I have heard that some carvers use polyethelene glycol to preserve their carvings. If this is true ,has anyone tried the new "green" antifreeze? Sounds like a good idea and inexpensive way to finish carvings but I wanted to get some input on the idea. Would this work on a stump job maybe? JW

Were covered with a waxy surface that would'nt take paint. It makes wood have a bouyancy that requires you to turn it ( even in a 5 gal bucket almost full). I had to shove the small carvings down into it and force the lid shut for day one, and repeat it for day two.Peg 2000 is a similar product and costs an arm and a leg to use it. It replaces the H20 with a wax as I understand it and to use it on chainsaw carvings wouldn't be a good idea.( my opinion from experience. Doc

What about the new "Enviro Friendly" stuff? But then its not harmfull as it goes away eventually so may not hold up to the elements as well.

Don (www.cedarsavage.com) swears by it and has used antifreeze for many years.

He usually stops by the Chat room just about every night if you would like to talk to him about it.

He is a great carver and very willing to help out another with lessons he has learned in his many years of carving.

Sorry...Dons site is

http://cedar-savage.com/

It's the same animal,(Polyethelyne-Glycol). I tried it years ago and found it expensive and
disappointing, not only for reasons Doc mentioned, it bled when it got wet (water) and a soaked
carving was as heavy as lead. Over looking the above problems, I would not want to mention
Anti-freeze to a potential customer, think kids, pets, plants, etc. They will!

Best of luck...R.L.

So I wonder what Don would say about using it on a yard job? I don't have access to a computer all the time but I do look at this forum when I can.

Anyone ever try using Anchorseal's Log sealer mixed with pigment/paint as a finish? I have been playing with this idea for a while.

1- Its relatively cheap as a sealer and medium
2- You could mix in either oil or acrylic based paints/varnishes in
3- It is weather resistant (NOTHING is weather proof in the long run)
4- The advantage of oil and wax based finishes is that you can go back into them if they get
scratched, chipped, disturbed
5- It should be able to breath with the wood as it ages
6- You should be able to do some great glazing techniques with wax

On the other hand

1- Wax never achieves a hard surface
2- You really can't build up layers of color like you can with acrylic paint

Just some thoughts