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Finishing ?

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Feb 9, 2009
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Sinking Spring Pa.
I turned this from a piece of walnut log for a base for a project my wife is working on.Any tips how to finish it and have it stay together.
 

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If you're asking about a finish that works on bark......something that will soak in, and not cause blemishes due to uneven drying, then Danish Oil does pretty well with that......

It can be applied with a soft brush in thin coats.

ooc
 
Is she trying to preserve the moss? If so, you are probably limited to something like a glycerin treatment. That will preserve color and texture best.

If you can live with brown moss, shellac would be my choice. Sneaks into the nooks and crannies pretty well, with its low viscosity, and doesn't look half bad, either.
 
fixatives

You could try a spray fixative such as might be used on charcoal drawings and so on.
The moss will likely darken over time no matter what you do, but the fixative will not change the tonality or the appearance so long as you don't use too much.
If you spray it until you see a visible change, you will have gone too far. Practice on something you don't care about.
It will seal the surfaces so that they can be gently dusted off with a vacuum or a feather duster however. Keeping something that fragile clean will require some careful strategy though, no matter what.
Art supply stores. Krylon makes a good one. Matte finish is what you would use.
 
Finished piece

I went ith the danish oil cause I already had that and I don't know what the other stuff is.MM what is a glycerin treatment and where would I go about getting it? She will be making more and if I could keep the moss green thatwould be great. Thanks everyone.
 

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I went ith the danish oil cause I already had that and I don't know what the other stuff is.MM what is a glycerin treatment and where would I go about getting it? She will be making more and if I could keep the moss green thatwould be great. Thanks everyone.

Say.....that's a very creative looking item you and wife made! :cool2:

I see some green in there, too!

ooc
 
Thanks Odie and yes some green left but fading fast.I told her to try to paint it green might work:confused:

You're welcome, Mark......

Say, I didn't think of that! I don't see why painting the moss wouldn't work. Let us know how it turns out. I had a little bit of moss on a natural edge walnut bowl recently......too late for that one, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that would be interested in seeing what works in preserving the moss......:D

Off hand, I'm guessing that the green paint needs to be pretty thin.....? Could be sprayed, but I don't see how to manage the overspray........brush might be best........but, let us know how it turns out.

OOC
 
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