Treating shari on oak

Two images of shari on a Coast Live Oak before and after treating with walnut oil.
The shari had been originally treated with walnut oil about 2 years ago. Today I sanded it, painted on the walnut oil and sealed it with the flame from a torch.







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Did you need to sand or you just wanted to?

Poink88 wrote:Did you need to sand or you just wanted to?

I felt it was necessary to get through the old finish and down to fresh wood so the new finish would take better.

I like natural aged wood (cracks and all) and wish you didn't sand the aged surface. Only reason I would remove it is if it is rotten (spongy soft) or need to rework the carving. Even then, I probably would use a stiff brush (ran along the wood grain) rather than sanding. BUT that is me.

That oak looks old. You know its age? Please post a whole pic of it. Thanks!

Poink88 wrote:I like natural aged wood (cracks and all) and wish you didn't sand the aged surface.

hi,
i dont think a light sanding will actually remove the cracks, all thats happened is the oil coating has gone in them at the moment so it temporarily looks like they have gone. It is far more important to do a proper job with preservatives and wood treaments and that starts with getting traces of old coatings off - i havent used walnut oil but i ALWAYS remove old lime sulphar before re-application - on the big trees i've started using a pressure washer - that is very quick and does a fantastic job.

when a tree is still being developed it doesnt really need the shari to look aged and finished when the branches still have many years work on them either - this deadwood still appears young, certainly not anywhere near aged yet, so it is essential to spend these years getting it hard and presserved. Then i would use a scalpel randomly run down cracks to deepen them, then wait, then wait some more. (Chances are the oil will need doing again in a few years, so it will need similar treatment many times if it doesnt actually soak deep into the wood too)

nice oiling Mike, very natural look and colour - i have a tree in mind to do myself .......

cheers Marcus

Marcus, I am new but it sounds like I have a totally different game plan than yours (and Mike). Not saying one is right or wrong...just different.

Carved oak in full image. About 28 inches including Shigaraki pot.
The image was taken by flash at night. That's the reason for high contrast.

Wow, totally different from the initial shot. Nice tree!