanks
Keith
PS: I always torch the finished bear to give it more depth/texture.

[brianh]

These are the steps I do on most of mine.
1 Burn if needed

2 A coat of boiled linseed oil with some boric acid powder mixed in (about a tablespoon per quart) for preserving purposes, let dry.

3 Stain it goes on without blotching with that coat of linseed in step 2 let dry.

4 A mixture of thinned poly linseed and thinner. Approximately 40% poly 40% thinner and 20% linseed. I put 2 coats of this on letting them dry between coats, it soaks in without leaving a shine that I do not care for.

5 Paint if it gets any.

6 Thompsons water seal reapplied every 6 months.

This finish works well for me but it is a several day process.

I never sell my carvings raw they check too much if not finished.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Colin has something he uses on his wood spirits, but I can't remember the name of it? Probably because its expensive lol...stuff like that just disappears from my mind!

[GeorgiaCarver]

I always do 3 coats of Olympic Water Seal, one coat each day for 3 days. I let it sit for a week and then I do three coats of Spar Varnish, one coat each day for three days.

I have had carvings outside for a couple years and they look brand new....

Greg

[TravisJHuval]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaCarver

I do three coats of Spar Varnish, one coat each day for three days.

I have had carvings outside for a couple years and they look brand new....

Greg

What is the brand name of the Spar Varnish that you used?

[GeorgiaCarver]

I buy mine at Lowe's it is "Helmsmans" and I buy the satin finish.

Works good!

Greg

[TravisJHuval]

Thank You Greg .

Dang! I just finished some Five foot tall mushrooms with McCloskey MAN O' WAR Marine Spar Varnish "satin" . I've never used it before and I didn't research it either . Hope it holds up . If it doesn't hold up I'll try the "helmsman" .

Thanks for the info .

[GeorgiaCarver]

That should work fine! I really don't think that the brand will matter. Look forward to hearing how it turns out!

Greg

[Windflag]

I've been doing outdoor carvings for years (house markers, etc) painted with acrylics and find plain ole SPAR VARNISH works OK, it is NOT permanant by any means. You need to check it every spring for deterioration. Restoration is VERY difficult! I hade one carving ( a large brouwn trout) that was so far gone that I had to paint it over with several coats of ZIN PRIMER-SEALER and then repaint and varnish the whole thing. I live in West. Mass. and winter is nasty here.

[Big Wood]

I use the Helmsman Spar Varnish and have had carvings outside for 3years now with no visable deterioration.
Jay