Painting & Finishing A Carving

Members of the WOODCARVING ILLUSTRATED Message Board/Forum conduct a Christmas tree ornament exchange every year.  This year is no exception.  I received the following ornament from Carol Leavy.  Along with her ornament she included a fact sheet of the manner in which she finishes her wood carvings.  You cannot tell from a photo the high quality of this finish, but take my word for it; it's is one of the best ways I've seen to finish a carving.  Carol's process takes several steps, but the patience pays off.  With Carol's kind permission to share her technique - have a look.

Carol's Santa is painted with washes of paint, a stronger wash for the hair, in light ivory.  Washes are usually made up of a mix of acrilic paint and water, mostly water.  She uses both Rookwood red and Tomato Spice for the hat, done in washes.  The face is painted in base Flesh (Americana), once again in a wash.  Carol uses two colors for the cheeks, first a wash of Adobe and then a touch up with Tomato Spice.  After painting she dips the carving in BLO mix (boiled linseed oil), which is made up of a mix of oil paint added and a little paint thinner.  Let this sit for ten minutes then wipe it off.  Next, spray the carving with Deft Matte lacquer (several coats).  When dry, "sand" with a scrunched up brown paper bag.  This step removes any fuzzies from the spray.  Finally Carol mixes up Watco Satin Wax (neutral & dark), and applies this with a brush.  Finally, let dry and buff.

Lots of steps, but as Carol states, "the devil is in the details".  And this finish is absolutely first rate.