Carving care
Sealant:
I seal all my carvings with oil based Spar Urethane. It may be necessary to apply more coats every few years as the sun, weather and time can erode the finish. Spar Urethane can be found in a spray can making it easy to apply a new coat. If your carving need a lot of varnish I recommend brush it on. That should get the carving looking like new!
Location:
It is important to keep carvings off of the ground inside and out. Placing a flat stone or boards underneath the carving is the easiest way to achieve this. Outdoors the carving can soak up moisture and will degrade more quickly (especially in wet areas) where it is contact with the ground. Indoors the wood could leave a small stain on the carpet or floor.
To increase the longevity of outdoor carvings, position them in a protected area with limited exposure to direct sunlight.
"Wood Cracks"
I asked a friend who works at a local saw mill how to keep my carvings from cracking. I had tried multiple types of sealant and various relief cuts to try to prevent cracks. He looked at me and simply said, "wood cracks".
When a living tree or branch is cut it is full of water, and as it dries the wood shrinks and compresses. Cracks develop to relieve the stress of compression. As a general rule, the faster wood dries the larger and more abundant the cracks. To slow down the release of water from the wood I coat my carvings with Spar Urethane. However, as my friend noted, wood cracks and there is really no way to prevent it.
Sealant:
I seal all my carvings with oil based Spar Urethane. It may be necessary to apply more coats every few years as the sun, weather and time can erode the finish. Spar Urethane can be found in a spray can making it easy to apply a new coat. If your carving need a lot of varnish I recommend brush it on. That should get the carving looking like new!
Location:
It is important to keep carvings off of the ground inside and out. Placing a flat stone or boards underneath the carving is the easiest way to achieve this. Outdoors the carving can soak up moisture and will degrade more quickly (especially in wet areas) where it is contact with the ground. Indoors the wood could leave a small stain on the carpet or floor.
To increase the longevity of outdoor carvings, position them in a protected area with limited exposure to direct sunlight.
"Wood Cracks"
I asked a friend who works at a local saw mill how to keep my carvings from cracking. I had tried multiple types of sealant and various relief cuts to try to prevent cracks. He looked at me and simply said, "wood cracks".
When a living tree or branch is cut it is full of water, and as it dries the wood shrinks and compresses. Cracks develop to relieve the stress of compression. As a general rule, the faster wood dries the larger and more abundant the cracks. To slow down the release of water from the wood I coat my carvings with Spar Urethane. However, as my friend noted, wood cracks and there is really no way to prevent it.