How to care for your new carving

All carvings will crack as they dry but this adds to the uniqueness of the carving. Plastic or resin figures do not crack but every one is the same! I have taken care to try to carve the carving so that when the carving cracks, the cracks do not take away from the essence of the carving. I do not want the carvings to crack in the face area at all but occasionally they do. There are certain steps that you can take to reduce the amount and severity of the cracks. With a small amount of upkeep you can keep your new carving looking new for years to come.

- To protect your furniture and floor, I strongly recommend placing plastic under the carvings base.

- If you are leaving your new carving outside keep it out of direct sunlight for the first year. This will allow the carving to dry more slowly.

- To protect your carving and your floors while the carving dries place a piece of plastic under the carving and use small stones, pieces of wood or casters under your carving so that it is elevated about ½” off the floor. This allows air to circulate and assist the drying process. (this is especially important for the first year)

- If your carving is going to be indoors please keep the carving away from window light and do not keep the carving near a fireplace or heat register.

- Once your carving has had a chance to dry, about a year, you can place it almost anywhere.

- You can hide any cracks that may have developed by using enamel spray paint. The spray paint will make it easier for getting down into the cracks. You can also fill the crack in with wood putty or a silicone sealant. Smooth even with the rest of the carving and re-spray the carving with flat black (if your carving is black) paint, remembering to tape off the non-black parts of the carving: the nose, the ears, and the eyes. If you need to paint around the eyes rub Vaseline on them prior to painting. Once painted you can simply rub the paint off the eyes.

- Once a year you can apply one coat of finish if you’re carving has lost its shine. Purchase a can of liquor Satin Finish spray at a hardware store. Before spraying the carving you need to wash the carving well and then let it dry. Rub 150 grit sand paper on the carving just enough to rough up the finish so that the new coat will stick. Spray the entire surface of the carving including under the base and let it dry for 24 hours depending on the weather. (read your can of lacquer for specific instructions)

Rotting

The fastest way to cause rot to start in your carving is to leave it standing in water or in a moist area for an extended period of time. If you are keeping your carving outside please keep your carving out of standing water. If you leave your carving on concrete it is important that you create space between the carving and the concrete by using small spacers such as casters.

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