Tiki restoration

I picked this guy up yesterday...

I am going to do a finish restoration on him.

I removed what varnish I could today by scrapping and using a Dremel and wire brush...

Question for suggestions regarding the finish; should I stain and seal with marine varnish or apply teak oil? Any pros or cons to either?

Thanks in advance for the advice,

PTD

I'M STILL WAITING SINCE LAST SUMMER TO HEAR WHAT I SHOULD DO TO FINISH MY COCONUT PALM CARVING. I HOPE YOU GET SOME ANSWERS. MAYBE PUTTING THIS ON THE CARVING THREAD WOULD WORK. WE MISSED YOU AT MATT'S. WENDY

Great looking tiki. Since he's been varnished in the past, I would think re-varnishing is your best bet. You may be able to get the old varnish to re-emulsify and blend. I would be afraid the areas that still have some varnish would tend to seal-out any type of penetrating oil and cause a blotchy look.

That tiki is sweet, PTD. I have no first-hand experience, but I would varnish it if it were mine. Test varnish a small out of the way area and see how you like it.

Thanks you guys.

I will probably remove the remaining varnish and test an area for stain/varnish when this is done.

I will post the finished results when he is completely restored.

One more or two more questions...since it is so sunbleached, can I stain it without sanding or would it be o.k. to stain "as is"? The cracks; should these be filled in or left the way they are?

PTD

I've never been a fan of shiny tikis, so if you're going to remove the rest of the old varnish, I would suggest a stain, and then some oil, instead of revarnishing.
I wouldn't fill the cracks, they add character!
That's a great carving, and a great score!

Glad to see Bill weigh in on this as I was wondering about the cracks too and thinking they did add character. That Tiki has a cute butt...LOL.

Nice score PTD .I can give you several pieces of advice if you want to PM me or call me about resto on this guy.

Hey PTD, how's it going with this guy? Did you finally get all the old finish off? You may want to apply a furniture stripper on it to get all the old finish off since you have already started. From that point on you can probably just treat it like refinishing a piece of furniture. If the color underneath is a pretty even tone, you can restain it and apply whatever finish you want. If he's not too fragile, you can even bleach it to get the wood to a more even tone, and then apply the finish.

TheBigT,

I was able to remove most of the varnish with chemical remover. The tough spots were the areas not in direct sunlight for the past however many years. Those I have had to do some sanding on in order to remove what seems to be multiple layers of caked on and baked on varnish. I am almost there, but it has been way too hot outside the past few days to enjoy working on him, so I am waiting until the cool down later this week to finish up.

I think this was redwood, at least the wood looks like it when I get past the outer finish. Still, I think he will be stained a dark color when the time comes.

Thanks for asking and your advice!

PTD

I applied the first coat of stain today. The dry wood sucked it all in so I am thinking at least two, if not three coats of stain are in order. The dark color really highlights the carving.

Thanks for looking!

PTD

Looking good PTD !

WOW, What a difference you made on that tiki. It looks great!

Looking good...when you get done with him, please pose him in front of the hydrangeas again...that was a wonderful backdrop for his pic!!!

Marlene,

Defintely will do so when I am done. Since it rained yesterday, I am waiting until tomorrow to apply coat #2 of stain, maybe #3 as well. Gonna seal him up with a couple of coats of varnish when the stain dries!

Thanks for the props!

PTD

Looks awesome already - that guy's got character

Freakin' sweet resto, D.

Duane, I love this tiki and watching you save it. We search in the same area as you and never find anything this good. You have a tiki search thumb that guides you. Good job, Wendy

Thanks to you all for the encouragment.

Marlene, I will take the final pictures in front of the Hydrangeas again.

Wendy, I am very, very lucky with the tiki finds. Lots of hours spent though! If I had one tenth of the collection you and Dan have I would probably stop.

I was able to apply the second and third coats of stain today. Now the question is to seal it with marine varnish or to apply teak oil? I have never used teak oil, does it seal the finish like varnish?

On the final lap to completion!

PTD

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2011-06-30 15:03 ]

I can't help you with you question, but I just had to give you two thumbs up on what you have done so far. You wouldn't think the darker color would make such a difference, but it really is making the carvings pop. Great job!

On 2011-06-30 15:02, Psycho Tiki D wrote:
I was able to apply the second and third coats of stain today. Now the question is to seal it with marine varnish or to apply teak oil? I have never used teak oil, does it seal the finish like varnish?

Although I've never used it, I'd go with the teak oil. It doesn't seal like varnish, but why do you want it "sealed"? Is it going to live outside? :o

The tiki will be outside, but in an enclosed patio, so it will be free from direct sunlight and rain/weather elements except the heat and cold.

In doing some research, it appears I should apply tung oil instead of teak oil. Teak oil is for unfinished or sanded surfaces; you can apply tung oil to stained or finished surfaces.

In light of the condition of the varnish, the removal process I had to deal, I believe I will opt to use the tung oil.

Thanks,

PTD

That is looking so good, Duane! You got the knack, and no doubt!

I finished the second coat of tung oil finisher on Saturday and let this dry for two days. Unexpectly, I found the Minwax tung oil finish left a brilliant shine to the final finish. I guess they call oil for a reason, although dry to the touch, it looks like it has an oily texture to the finish (so much for the shiny tiki appearance).

I debated on whether or not to restore this. Since it was in such bad shape, it made more sense to protect it and give it a few more years of life.

So the story behind the purchase.

I bought the tiki from a vendor whom I frequently purchase tiki items from. She told me the week before she found the tiki, she and her daughter were out driving and saw this tiki on top of a tarp in the back of a truck holding the tarp down and keeping the load from blowing out of the truck bed.

When they saw the tiki, they tried flagging the driver of the truck down to talk to him. At first he ignored them (thought they were crazy) but slowed down enough to speak to them. Apparently the driver was hauling the tiki and some other stuff to the dump from a clean-up job he had done. They stopped the driver before he entered the dump property (dump rules do not allow anyone to purchase items on dump property) and they made the driver a deal to purchase the tiki and some of the other items (non-tiki).
The clean-up was from a property in Stockton area, but that was all the driver told them.

I am extremely pleased to now own it.

Thanks for looking!

PTD

EXCELLENT job, it looks great!!

Great restoration! I bet he looks now just like he did when he was purchased back in the day!

What a cool story. This God is a true survivor - I trust you will attempt to properly research him.

The restoration looks damn nice too I must say, thumbs-up from this admirer.

I dig the shine - gives it a hand-rubbed character. No doubt karma shall reward you for this act of tiki salvation.