Resin 'inlay' on carving?

[DrPhill]

I am carving (another) stick. Rather than carve details that are above the level of the background I was wondering about carving details into the wood and filling level with coloured resin. Has anyone done this sort of thing? Are the results attractive? Is this a robust technique, or is the result fragile?

I would love to hear your results or even see your pictures....

Thanks for any info

Phill

 

[stuckinthemud]

Yes, it works very well. I've used Fimo to good effect, pouring resin on a curved surface will run straight off though.
Not really what you mean, but this is engraved hawthorn carved with v-tool and "filled" with varnish coloured with charcoal

 

[DrPhill]

That is very delicate - nicely done.
Your point about resin running off is good. I had been pondering that problem. A more solid product like Fimo might work, but fimo requires baking at 130 degrees for half an hour. My stick will not fit in the oven! If the heat is for drying out the clay, rather than causing a chemical change, then lower heat for longer might work - but I would still worry a bit about the wood.
Resin-based car repair fillers might work, especially if they can be coloured.

 

[Tris]

As far as I understand it Fimo has to be heated for the chemical change in the polymer to happen. It also shrinks by about 2% in the process. You may find Milliput a better solution.
My other half uses Fimo regularly and I experimented with using it to fill voids in a small ash burr for turning. In spite of the ash being extremely dry I could not get get it to stick in well enough to want to put it on the lathe.
Tris

 

[DrPhill]

Thanks for the heads-up on milliput - I will order some to try...

 

[stuckinthemud]

I didn't bake whatever it was I used, it was an air drying polymer, must have mis-remembered the product, milliput sounds more likely, many apologies.

 

[DrPhill]

I didn't bake whatever it was I used, it was an air drying polymer, must have mis-remembered the product, milliput sounds more likely, many apologies.

No need to apologise - I am grateful for any feedback or information. There are some interesting products out there (eg ecopoxy), but most are for pouring which would be difficult in this instance.

 

[mindthatwhatouch]

You can get thrixothropic fluid to mix with resins to thicken them?

 

[DrPhill]

You can get thrixothropic fluid to mix with resins to thicken them?

Nice idea. Was it a question or a statement, though? If I could thicken up the resin then that would be my choice as I get a better range of colours, but I have not seen any such fillers. I have ordered some milliput to try out, but the range of colours is small.

 

[Richard_C]

I've used Fimo successfully in turning and other things. The temperature does lead to a chemical change and it come out still soft, needs cooling to harden. 130 isn't that hot, and on one piece I wrapped the non Fimo areas in a damp teatowel, need to keep an eye on it. Maybe if your colour is just at one end you can poke it through a slightly open oven door and block the gap with foil or damp cloths.

Fimo comes in many colours, you need to work it between your fingers to get it soft enough to go nicely into holes. I found you can colour white Fimo by working in some inexpensive artists acrylic paint, the sort that come in tubes. Mix colours to get what you want then work it in for a few minutes between your now messy fingers. Fires fine.

I wonder if you could colour milliput the same way, worth a try.

 

[DrPhill]

I tried some milliput black in a quick test (single letter). Works very well. Sticks well too - I sawed the test piece across the letter expecting the filler to break or fall out. It did niether which is a good sign for future use.
Thanks for recomending that - It may be the solution.

 

[Owd Jockey]

I have tried adding adding a red acrylic paint to white milliput. No matter how much paint I added I could not emulate anywhere near the same intensity of colour as the paint. I simply ended up with a pale pink colour.

 

[mindthatwhatouch]

Nice idea. Was it a question or a statement, though? If I could thicken up the resin then that would be my choice as I get a better range of colours, but I have not seen any such fillers. I have ordered some milliput to try out, but the range of colours is small.

It was both: a statement, got my last one from Alec Tiranti, though it was a number of years ago, also paste type resins are available, a quick google should throw a few up. Also a question as I don't know whether dribbling resin into the carving is the sort of effect you are after??

 

[DrPhill]

I knocked up a quick trial on a piece of waste to test the milliput: the contrast is good, there is no colour bleed, and the miliput smooths down quite nicely. Please ignore the wonky outlines - I was hurrying:

 

[Sean Hellman]

I use to use epoxy mixed with pigment powders (for colour) in laid into wood. Worked very well.
I would do the stick in sections, for example everything that is on the top quarter section along the length of the stick, apply masking tape over it, and turn the stick around 90 degrees and do the same and repeat. The masking tape should hold the epoxy in place. When set, scrape and sand.