Steve Sanford
Well-known member
We all learn at some point - sometimes a bit too late - that "original paint" is critical to the value of antique decoys. I know I regret practicing my painting skills on certain birds in my youth. Nevertheless, there are times when it is the right decision. This Wildfowler Goldeneye decoy was made in Quogue - on eastern Long Island - in the 1960s. (Wildfowler started in Old Saybrook, CT, then moved to Quogue for a couple of years.) It was given to me by a boyhood friend a couple of weeks ago - because I had one just like it when I was very young. Did other would-be waterfowlers actually sleep with decoys like I did when I was 3 or 4? Am I the only one???? My Dad had a similar balsa Whistler that would join me with my usual assortment of stuffed animals and pillows in the upper bunk.
In any event, this bird as now given to me was in perfectly fine condition as a gunner - a nice bold paint pattern that would certainly work for its intended purpose. But, its purpose has now become one of pure nostalgia - to rest on a shelf within my sight for the next phase of its life. (and, NO, it is not coming back into bed with me....). And, as much as I admire Wildfowler decoys - what I think of as the first "modern" factory birds that set the standard with their flat bottoms and keels - I never did like their factory paint on this species. So, instead of trying to mimic the spray-painted black on its back, I decided to put a Sanford paint job on this old Wildfowler. No future collector would be fooled into thinking they were getting an "original paint" Wildfowler - but I would get to enjoy the bold markings that I like so much in the actual bird.
Here is how I got the bird in mid-July:
The body is Balsa and the head probably White Birch (some were Maple). I do not know if the keel weight was made and installed by Wildfowler.
The paint had some flaking. One eye was cracked and the other missing altogether. The Wildfowler brand was just barely discernible.
So, the first step was to brush on some paint remover - and then scrape off the heavy stuff.
I used a scraper to get off the newer paint and tried to keep any original paint beneath. I took extra care around the Wildfowler brand: Wildfowler Decoys Inc. Quogue. L.I. N.Y.
After a light sanding, I sealed the parched Balsa with 2 coats of spar varnish.
I was surprised how deep the eye sockets were. The original eyes were on wires - deeply bedded in a dense filler - they would not have come out on their own.
My first paint was a coat of Black Gesso - to serve as an undercoat for oils. I had some comparable eyes on hand - typical "factory decoy" eyes on wires that I bought in my early years of carving.
Then some White Gesso. Once again - good enough for a gunner.
Here it is with its new paint - a light coat of Williamsburg tube oils thinned with straight turps.
I did not add any Green to the head - in keeping with the traditions of true gunning birds.
And, instead of the typical pale Grey bottom, I left this bird with just the spar varnish - so I could enjoy a clear view of the brand - and so future owners would easily mark this as a re-paint.
All the best,
SJS
In any event, this bird as now given to me was in perfectly fine condition as a gunner - a nice bold paint pattern that would certainly work for its intended purpose. But, its purpose has now become one of pure nostalgia - to rest on a shelf within my sight for the next phase of its life. (and, NO, it is not coming back into bed with me....). And, as much as I admire Wildfowler decoys - what I think of as the first "modern" factory birds that set the standard with their flat bottoms and keels - I never did like their factory paint on this species. So, instead of trying to mimic the spray-painted black on its back, I decided to put a Sanford paint job on this old Wildfowler. No future collector would be fooled into thinking they were getting an "original paint" Wildfowler - but I would get to enjoy the bold markings that I like so much in the actual bird.
Here is how I got the bird in mid-July:
The body is Balsa and the head probably White Birch (some were Maple). I do not know if the keel weight was made and installed by Wildfowler.
The paint had some flaking. One eye was cracked and the other missing altogether. The Wildfowler brand was just barely discernible.
So, the first step was to brush on some paint remover - and then scrape off the heavy stuff.
I used a scraper to get off the newer paint and tried to keep any original paint beneath. I took extra care around the Wildfowler brand: Wildfowler Decoys Inc. Quogue. L.I. N.Y.
After a light sanding, I sealed the parched Balsa with 2 coats of spar varnish.
I was surprised how deep the eye sockets were. The original eyes were on wires - deeply bedded in a dense filler - they would not have come out on their own.
My first paint was a coat of Black Gesso - to serve as an undercoat for oils. I had some comparable eyes on hand - typical "factory decoy" eyes on wires that I bought in my early years of carving.
Then some White Gesso. Once again - good enough for a gunner.
Here it is with its new paint - a light coat of Williamsburg tube oils thinned with straight turps.
I did not add any Green to the head - in keeping with the traditions of true gunning birds.
And, instead of the typical pale Grey bottom, I left this bird with just the spar varnish - so I could enjoy a clear view of the brand - and so future owners would easily mark this as a re-paint.
All the best,
SJS
