[Woodcarver] Outdoor carvings

[Ramsey]

Regarding filling cracks on painted carvings, I forgot to add another 
technique that works well for me.  I mix sawdust with Titebond II or 
Titebond III to form a thick paste and fill large cracks with that. 
It's more flexible and adheres better than Bondo.  If I want the 
patch to match the color of the wood on unpainted carvings, I fill 
with the sawdust mixture up to about 3/32" of the surface and then 
fill to the surface with J. E. Moser's Fill-It, a water base filler 
that can be tinted to the color of the wood.  I experiment with the 
tinting on a scrap of the same wood by letting the the filler dry, 
sanding it and then applying the sealer/finish I plan to use on the 
carving to see if the color matches.  Sometimes I paint the grain in 
with a tiny pointed brush to make the patch virtually invisible.  The 
Fill-It also makes for a smoother top surface over the sawdust 
mixture.

Ron Ramsey
http://www.carvedbyramsey.com




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