Restle coating #72 herters puddlers

roy brewington

roy brewington

Well-known member
Having restle coated many restles and herters over the years I haven,t bothered restle coating heads, always just repainted. For those members that have restle coated heads were you happy with results as compared to a simple head repaint. In the midst of redoing some #72 puddlers I was given and haven,t quite made up my mind how to redo the heads yet. I,m using the original Grit Of Cob mixture that restles were originally done with. Bought a 50lb. bag of it years ago and chipping away at it so not wanting to change coating type.
 
Roy~


I use Homer Coat (finely ground walnut shells) on the bodies but fine sawdust (from my bandsaw) on heads. I like the smoother texture for painting details. (I could not find ground corn cobs anywhere here in the East) I use straight epoxy as my adhesive.



I am working on a big batch of Chesapeake Decoy Co. birds right now - all have gotten the sawdust on heads - Homer Coat on bodies treatment. I then primed with flat oils - and am now applying the latex topcoats.



These will be Black Ducks. I use my duckboat paint - Pettit 3303 Dull Dead Grass - for my prime coat on the heads and bills. The bodies will be primed with Rustoleum Flat Brown darkened with Rustoleum Flat Black.



View attachment WB 06 - 7 Chesapeakes coated and primed heads.JPG



These Homer Eiders and Chesapeakes were coated with my approach.


View attachment Macioch - Homers and Chesapeakes.JPG



Hope this helps!


SJS


 
That was the Al McCormick formula. Mix Benjamin Moore oil base brown with black for Blackduck bodies. I asked him what proportion and was informed, " Until it looks right".

Joe
 
Thanks Steve. Got my 50 lb. bag of Grit of cob (fine ground cob) probably 15 years ago from a supplier in mid west. Does the media coated head help knock off some of the glare as compared with a straight painted head? I,m doing 3 of these 11 flat bottom 72,s as Blk. Dks and rest as mallards via your Berr color schedules. Noted a while back that someone mentioned Home Depot had discontinued mixing flat in their sample jars. Have you found this to be true? Ran out of the Expresso today for Blk. Dk. bodies and also have to pick up hen Mallard colors.
 
Good morning, Roy~


Sandy Allen reported having trouble with Behr samples at his Home Depot in Rhode Island. I have since had no problems at my HD in Saratoga Springs. Having said that, their sample jars have always been MATTE and not dead FLAT. The minor difference in sheen is insignificant in my experience. On the other hand, when I buy colors that I use in quantity - e.g., the Espresso Beans - I get it in quarts of dead flat. The quart I am using now was mixed by my local Ace Hardware. It seems they can get any formula they need from other paint manufacturers.


Coating the head - with fine sawdust or corncobs or walnut shells - makes a difference to my eye - but probably does not yield more birds in the bag. I do it for "aesthetic integrity". Just as I brighten the molded eyes with a dab of clear nail polish and coat the bills with satin spar varnish, the no-shine head helps to pull the whole work together - and takes very little extra time.


Here is an E Allen Black Duck I coated - head and body - with epoxy+fine sawdust.


View attachment Allen Black Duck - FULL.JPG



Here's the nail polish eye, satin varnish bill and relatively fine paint detail.


View attachment Allen Black Duck head closeup.JPG



Here is a Chesapeake Black Duck - Homer Coat on body, fine sawdust on head.


View attachment Chesapeake Black Duck - sleeper hen.jpg



Here is a flat-bottomed Herter's Model 72 - like the birds you are painting - done in all epoxy+fine sawdust. I bought him when I was 14.



View attachment Model 72 Mallard Drake - flat bottom - lighter.JPG



And here's a Model 72 Pintail of the same vintage.


View attachment Model 72 Pintail Drake - flat bottom.JPG



The tarted up eye and bill make the difference to me when I am handling them.



View attachment Model 72 Pintail Drake - head and neck.JPG



Have fun!


SJS









 
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