BARNEY WEST in DISTRESS! or How to bring an old salt back to life!

Hi TC...

Over in Marketplace, the discussion of the Chicago Trader Vic's decor auction came across the topic of the signature Palmer House tiki: the Barney West entrance moai.

I feel pretty lucky to have been able to acquire this fella for my collection. I collect mainly commercial pieces and have a pretty decent number of large carvings. I've named him "Palmer" (go ahead, laugh!).

I really feel that this particular Barney West (although what West tiki isn't amazing?) has got some serious mana going for it. I do think it's a shame it's no longer in the Trader Vic's family but I'm glad that Palmer was saved from the wood-chipper.

Anyhow, I'm starting this thread because I thought TC'ers would appreciate seeing the process of restoration on this amazing carving. I'm also hoping that it might generate some contributed research in the way of photos or any info from fellow TC'ers about the tiki's history.

Quickly, I'll start by explaining my collection. I've been collecting tiki for over 25 years. I work in animation in Los Angeles and was lucky enough to be on the hunt for tiki during the dark ages: when the tiki joints of California were being torn down in the 80s and thrift stores were chock full of exotica related memorabilia. Back then, anything over $5 for a mug, any mug was unheard of. Most, many still in my collection that have the price written in grease pencil, were priced around 25¢.

I have a fairly large collection of architectural carvings and lighting. A lot from Trader Vic's, Kona Kai and Kon Tiki restaurants.

I love all my pieces but, this Barney West has got some serious, amazing vibes to it. I gotta say, until you stand in front of this guy, you don't get how incredible it's presence is. It seriously feels like Barney's drunk soul is heavily doused in the figure. To me, Barney West is the Picasso of Tiki. His primitive shapes and designs have a unique feel, completely his own.

A couple of days ago, the piece arrived from Chicago. I had it shipped directly to Oceanic Arts where Bob and Leroy were waiting for it. I knew that the only way to get this amazing feller back on his feet was to have Leroy, Barney's old pal and drinkin' buddy, do the restoration.

Needless to say, even though I knew there was damage to this tiki, it was far worse than I had anticipated. (please excuse the bad iphone pix)

I already had a few poles from the Palmer house location courtesy of the Trader Vic's warehouse sale, so I knew what the weird paint job was on the tiki. Apparently, sometime in the 70s, the Palmer House carvings were painted over in a cheap vinyl house paint. Then, a diluted stain was added and brushed to appear like wood grain and then sealed. Why they did this, I don't know, but I kinda knew what to expect on Palmer's make-up job.

I heard from others, including Tipsy McStagger, that the piece was not in fantastic condition. From the pictures, it looked like the piece had been filled with putty or plaster and painted over. Well, it had. Placing Palmer, a 50+ year old carving outside the past several years in the extreme conditions of Chicago weather certainly didn't help.

Luckily, I've had to do a lot of tiki restoration myself over the years, bringing dry rotted and termite devastated tikis back to life. Whatever was wrong with Palmer, I knew this patient could be saved.

When he was unpacked at OA, we knew there were some ugly visions in store. There were. It looks like Palmer spent a good portion of his life outside, way before going indoors at the Palmer House location. Serious cracks in his solid wood weave a tale of moisture and severe freezing. Summer heat and humidity then took over to invade his wounds and start rot from the inside out. Good thing Palmer's not a horse!

Apparently, the weird paint job was done after a decision to bring him inside. He was slathered with the cheapest plaster to fill in gaps, almost like bondo for an auto paint job and covered with vinyl paint.

Then he spent some good years inside with lots of attention from the tiki-loving, Chicago population. When Palmer House unfortunately closed in 2005, he was shipped back to Trader Vic's warehouse for inclusion in another location. A deal was made with the franchisees of the new Chicago Trader Vic's and the warehouse lent him to the new location. Palmer was packed up, sent cross country again by truck, only to be wheeled outside to suffer the conditions of Chicago weather all over again. Poor guy!

We all know what happened to the apparently "well managed" new Chicago location and they went belly up fairly quickly. I guess lots of debt was incurred and some of the decor was auctioned off. (I spoke with corporate Trader Vic's and they are aware I have it now).

