Care Sheet

Our carvings are made from white pine.  As the pine dries, it forms small checks (cracks).  We guarantee your carving will crack.  We try to minimize cracking.   We recommend that for the first year, keep your carving out of direct sunlight, especially in the summer. The summer sun tends to dry them too quickly causing more cracking and/or deeper cracks.  Equally as important is to keep your carving off the ground by either setting on 1 x 4 boards, crushed stone, patio blocks, anything to maintain a dry barrier between the earth and your carving. If you keep your carving indoors, always keep it off the floor or carpet and away from any heat source.

The first coat of finish we put on a carving is TWP (total wood preservative) in rustic oak color,  followed by a coat of oil-based paint, then a coat of spar varnish. We use Ace Rust Stop oil based enamels. The bear is painted in gloss black. The spar varnish that we use is McCloskey’s Man O War spar varnish, satin finish. You can also use the Ace Hardware brand of spar varnish.  We recommend that you apply a coat of spar varnish as needed (when water no longer beads up or carving is dull-looking), usually about every 2 years if exposed to the elements.

Larger cracks (those that a quarter sideways will fit) on painted surfaces (NOT the base as that is stained) can be filled in with an outdoor paintable caulk. Overfill the crack as caulk will shrink as it dries.  You can paint the caulk when it’s dry and then follow up with a coat of spar varnish, if needed. You can also fill cracks with a sawdust and glue mixture, wood shims or wood filler.  The base is stained so any filler you put in those cracks will show.  Use a darker shade of stain as that won’t show as much as a lighter one.

Heart Bear:  Follow the above instructions. The heart is Ace rust stop in regal red.  Do not spar over the heart as it turns the paint to an orange shade rather than red.  We recommend Rust-oleum clear enamel (spray can).

Rocks:  Follow the above instructions.  The rocks are Ace rust stop in medium gray followed by Rust-oleum stone textured in stone gray color (spray can).  Do not spar over the rocks as that turns them a yellowish tint.  We recommend Rust-oleum clear enamel (spray can).

Pine tree:  Follow the above instructions.  The tree is Ace rust stop in hunter green.

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