FINISHING BARK

[michael febbie]

I just finished a mtn. man carving in basswood. I plan to do the mtn. man with burnt umber with turp or turpinoid and then finish with polly satin. I've never left the bark on before, what do you suggest putting on the bark. Thanks Mike

[Robert Cahill]

I have never kept bark on a carving. I would use poly but not sure I'm giving good advice. Hopefully the poly would help stop the bark from crumbling.
Robert

[hi ho sliver]

The one to ask Mike is Art Olver....he is the Bark expert!

[Kenny_S]

There are several different techniques when it comes to finishing a bark carving.
One is to only use a poly on the carved part and leave the bark unfinished.

Second is to poly the whole carving, carved part and bark.

Third is to use a finish on the whole piece, carved and bark and wax the carved part leaving the bark with the finish.

Another is use wax on the carve part and leave the bark unfinished.

Use a satin on the carved part and a matte on the bark.


More techniques can be used.
I have tried most and find a couple of coats on the bark and more on the carved part. I find that I will seal the whole piece with a satin on the carved portion and a matte on the bark.
Hope this helped you

[Teri Embrey]

I THINK you're talking about a basswood carving that just happens to have some bark left on it, rather than a carving in the bark itself (such as cottonwood). If I'm right, the few that I've done, I've actually painted a bit of "super glue" over the bark to help it stay intact, rather than drying and falling off later. It's worked for me so far - I wax the whole carving when I'm done, and the bark will take the sheen of the wax as well as the rest of the wood.

Hope this helps,

Teri