Needless to say, even though I think the sale price was amazing, there's a butt load of time and money that needs to be put into this historic relic.

Now the good stuff:

Leroy has looked at the piece. We started pulling off the paint to reveal the damage and we're lucky for two things. One, the vinyl paint probably did a lot to protect the piece over the years, sealing it from more damage once outside. Two, the cheap plaster is like soft chalk and will easily come out. The best part is the carving is strong and intact. It's a HUGE, HEAVY solid piece of California Redwood and can be brought back from the brink.

It's gonna be expensive, a lot more than if I had Leroy carve a new tiki for me. But, I feel that only Leroy, King of Tiki is the person to restore something as historic as an original 1950s Barney West Trader Vic's tiki.

So, if anyone is interested in getting updates on this, I'll post about how things are going and show some pix.

Next, I'll show current condition pictures and about our strategy for the restoration.

PLEASE, if anyone out there has pictures or info of this guy's career over the years in Chicago, it would be wonderful if you could share them. Newer or older, it doesn't matter, I'd like to keep his history together.

LONG LIVE PALMER!!

Really looking forward to your updates on this piece as I really would of loved to have purchased it myself.

so much so that I asked Jungle Trader to carve me a smaller version of the Barney west for my collection :)

Thanks for starting this thread and congrats on the purchase!

100% Interested in updates.

Thanks!

Yes, Updates Please.

UP date

Since you asked for pics in situ, here's a couple from our visit during the Exotica weekend in 2003...

Funny, this still feels recent, but I guess 2003 wasn't exactly yesterday! Looking forward to seeing this guy all shipshape, even if he still keeps that eternal stomach ache!

-Randy

You had me hooked at "Hi TC..." Keep the updates coming!

Hey 63, Me and my queen saw Palmer thie past Thursday. Can't wait to see him restored. We felt his vibe. Leroy said that it would not be easy but Palmer would be vibrant again. Of course you trust him as we all do. keep us posted. Lookin to meet you at the art show tomorrow.
Cheers,David

On 2012-09-07 11:18, tiki1963 wrote:
... Palmer was packed up, sent cross country again by truck, only to be wheeled outside to suffer the conditions of Chicago weather all over again. Poor guy!

My pal Rusty, who managed Dallas TV's for a while, also assisted in opening the new Chicago location and sent me this pic around the time of opening.

Just stumbled on this thread, Jordan - Kudos for your dedication! Here's a true believer putting his money where his heart is! Though I am fearful of seeing "open wound" Tiki surgery, please share the documenting of the process.

Congrats on adding this guy to your family. I know first hand how it feels to commit to saving a seriously damaged big tiki. Getting a good restoration done is vital and he sure is in good hands now. Keep us posted on progress and be sure to post photos of him when all restoration is done and he's in his new home. I'm sure he will never have to suffer another day outside. 8FT

This is amazing.
And this is why I come to TC, to see the culture revered, and it's idols preserved.
I look forward to checking in on this, and a big Mahalo from the entire TC Ohana for being so dedicated.

thanks everybody for the pics and your interest!

i spoke with Bob at OA today and Leroy will soon start attacking Palmer like a hoity-toity Beverly Hills plastic surgeon...

in the meantime, i'll post some more pics of the damage.

i'm hoping to have some vintage pics soon of Palmer at home in Chicago from a couple of good sources.

here's some overall pics and some close ups of the problem areas. when we were first going over Palmer's condition, we couldn't help tearing and chipping away at the loose areas. it's kinda like eating potato chips, one just isn't enough. except these chips are probably flavored with cobwebs and asbestos!

the main crack runs pretty much the length of his head and body starting at the top. you can see where moisture, both moist and frozen cracked in a natural weak part of his grain and began to rot.

this whole lobotomy area will be fortified with custom carved redwood pieces and wood dust glue filler.

you can see where that push and pull of the outdoor conditions created a fault line that runs down Palmer's sexy long schnazola...

so far, his right side seems a lot more stable. just look at that handsome mug!

this is what Palmer has been covered in for so many years: fake wood grained vinyl paint with varnish on top...

if you went to either Chicago locations but were too drunk to get on your knees to peek up Palmer's nose but always wanted to, now's your chance

that's the latest update....

