I’ve got a piece of palm tree leaf that I’m trying to make into clothing.
It’s going to have some jewelry and resin decorations glued to it (probably e6000) but it won’t be completely covered, so I want to “wood” underneath to be pretty.
I covered it with one coat of tung oil (because I had it on hand and had used it before), but when I (several days later) put some tape on it, the tung oil layer peeled right off. I’m concerned if I glue stuff on it, that will peel off, too.
From what I know about palm fibers they are super durable and really resistant to absorbing anything. That’s why they make such good roofing material in the caribbean and pacific. I know it can be shellacked like Rattan, but then your leaf would be more like body armor than clothing
If it’s already been worked to be pliable for clothing then you may want to try a fabric dye like they do when coloring Raffia
Independent/not necessarily applicable to the palm leaves in question, when finish is desired to be applied to an “oily” wodd, rosewodds comes to mind as a typical example, a common technique is to wipe down surfaces first with acetone, which strips the oils that tend to repel everything including finish, from the surface and just barely beneath, allowing the finish to get at least some penetration/“grip”. Subsequent coats can then be applied on top of first coat as usual, when ready.
Leaves of any kind wodd seem an atypical use of finish, but some leaves are woddier than others. If Tom Cook is still around, he’s who I wodd ask first.
