Dave Published on 06 August 2010

Parent Category: Halloween

How to create wooden pilings the Pirate Way!

Faux Wood Pilings

Materials:
4” Conduit (PVC or Fiberglass)
Liquid Nails Panel Adhesive
Monster Mud
Wood or Drywall Screws
Latex Paint Colors (depending on your taste)
Hot Glue
Plastic Spoon & Cup

Optional:
¾” Manila Rope
Barnacles (bought or cast yourself)

Step 1:
Cut your conduit to the length of your choice. I wanted to have 3 at different heights: 33", 26" & 17" tall. I used fiberglass conduit for this project because it was free.

Step 2:
Use screws to attach each piling together. I used 1 ½” drywall screws since I had these in my garage from another project.

Step 3:
Cut cardboard disks to use for the tops of the pilings and attach with hot glue.

Step 4:
Mix up your premade Monster Mud with the Liquid Nails Panel Adhesive at a ratio of 1:1 (1 part MM to 1 part LN). in a plastic cup. Note: My Monster Mud (Joint Compound and Latex Paint) mix ratio is 4:1.

Step 5:
Apply the MM / LN mixture with the back of a spoon following the “grain” of your piling. You don’t want it to be smooth, leave the ridges and keep them all going in the same direction. Leave it to dry for 24 hours.

Step 6:
Add a dark paint “wash” (a brown for this project) to your surface. My wash mix is a 1:1 Water/Paint. [Ignore the spray foam at the bottom of this picture; it’s from another piling I’m making].

Step 7:
Use a light color (a white for this project) and dry brush everything to make the “wood” grain really pop.

Optional:
Step 8:
Add your Manila Rope, glue on some Barnacles and add some water stains to the lower part of the pilings.

Here is the finished project: New Pilings Project.