[ Edited by: tiki1963 2012-09-11 19:04 ]

If you ask me, if you were there and couldn't see up his nose, you weren't drunk enough!

the facelift has begun!

Bob's been nice enough to snap a few pics when I'm not down there during the process.

here's the Michelangelo of Tiki working on a piece by the Picasso of Tiki...

does that make this the Sistine Tiki?

anyhow, he's using a combination of light heat torching and burr bit in a grinder to pull off the bad paint.

hey, anytime something old has to be restored, it's traumatic and changes a bit from the original.

i'm just hoping in terms of plastic surgery jobs, i get more Cher and less Joan Rivers....hell, anything's better than Mickey Rourke! (i think Palmer had less plaster filler in him than all three of them)

[ Edited by: tiki1963 2012-09-13 17:41 ]

[ Edited by: tiki1963 2012-09-13 17:42 ]

Ok, fans of the decrepit and infirm!

Here's the latest on, Palmer, the Pride of Chicago's status report from Oceanic Arts in sunny Whittier, California, USA (they take all major credit cards):

Good news! Palmer is in much better condition than we anticipated. God knows what couldda been hiding under all that nasty paint, but alas, it's just not bad at all really.

I guess it's a testament to 2000 year old redwood meat.

Palmer's visible crack (we just say "no" to crack) was actually the biggest issue...nothing else was apparently that bad.

Yes, there is some dry rot and yes, he'll need some wood filler but he's very stable and what I feared was a lot of rot at his base in the rear was really just his natural shape. (pix courtesy of OA)

Chief Bob ordered Chief Leroy and his tiki warriors to assess the damage, which they did.

Once they got him up and flipped over, he revealed a much better condition than we hoped. Here's the master probing Palmer on his anvil of tiki:

His base is actually really strong. If you count the rings, you can see where Jesus was born and when the Beatles released the White Album....cosmic:

Again, all parts are pretty solid. His head does have a dry rot hole from either watching a lot of Roger Corman pictures or a failed encounter with Jeffery Dahmer, but either way, Palmer can be brought back and fortified.

Then, Leroy attacked the nasty surface paint like a rabid woodchuck and pulled all that crap off.

Here's worst of the dry rot holes which is really not too bad:

As you can see, the wood is really pretty and very salvageable. He's already starting to look more like a Barney West again:

Once the cracks are filled and fortified, we'll begin the poly-chroming. Very delicate work but no one does it quite like Leroy Schmaltz.

That's it until the next update!

(INSERT "ROCKY THEME" HERE)

"Getting strong now...Won't be long now...Getting strong now....Gonna fly now...Flying high now...Gonna fly, fly, fly!"

Yes, our underdog is getting better and better every day. Before you know it, Palmer's gonna kick the crap out of that Lummox Commie bastard, Brigitte Neilsen!

Here's the latest from the surgery team at Oceanic Arts.

Palmer's been fully stripped and scrubbed of his old skin. He's back to beautiful, bare wood and was ready for his repair.

Leroy found all the spots that needed to be fortified and shelled them out. Custom pieces of redwood were cut and wedged into the cracks and crevices, fortifying them to the point they are probably stronger now than they were before the damage. (Think a well healed broken bone).

Just look at the detail in these shots of the central, long crack and the hole on the top of his head where literally dozens of custom cut pieces were wedged and hammered into position, filling the gaps.

BEFORE:

MID-WAY:

From there, a putty filler with added redwood powder is injected into the cracks and troweled over the top to complete the solidification. Once dry, that area is sanded back down to match the contour of the carving a'la bondo on a Lindsay Lohan BMW.

AFTER:

Pretty much all the cracks are filled now and it's off to the last and most exciting part; POLY-CHROMING!

Thanks again to Bob, Leroy, Susan and Paul at Oceanic Arts for the hard work and updates!

Palmer is really starting to look good.

I see you mentioned Poly-chroming a couple times and seemed really excited by it. I always thought of that as an eleborate paint job. Are you going to be painting Palmer? Please explain to this novice what the process is.

Thanks for sharing this journey with us. Very exciting to see this piece of art come back to life.

• Dale

Thanks again for sharing. I'm sure it'll look magnificent when it's done.

