How to paint chainsaw carving ?

[911 Rod]

A local artist offered to make sculptors around town on a couple of trees that would be cut to about 10 ft high. He is very talented.
The catch was he wanted $500 a year each to maintain them.
I think you will have to maintain it as well.

[jcommin]

I'm not sure I would paint this. I'm thinking staining the wood with a black stain and let the color seep into the carving and then steel wool the entire bird. The affect I would want to get is light/dark contrast. You probably could do that with a painted bird too. The white is too white for me. It needs some contrast. And maybe you get that as the wood gets weathered. Look at the bird pics and see the contrast of the head and feathers.

Nice carving.

[dw1]

I have a much smaller eagle carving which was coated with a satin exterior urethane, applied with an airbrush.

A friend used the same type of coating on his much larger bear carving, but he used a Wagner airless sprayer. That turned out looking good, but it took some time to clean the sprayer. We discussed using the marine spar type of coating but he decided to use the non-marine coating because he didn't want the high gloss typical of the marine coating, but that is certainly an option.

Someone else in the area has a carved standing bear holding up his roadside mailbox. I understand that one was brush painted with oil-base paint and since it has faded a bit looks great. I did a double-take when I first saw it, thinking it was a live bear.

[rfuerst911sc]

Having thought this over I have decided to use it as is . Basically 90% of the sculpture is covered with oil based paint . And that was applied over many coats of boiled linseed oil . We will touch up as needed as it weather's and ages .

[KFC911]

Methinks a bit of weathering might even make it mo' better ....

Nicely done!

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by KC911

Methinks a bit of weathering might even make it mo' better ....

Nicely done!

Thank you . My wife is proud of how it came out . Now I need to find/cut down a 5' log . We have decided to bury a 5 footer about 2' in the ground leaving 3' exposed . The eagle will be mounted on top so he will have an elevated perch 😁 . Final touch will be a ground mounted spot light shining up to illuminate the eagle and our flag pole .

[rfuerst911sc]

Well that was interesting . I have the eagle carving on our covered front porch so the sun can hit it . My Laz-y-boy chair is positioned so I can see out the window . About 15 minutes ago a hawk landed on the porch railing and was checking out the eagle !!! I yelled to my wife and she came running to see the hawk checking out the competition 😋 . Then the hawk took off to a tree and sounded pretty angry .

[rfuerst911sc]

Final update on this project . Two days ago I cut up a tree to yield this 5 ' trunk . Dug a hole 2' deep and set the trunk with 180 lbs of concrete . Yesterday I liberally coated the trunk with used motor oil to preserve and deter insects . This morning I set the carving in place and rotated until the wife gave the thumbs up on the position

I have five 6 " long Timberlok screws to mount the carving to the trunk . Only other addition will be some low voltage spotlights to highlight the carving and the flagpole . I think this pic looks great with the American flag in the background ! Another project done on to the next one

[Scott Douglas]

That looks great!
I'm sure that will cause many a smaller bird to think twice about hanging around your yard.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

That looks great!
I'm sure that will cause many a smaller bird to think twice about hanging around your yard.

Thanks . My wife has bird food feeders and bird houses all over the place . The eagle may slow them down but we have a regular Audubon society of birds here every day 😁

[Tobra]

Is marine urethane clear?

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Is marine urethane clear?

I have given up on any clear coating . She's done .

[Tobra]

Keep track or what colors you used, it will be getting repainted.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Keep track or what colors you used, it will be getting repainted.

Yep have plenty left over .