"Murray" The Hawaiian Hut Tiki needs an overhaul - Collecting Tiki

AT Alii Tiki Tiki Socialite Kona, Hawaii & Palm Springs, California Joined: Apr 24, 2008 Posts: 156	AT Alii Tiki Posted posted on Sat, Oct 6, 2012 6:46 PM Aloha all !!! Now that this beauty is in my hands I've taken a closer look (or twenty) at the true condition of this piece of Tiki history and I can see that some care is needed to ensure that "Murray" (he came to me with that name) will be around for many more years of fun. The inner portion of the palmwood log that this was carved from has wasted away, it's very soft and spongy but not wet or termite eaten. This appears to be affecting the area between his legs near the okole the most as the carver cut deeply into the log in this location. My idea is to drill several access holes in out of the way spots and inject resin into the inner mass to solidify & stabilize it, I am thinking of doing this in stages, starting with the lower section first and then moving up to the torso and the the head and neck. Then of course patch and paint the holes to hide the repair points. He also has had his head re-attached and there is a putty or epoxy ring around the collar that I would like to try and reduce the visual presence of. Any advise or warnings? Types of readily available resins or materials that will work for this task?

Aloha all !!!
Now that this beauty is in my hands I've taken a closer look (or twenty) at the true condition of this piece of Tiki history and I can see that some care is needed to ensure that "Murray" (he came to me with that name) will be around for many more years of fun.
The inner portion of the palmwood log that this was carved from has wasted away, it's very soft and spongy but not wet or termite eaten.
This appears to be affecting the area between his legs near the okole the most as the carver cut deeply into the log in this location.
My idea is to drill several access holes in out of the way spots and inject resin into the inner mass to solidify & stabilize it, I am thinking of doing this in stages, starting with the lower section first and then moving up to the torso and the the head and neck. Then of course patch and paint the holes to hide the repair points. He also has had his head re-attached and there is a putty or epoxy ring around the collar that I would like to try and reduce the visual presence of.
Any advise or warnings? Types of readily available resins or materials that will work for this task?

Post #654677 by Alii Tiki on Sat, Oct 6, 2012 6:46 PM