Wood Staining

Preparation is the key wood staining. With wood carvings there are number of methods to which you can stain and polish wood by - all listed below.

Preparation (For all Finishes)
Before you do anything you must make sure the carving is well sanded. Sand the wood with sand paper or aluminium oxide paper (which lasts longer with less clogging). Sand the rough areas with 120 grit then 180 through to 240 grit. Remember try to keep the sanding in the direction of the grain. You can also use a palm sander or orbital sander for the flat areas - just be careful to follow the grain and not to scratch the wood. With carvings it is hard to get into the carved areas. To overcome this problem you can either use a sanding matt, foam backed sand paper or wire wool - again working through the grits. After sanding vacuum and brush out all the dust.

Coloured Wax
This method gives a beautiful even, colour, wax antique, quality lustre to the finished carving, however it is not the quickest and can not be used for outside finishes. Manufactures such as Liberon do a "black bison" wax which come in a number of colours, such as light oak, Georgian mahogany, brown mahogany, dark oak. etc. take some 00000 wire wool wipe a little of the wax on to the wire wool and rub it into the carving - take care not to fill the carving with wax though! Allow it to dry (follow the tins instructions) and buff off with a lint free cloth. Continue the applications of wax until the desired finish / colour has been obtained.

Wood Stain
Wood stain can either be spirit based or water based. Remember no water based stains to be used on Lime wood. One of the difficulties of staining carvings is that where it is carved, it exposes the end grain. This means these areas will absorb more stain than other areas, i.e.. Resulting in a blotchy finish with darker patches on the carved areas. To combat this problem, mix a very dilute solution of sanding sealer and apply a coat prior to staining and leave to dry. The result is that the stain is not absorbed in to the wood as much as it normally would, therefore resulting in a more even finish and colouration. After staining apply your favourite vanish whether it is eggshell or gloss.

Os wax (Preferred easiest method)
Os wax manufacture a product which gives a beautiful finish good enough to sit next to any piece of furniture or antique and very easy to apply. When finishing products for customers, we mix the walnut wax with the clear so as to obtain the desired depth of colour. Apply the solution liberally leave for 10 minutes and wipe the os wax off with a lint free cloth -making sure that you get into all the carved areas. Leave for 24 hours. Apply second coat. You may want to alter the lightness of the os wax i.e.. to obtain the desired colour. Leave 48 hours and then apply a beeswax allow to dry and buff off.

Outside Finish.
To achieve maximum protection against the element we suggest using Sikkens products i.e.. Base coat and then top coat.