10+ years ago when I lived in the Forest of Dean I bought Bob a rather lovely present of a chainsaw carved deer and its baby. It looked superb in our front garden especailly as we fronted onto the forest.
Now in Staffordshire baby deer is long gone - eaten by rot. Mummy deer is currently standing on the front lawn with a nasty wound on her back (looks as if a dog took a bite but was also the rot) and she is no longer on her stand but now on her shortened legs.
Photo shows her now at the top as and she was in 2005 just after we moved here. She should have been better treated !
I wonder if itās possible to spray all over with some sort of preservative, fill the shoulder āwoundā with a big lunp of filler and then give it lots of coats of good varnish ?
Failing that does anyone know anyone who makes anything like this. Since the front garden has been reworked the deer has at last found a lovely place to stand - but one of these days her legs will go and she will stand no more.
Hi! Yes to your suggestions. You could cover it all in a resin. Painted on. Though- any air pockets inside with rot growing wonāt stop growing- youāll just end up with anaerobic stuff eating it up from the inside out basically- though it would preserve it for longer.
(Husband makes wooden surfboards so what Iām suggesting comes from that). He would coat the boards in a resin- an epoxy resin for example- you can buy it in some hardware stores- boat building stores for example as they use it to paint over boats to waterproof them.
But if there was a ding to the board and water got in, heād have to dry it out completely before filling the gaps and recoating it. Sometimes if it was his boards heād just do a quick fix and ābotchā it, and fill and cover without drying it out properly.
To really help it live longer youād be best bringing it inside to a dry room and letting it dry out first. Also- with the resins you can get matte resin so you wouldnāt have to worry about it being super shiny! Haha
My husband restores old wood work as part of his job and he has this stuff that you paint on to rotting wood and it hardens it all up and kills rot, before fillering.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/ronseal-wet-rot-wood-hardener-clear-500ml/63540?kpid=63540&cm_mmc=Google--Product%20Listing%20Ads--Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=CIT81tq4ytICFU-eGwod_PcEpQ
Deborah
Iām going to order some of that right now
. Bob keeps saying heāll yacht varnish it but Iām going to do it properly. It cost me quite a lot when I bought it and Iād like to make it last a big longer especially as it looks so much better standing on feet and not on the stand. A neighbour saw it there from her window and thought it was real !
Iāll bring it inside under the south facing window in the garage (thanks Susannah @curiousseagull ) and dry it out for a while first.
Hopefully in a few months time Iāll be showing you my beautifully planted garden (stlll got to dig over quite a lot of my reworked flower bed) with my deer standing proud in the grass.
Joy xx
PS Ordered from Amazon a few pence cheaper and free Prime delivery. Deer is moving inside tomorrow. 
2 Likes
PS ordered the Ronseal from Amazon prime last night. Just appeared on the doorstep.
#iloveamazonprime
1 Like
Had a great visit to the forest of dean sculpture walk many years ago. lovely.
I suggest that the first thing you need to know is which type of wood your deer is made from. Itās clearly tough to have lasted this long outdoors. The preservative will help stop its gradual breakdown but providing its not too far gone it will be repairable. Repairable with wood, not filler. Much nicer option. Most wood workers love wood and will be more than happy to take a look and advise, as you would about glassIām sure. Find someone local who makes rustic furnitureā¦
cheers. paul
Thought you might like to see Deer now back in place on the front lawn (keeping an eye on the multiple new plantings in the flower bed and encouraging then to grow).
I dried it in the sun in the greenhouse, scraped out all the wet rot from the big hole in the back and nose then coated it very liberally with the ronseal wet rot hardener. Worked a treat.
Bob then filled it, tidied it up and revarnished it a few times.
Should last a few years now.
Thanks all for your help.
1 Like
Looks like you have a very tasty lawn with the way its posed.
Sssh donāt tell anyone but the wet rot got itās nose so I pretend itās buried in the lush green grass !
2 Likes
