TikiGap's thread - Tiki 20 and other travels - Page 22 - Tiki Carving

T tikigap Tiki Socialite St Augustine, Florida Joined: Jan 19, 2006 Posts: 841	T tikigap Posted posted on Wed, Aug 30, 2006 11:54 AM Thanks Ben! Your piece of walnut was right above this one on the tree. You got the black in there too. Boy, have I learned a lot in the last few days. 1st - NEVER let someone else 'try their hand' at using sanding sealer on one of your carvings. This way you only will blame yourself if you screw it up. I let someone try, and now I'm sorry I did. 2nd - NEVER hit your piece with sanding sealer TWICE (to fix #1 problem, in this case) 3rd - NEVER use sanding sealer on walnut, period. It isn't necessary. 4th - NEVER apply polyurethane in the direct sunlight at 90+ degrees outside. It dries way too fast, and any micro-bubbles in it won't get a chance to pop before drying. 5th - Find a "profile sander". Porter cable makes a really nice one (#444, made in USA too). I love the sticky sandpaper (that you can get on a roll) for this device. When you wear out the sand paper, (because of the nature of a profile sander), not all the sandpaper is used up. This remaining sandpaper still has a sticky backing that attaches nicely to your fingers, and allows you to hand-sand some hard-to-get-at places. This stuff ROCKS. I had to sand off two layers of sealer and one of polyurethane. Then I used dental tools to pick the poly out from between his teeth and some other detail spots. What a nightmare. When carving walnut, Spend as much time as is possible to sand, sand, and sand some more - the first time. Hopefully you'll never have to come back like I did and remove the finish. I have it sanded down smoother than a baby's ass right now, with no obvious signs of the previous screw up. I'm looking for guidance on what I should finish it with this time. I've got oil based satin poly, oil based glass poly, beeswax, or tung oil. I tyhink this piece will live outside in the Washington DC suburbs. It can get up to 100 degrees here, or down to 0 degrees. Anywhere from 40% - 90% humidity. What would you pick? Thanks in advance for any suggestions... [ Edited by: tikigap 2006-08-30 17:39 ]

Thanks Ben! Your piece of walnut was right above this one on the tree. You got the black in there too.

Boy, have I learned a lot in the last few days.

1st - NEVER let someone else 'try their hand' at using sanding sealer on one of your carvings. This way you only will blame yourself if you screw it up. I let someone try, and now I'm sorry I did.

2nd - NEVER hit your piece with sanding sealer TWICE (to fix #1 problem, in this case)

3rd - NEVER use sanding sealer on walnut, period. It isn't necessary.

4th - NEVER apply polyurethane in the direct sunlight at 90+ degrees outside. It dries way too fast, and any micro-bubbles in it won't get a chance to pop before drying.

5th - Find a "profile sander". Porter cable makes a really nice one (#444, made in USA too). I love the sticky sandpaper (that you can get on a roll) for this device. When you wear out the sand paper, (because of the nature of a profile sander), not all the sandpaper is used up. This remaining sandpaper still has a sticky backing that attaches nicely to your fingers, and allows you to hand-sand some hard-to-get-at places. This stuff ROCKS.

I had to sand off two layers of sealer and one of polyurethane. Then I used dental tools to pick the poly out from between his teeth and some other detail spots. What a nightmare.

When carving walnut, Spend as much time as is possible to sand, sand, and sand some more - the first time. Hopefully you'll never have to come back like I did and remove the finish.

I have it sanded down smoother than a baby's ass right now, with no obvious signs of the previous screw up.

I'm looking for guidance on what I should finish it with this time. I've got oil based satin poly, oil based glass poly, beeswax, or tung oil. I tyhink this piece will live outside in the Washington DC suburbs. It can get up to 100 degrees here, or down to 0 degrees. Anywhere from 40% - 90% humidity.

What would you pick? Thanks in advance for any suggestions...

[ Edited by: tikigap 2006-08-30 17:39 ]

Post #251618 by tikigap on Wed, Aug 30, 2006 11:54 AM