thomas.wieland@ymail.com wrote: i may have found my way now. it will definitely take some time to cleand the tree with sand paper and especially the areas in the foliage are hard to reach. what is your technique?
When cleaning the bark without removing it, I use a spray bottle and an old toothbrush. I spray water while I brush, keeping the trunk wet, and the water that flushes down takes the algae with it.
When removing old bark:
This I only have done once on my juniper. The old bark on a Squamata becomes brown and flaky and doesn't look as nice as the more reddish bark under it.
I would never do this to my Virginiana though, as it has nice thick plated bark. I used my nails and a scalpel, trying to find existing tears in the old bark, carefully lifting it and pulling it off.
When I clean deadwood:
I use a dremel for carving, the same toothbrush and water or a wirebrush for maintenance.
does the tree heal those areas like the human skin (scab and building a new/second skin)? should i put wound healing paste on it?
A tree does not heal like human skin. Actually, it doesn't heal wounds at all. It will compartmentalize the area. If the area is not too large, the tree may grow new tissue over it, but the wound will stay there, under it, and will never disappear.
About healing paste opinions will vary. I personally don't use it and see no ill effects of not using it.
I never tell people at my club though, they would strongly disagree.
The shari on the photo doesn't look bad at all. Haven't seen the tree itself, so no idea if it looks good on the tree

You can improve it more by carving it. The live tissue will continue to grow, increasing the effect of dead wood and making it look better.