staining Aspen walking stick

[sanvitode]

HI I was wondering whats good to stain aspen with. I like lighter stain but some people Im carving for like darker. Whats good to use for it? Also what can I do to antique it? Thanks for any help.


Michael

[Ron T]

Hi Michael, that's quite a general question. You can use Minwax stains that come in almost every color, walnut, oak, cherry, etc. Minwax is a one step product. Apply it, let it set and wipe it off. Watco does pretty much the same thing.

You can go to Mark Gargac's site and see what he uses. He does a lot of nice Aspen sticks. Or, pm him and ask.

[Rogheff]

I'm crazy - I know.

One of my very first walking sticks was an Aspen sapling I got from Scout Camp years ago. I carved all week at camp and the in the end, I wanted to make it very natural. The oils from my hands all week had already ruined it's appearance as a perfectly beautiful piece. I wanted some color, so I hunted for color.

Ground dandelion leaves gave me the green - the green faded within a week.
Heavily brewed acorn coffee gave me the brown - color is still going strong.
The purple came from raspberries - color still going strong
I used a mix of yellow flowers to give me a yellow color - doesn't show up well.

After several years, I wanted to seal in the color and polyurethaned the staff. The colors remained and survived the sealer.