And thank you for preserving history.

Congrats on such a great piece of poly pop history! Palmer is obviously very lucky to have you find him.

He is really starting to look good. Thanks for the preservation efforts and all the entertaining updates.

ALOHA!

SO GLAD this guy ended up in the hands of someone with the ability and wherewithal to restore him to
his former glory!

When I moved to Chicago 13 years ago at the tender age of 18, he was the beacon that called me
in to see what "Trader Vic's" was all about. Up to that point about my only exposure to tiki was from Scooby Doo and Deadbolt & Bomboras albums.

I was working at a record store around the corner from the Palmer House my first year in college, wandered in on a sleepy weekday, asked what was popular and had my first Mai Tai (they were pretty lax about carding at lunch time, but considering I was the only non-businessman at the bar, I guess it's surprising I was served.) The atmosphere in there blew my mind.

The rest is history and was all downhill from there.

Had he not been perched out front that day, I might have never taken that first sip,
and there would be far less elaborately sculptured drinking vessels in my house today.

I had a picture of him from around that time in front of the Palmer house (I believe it was around Christmas time..there was snow) but I'll be damned if I could find it now.

In terms of context, I do have this picture from him at his post inside the relocated TV's off Rush St
(when he wasn't freezing his coconuts off outside...)

Seeing the sad shape he was in at the auction was heartbreaking. While I surely wish I'd had the dough to walk away with SOMETHING, the cluster of us there that day really, truly hoped somebody with the appropriate means would buy this important figurehead (literally) of Chicago history and restore him.

Every one of the thousands and thousands of people who passed through the Loop for 60+ years walked by him and knew exactly what he represented (those who didn't, like me, stepped inside and were forever changed.) He was a comforting beacon of a simpler time and an ambassador from a period in Chicago history that has sadly been mostly stripped from our fair city.

With no intent to derail this informative thread (can't wait to see Palmer lookin' like his old self!)
here's another little hint of the poly-pop glory that once existed in Chicago's Loop; this ghost sign was
right around the corner from where Palmer used to stand at the Palmer House:

Good luck!

--Pete

Thanks for your interest!

Pete- Yeah, he's definitely had a rough life in and out of the Windy City elements. I imagine he got a lot of views from the Chicagoans. Thanks for the pic!

littlegiles- Polychroming in the official dictionary term is basically, a technique of multi-colored architectural decor painting. However, I've also heard it used in the antique vernacular in regard to multicolored natural paint technique as applied to wood sculpture of many types. Besides, I love saying, "P-O-L-Y-C-H-R-O-M-I-N-G"! So much more exciting than 'paint-job'.

In the case of Palmer, he won't be multi-colored in the sense of different colors on the surface, but rather a blend of a few colors as a treatment to achieve a native/natural pigment and appearance. You'll see what I mean when it's done. I promise he won't be all discoed out!

On another note from the photo/history request, I was wondering if there were any TC'ers that are interested in selling an extra pair (or one) of the Chicago Trader Vic's Tiki farm mugs.

I never picked these up and would love to have a pair for the sake of keeping the history together.

If anyone has some and would like to sell, please PM me. And no, I don't want to pay as much as Palmer for them!

You MUST have those now, Jordan, indeed! I had forgotten about that design...

Maybe there's some kicking around the warehouse. Someone get Holden in here.

I agree, polychroming. Polychroming. Polychroming. POLYCHROMING!

Thanks for the excellent explanation. I have to admit I was a bit worried about a disco paint job...er..I mean polychroming.

Happy to hear he is going to be very natural looking!

• Dale

ok.....reaching the home stretch!

visited our patient today. here's the latest on his condition:

Our boy, Palmer has had lots of custom putty, reinforcement pegs and sanding.

With all that effort, he's now he's more stable than ever.

We've made him stronger, faster, better and now he's ready for the final phase of the Million Dollar Tiki's remake: POLYCHROMING!

Hey! I know what that means now. :)

Palmer is looking amazing. I'm so glad that he is being brought back to life and is actually stronger than before. It will be great to see him in his new home, safe and happy again.

• Dale

POLYCHROMING!

ok! what you've been waiting for!

like Bela Lugosi from the detox sanitarium, Palmer has been sprung.

