Finishing Techniques ??

Aloha,

This has probably been asked many times, but I'm new here and didnt find much with a search. I use palms for my carvings, but I havent really figure out what to use to finish them off with.

So my questions are :

1- what does everyone use for their finish of palm TIKIS ?
1a- how much or little product do you use ?

2- with your choice of finish, have you found any negative results ?

Thanks in advance

This question has been asked many times and there is NO easy answer. Basically, it comes down to personal preference. Perhaps the #1 finish for Palm is Polyurethane - several coats. Use Spar Urethane for outdoor use. Or just leave it unfinished.

Do a search and you will find more choices than you wanted.

Kino - I agree with Tom, spar urethane works well for palm or pretty much anything that you plan to keep outdoors. Varnish or lacquer are probably good enough if your piece will be living inside. Palm also stains nicely, especially if it is a nice hard dry piece. Check 4WDTiki's stuff. He does pretty much exclusively palm tikis, and stains and finishes them all.

Aaron

thanks for the direction.
I will take a look

Everyone has a different idea of how to finish your /their tiki and some are better than others but after you have finished a dozen or so you will become your own expert.
The one thing you want to avoid is having a tiki that looks like it has been dunked in a vat of urethane and hung out to dry ending with about 3 inches of stuff coating it. Several THIN coats is not the same as One really thick one. The thick one will always look like a bucket of varnish with a tiki under there somewhere. You can get into antiquing your tiki with all kinds of formulas that really do work.
I have finished a few in my carving lifetime and here's what works best for me.
First, Sand your tiki so it is smooth all over. If you leave chainsaw edges they will always be rough and sharp, so Sand Sand Sand!

Next when you are satisfied your tiki is ready for the finish, you should apply the stain If you are going to change the color of your tiki. Apply the stain as thick as you want wiping it off with diferent pressures ton create the color you are looking for.

Next, Let the stain dry Thoroughly, since if you don't let it dry, the urethane/ varnish or whatever will never dry too and your tiki will become a sticky lint brush for the rest of it's life.

Next, I like to coat the piece with a few coats of shellac, SANDING between every coat. what you end up with is a few very thin layers of finish. It dries quickly and sands easily and costs less than urethane.

Now you are ready for the final finish. Urethane, Spar varnish, Lacquer, or what ever you are going to use will go on Much easier now that the surfase is stained, sealed, sanded and dried. I Love using the Min Wax Hand Rubbed Poly. You can brush it on and it goes on in thin coats and you rub it in with a small cloth. Sand with 220 or 350 or even 400 between coats. This stuff dries pretty fast so that you can put on several coats in one day. Now for the best part. The Last coat you DON'T even need to Sand, it will look like it's there but at the same time it will look like it isn't there.

Now sit back and admire your hard work!

Hope this helps.

Benzart,

Mahalo ! I will be trying these suggestions. And will post some pics.