"Murray" The Hawaiian Hut Tiki needs an overhaul

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?

A T, What a great find! I would not hesitate to ask Leroy at O. A.
I'd be careful with the insulating foams. They expand pretty quick and you just don't know how frail the interior of that beauty is. You could also ask the workers at a museum that currently has an exhibition featuring carved wood whatever. My 2 cents.
Cheers

A quick disclaimer I have used the "SEARCH" function here and will be researching these restorations for tricks and tips that hopefully will allow me to do this with minimal problems or great expense.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=43783&forum=5&27

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=6515&forum=1&start=0

On 2012-10-06 20:22, nui 'umi 'umi wrote:
A T, What a great find! I would not hesitate to ask Leroy at O. A.
I'd be careful with the insulating foams. They expand pretty quick and you just don't know how frail the interior of that beauty is. You could also ask the workers at a museum that currently has an exhibition featuring carved wood whatever. My 2 cents.
Cheers

Leroy is a definite on my list of calls, spoke with an old surfboard shaper/boat builder that I know locally and he seemed to think my approach would achieve good results. His suggestion is a 50/50% laminating resin and styrene blend, injected via syringe and tubing into predilled holes in key areas and done in phases to allow a good saturation rate without having too much heat trapped inside at any one time. He also mentioned covering the exterior surface with wax paper to keep any spillage from becoming a permanent feature.
Sounds like a pretty straight forward job - now it's up to me to NOT F*#-KITUP !!!
***Actually the Tahitian pole visible behind this one I'm gonna try the expanding foam with a pole run through (like 8ftTiki) as it's completely cored out and hopefully the foam will choose the path of least resistance, but that's another project in the works for another day. ;}

Great score! Good luck in the restoration. On a side note, I wouldn't be doing my job as a Kustom/Hot Rod guy if I didn't ask what was up with the engine on the stand, in the background?

On 2012-10-07 09:00, Big Kahuna wrote:
Great score! Good luck in the restoration. On a side note, I wouldn't be doing my job as a Kustom/Hot Rod guy if I didn't ask what was up with the engine on the stand, in the background?

Aloha Big Kahuna !!!
You're actually the second person to inquire about that, MadDogMike also was browsing the background and peeking in the garage.
This is a standby block for the 1952 Chevy SUPERTRUCK, which has been in my wife's family since her Grandfather bought it new from the dealership. The truck spent most of it's career in Needles, California, and several generations of the youngins in the family have learned to drive in it, we plan on keeping the tradition alive.
Although much like "Murray" -- ole Supertruck is in need of an overhaul at the moment also, as of just 2 weeks ago the motor in the truck has a thrown rod or something and this block in the picture needs to be rebuilt also. The projects are stacking up quickly around this place.

Sweet!

A classic and a cutie :)