(well, actually, not yet. because he weighs so damn much, we'll have to get a large truck with a lift-gate as opposed to the pick up truck i was hoping to move him in.)

at any rate, he's done and Leroy, Bob and the rest of the folks at Oceanic Arts did an amazing job!

here's the master with his patient:

I was going to wait until he was set up at home as these pics don't really do the finish color justice, but i didn't want to miss a step in the process.

Palmer is more original than original. (he's so damn heavy we could lift him up for an upright pic yet).

he's completely fortified and now, he really can live up to Barney West's 100 year guarantee.

The finish is amazing. EXACTLY what i was looking for!

he's ugly, he's ancient, and he's 100% vintage tiki goodness!

the finish is a mixture of a lot of things. a grey-black slate undercoat with several top coats of varying thicknesses and colors. there's a thin, chalky white overcoat with a mixture of stucco paste. then, the whole job is over coated with a very light ocher yellow to accent and give it patina.

according to Leroy, a lot of Barney's large pieces, especially the Moai were done in a chalky white paint. look at any of the vintage Trader Vic's Washington D.C. pics and you'll see.

because he's going indoors, i didn't want too harsh a white, but this finish is beautiful. very aged and authentic looking.

as a final bit of tiki-nerd gilding on this 900 lb lily, here's a commemorative plaque i had made which will be mounted on Palmer so archeologists, 1000 years from now will know who, what, why and where Palmer came from. Leroy was all bashful and honored when he saw it....aw.

the next check in will be after i put him up in his shrine corner. once that is up and lit, i'll give you the final update to the thread.

again, much thanks to Bob, Leroy and the staff at OA for such fantastic work...as always!

[ Edited by: tiki1963 2012-10-12 16:46 ]

Nice touch! Thanks for lovingly saving a piece of Tiki history.

That is priceless...thanks for the updates. CONGRATULATIONS...one important beautiful artifact saved.

WOW! That is amazing. Such a great thing to see.

Can't wait to see him set up in his corner shrine.

• Dale

Excellent!

MOST excellent, indeed! I just could not imagine in what way this Moai would be "polychromed" in a tasteful and fitting manner - among all Tikis, a Moai strikes me as needing to be MONOchrome - but Leroy did it! He again has proven himself as the only living veteran of mid-century Tiki who still has the "secret knowledge" of how to do it like they used to. Palmer looks ancient, with a patina that could be from the 50s or the 1500s.

The old O.A. way of polychroming was the fine art of applying color to the carved artifacts in such a manner that they looked aged. The colors chosen were earthy and washed-out looking, with dirt rubbed into it, not bright and primary. Leroy has used color more liberally in his own art, in a folk art manner, like Mexican or other island tourist art, but for Polynesian pop in the mid-century style, the only way to go is the muted, aged look of primitive art.

Awesome finished result! The info plaque is a very important touch. You are now in posession of something that has been lovingly created and re-created by 2 of the legends. Not too many others can say that! CONGRATS and show more pics when he's home. 8FT

What a great story, congratulations on an amazing recovery. Here is the postcard that shows the Barney West in its original form at the Palmer House.

DC

Wow, new to this forum and I was at OA 6 weeks or so ago and remember seeing this in the workshop and wondering what it was. I am so stoked to see what Leroy was able to do with it. When I saw it.....it was ROUGH. I mean rough. Absolutely amazing. Cool factor is off the scale.

[ Edited by: Gran Poobah 2012-11-02 18:55 ]

Pretty sure the famous postcard tiki is a different one from the one that was resurrected. Look at the facial details.

That one may be lost to the ages, but glad this one will be standing strong for years to come! Congrats.

yeah. i immediately went to that old postcard when he came in hoping he'd be somewhere in the background. apparently, there were a few Barney pieces at the Chicago location including masks and whatnot.

now, i have to find one with the top-knot!

i've been super busy and not able to get to his display. it took three people to get him upright!

here's a spooky teaser in the meantime...

dear Santa claus can I have for Christmas an update on palmer?

Any new pictures of Palmer?

.....Palmer will rise in all his glory very soon. Stand by for tiki-action!