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This step will take some time to complete so please allow
yourself about one hour when you begin working. This is not a
'quick and dirty" staining technique! Also, as with any new
staining technique it is advisable to create a practice board first
before you actually stain your finished project. This allows
you to both learn the technique and discover how each stain reacts
to different carving woods. 1. Once the carving is complete
remove any dust and extra wood fibers from the project. 2.
Using a gloss spray sealer and following the directions on the can
give your project about three light coats of sealer. Allow
about one half hour between each coat. To learn more about spray
sealers please see Applying Spray Urethane/Polyurethane Finish.
Raw basswood will grab a stain very hard so the sealer is needed to
protect from over absorption of the oils. 3.
Place a small amount of Burnt Umber Oil Paint on a glazed
tile. I am using oil paints instead of oil stains! Oil
paints tend to be much thicker in consistency and take much longer
to completely dry. These two aspects of the coloring will be
important to this project. 4.
With an ox haired or stiff brush scrub in one coat of oil paint to
the entire carved surface. Turn the piece often to insure that
each v-gouge receives coloring. You want to coat the entire
surface, however do not allow the color to create a heavy built up
in the deep areas. Instead work these puddles out with the
brush. Again, since oils take so long to set you do not have
to "rush" through this coating. You have plenty of
time to work! Do not thin the oil paint with turpentine, you want it
thick. 5. Once
everything is coated use a clean dry large brush, about 1 1/2"
wide, to smooth the coloring across the face of the piece.
Again this larger dry brush will move the excess coloring out of the
deep areas. There is no color on this brush! Instead I
am using it to move the color that I have already applied. 6.
Use a clean dry cloth to wipe off the excess oil color. Fold
the cloth tightly into a square as you work. This will let the
cloth hit the high areas of the design while keeping it away from
the v-gouge areas. 7.
At this point you will begin to see the design lighted in comparison
to the background. 8.
Now you will need a few small cotton wiping cloths and
turpentine. Fold the cloth in half to double it's
thickness. Wrap the cloth tightly around your finger
tip. Lightly wet this finger cloth with turpentine then
bloat the cloth on a dry rag ... you just want a very small
amount of turp on the cloth. Wipe the finger cloth across
the high areas of the design. Always work from a cleaned
design area into an unworked area. Change your cloth often to
keep from restaining with a dirty rag. Continue until the
entire design has been lightened. 9.
Allow the project to dry for several days ... oil paint does take a
while to completely set. A coating of Danish Oil Finish can
now be applied if you wish but is not necessary. The sealer
and oil paint are enough to complete the finish to the project. Notes:
Once I had been through all of the staining steps I felt that the
coloring, though accurate to Russian Birch Bark, was a bit to dark
for my taste. Russian Birch Bark carvings are often stained
with a blackish tone to the background ... however I was looking for
a brown toning. So I repeated steps 5 through 8. I went
back to my large dry clean brush and reworked the background
areas. This moved a little more of the burnt umber out of the
background allowing it to lighten in tone. Then I rewiped with
the clean cloth and again highlighted the design with the finger
cloth and turpentine. You can repeat steps 5 through 8 as many
times as you like, each time lightening the entire effect. If
I were to do some more Mock Russian Birch Bark carvings I would also
consider using as my staining Burnt Sienna to give a reddish tone to
the brown, Mars Brown for even a darker red brown look, or Raw Umber
for a black brown look. |
