Care Instructions for Your Wood Sculpture

Care Instructions for Your Wood Sculpture

Download a PDF of these care instructions

Wood sculptures housed outdoors

Your sculpture should not come in direct contact with the ground. Place it on bricks, pavers, stones or wooden slats. Slats and bricks can then be hidden beneath a bed of gravel.

Maintenance oiling: Treat your sculpture like a fence or deck. Oil regularly with a coat of exterior penetrating oil, brushed or sprayed on. Important: Do this during a stretch of 2-3 dry days.

• Sculptures exposed to the elements: Apply yearly.
• Sculptures out of the elements: Apply every 2-3 years.

Tree stump art

Second coating of oil: Your sculpture was finished with one coat of Sikkins Proluxe 077 Cedar. But it needs 1-2 more coats brushed or sprayed on. Important: Do this during a stretch of 2-3 dry days.

• If your sculpture was finished in spring or summer: apply as soon as possible.
• If your sculpture was finished in fall or winter: Apply the following spring, before the weather reaches the mid-60s.

Maintenance oiling: After the initial “second coating,” continue maintenance coats every 1-2 years

Recommended oil product

We recommend Sikkins Proluxe Cetol Log and Siding in 077 Cedar Color

Unless we tell you otherwise, your sculpture was finished with one coat of Sikkins Proluxe 077 Cedar. To keep the color of your sculpture as similar to the original as possible, we recommend using this product for all maintenance coats. You can purchase Sikkins through many hardware stores or through the link above.

Wood sculptures housed indoors

Keep away from heating sources: This causes excessive drying and cracking.

Elevate slightly on wood strips or blocks: Wood contains moisture, so it needs airflow.

Maintenance: If kept indoors, your sculpture doesn’t need additional coats of oil or other maintenance, unless you move it to a climate other than the Pacific Northwest. (If this is the case, let us know and we can give you specific instructions for your situation.)  

The natural aging process of wood

All due care was taken to use high-quality materials and artistic processes for your sculpture. If it is properly cared for, it can last a hundred years or more. But wood is a living medium, and it naturally changes over time. No matter how well it is cared for, EVERY wood sculpture will develop some natural cracks during its lifespan. (Think of it like the “checks” in a log home.) Other changes you might see in your sculpture include darkening of the wood (patina). If you purchased a flat relief, some slight bowing might occur. All of this is part of the natural aging process of wood.

We encourage you to see the changes in your sculpture as we do: a testament to the natural world and a chance for your sculpture to develop its own unique character.