Book of Shadows Box – Part 4 (END)

 Welcome back friends! We have finally reached the end of this particular adventure but were we successful in our endeavors? In Part 3, we went over the slight struggle of making some designs cooperate with us and the possible solutions that we were able to figure out.

Making sure placement is right

Checking in with the Customer

Throughout the process of customizing this, I have been keeping my client updated on the entire thing with pictures and texts to get feedback as to how far should I go. My client has been thrilled with everything up to this point so as I was getting close to the end, I texted once more to see if there was anything they wanted me to add before I clear-coated. They loved everything that I had going for it but requested a tiny triple moon at the bottom point of the central design. I was happy to oblige so checked the size and placement with them before getting it colored in.

Time to get some spray on

First clear coat on

Double and even triple checking everything before I went outside with the box to put on some layers of clear glaze. I have had a few people ask me what I use for this process and it's a Rust-Oleum® Triple ThickGlaze – Clear High Gloss Coating (this or any of my other mixed-media wood projects are no way sponsored by Rust-Oleum). I have been using this for years but I know that there's probably better choices out there such as using a clear apoxy but I have absolutely no experience with that and wouldn't want to randomly experiment on something a client's been keeping their eyes and heart on. Probably in the near future I will test things out to see if it would be a good choice for some of the things I do.

So I only put 2 coats of the glaze on the box this time instead of my usual 3 simply because my current can is almost empty and I haven't had a chance to go to the store to pick up some more. Why would I normally go 3 or more coats? Wood is thirsty and instead of having a nice even sheen across a whole project, there will be low points were it looks like the wood was never touched even though you sprayed evenly over the entirety of the piece. I've also learned over the years that the type of wood also affects the outcome along with prep and treatment of the wood before the clear-coating. So unfortunately there is no concise 'Do this to A for B result' since every project situation is different.

Project now finished

Vigorous Jazz Hands

Ta da! Pardon the fireworks and lady in the Roaring 20s dress doing the Charleston in the corner. However, the project is officially done and the client is beyond thrilled with the results. If the 5 lines of heart-eyed smiley face emojis sent to me is anything to go by to show how
much they love it, I believe that this has been a job well done. I may go ahead and get a fresh can of clear glaze and to at least one more coat on the box since there are some low spots I noticed where the wood was basically going 'I THIRST FOR MORE!!'. So I can take care of that before I deliver the project to the client next month. This brings this particular adventure to an end but I hope that you've enjoyed the journey with me. Stay creative and don't be afraid to experiment and push your craft! Until next time everyone.