How to repair a damaged Merbau railing?

[JenD]

Cockatoos have chewed a small part of my merbau railing - how do I:

1.  Deter them

2.  Repair chewed areas (not vast but still noticeable)

3.  Do I need to sand the railing before revarnishing?

Photos attached

[Jewelleryrescue · Accepted solution]

Hi @JenD 

Sadly those cockatoos will be back to  eat more What do you think if  we put some aluminium angle over the corners of your wood work maybe that will stop the damage?

Other wise  you need to sand the corners of the  merbua wood as they give nasty splinters running your hand  along to  damage before you re seal them.

In  theory  a  "Scare HAWK" google it visual deterant is  supoosed to scare them of.

[JenD]

Thanks so much for responding.  I will sand the edges as you say and try a Scare Hawk.  

[EricL]

Hi @JenD 

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @Jewelleryrescue. Sanding the damage down should remove the danger of splinters. But if you are planning on re-staining the handrail it will be necessary to sand the handrail back to timber. 

As for the scare hawk, I suggest having a look at the Saxon 41cm Brown Owl Bird Scarer and the Black Cat Bird Scare - 3 Pack. Old shiny CD's strung up together is also quite effective at scaring birds away.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Jewelleryrescue]

hi @JenD 

is the  alumunium  angle disrupting the birds chewwing ?