Before and after cleaning

My first ficus salicaria I bought back from Jason Schley in 2012 has had a nice white buildup on the trunk for a while now. I need to sort out the base. I haven’t decided between ground layering or girdling the trunk yet. I do know that I don’t like the way it looks like it has two fat legs spread out. 
Anyway. Today while contemplating future work I decided to clean off the trunk. I love the red trunk on these plants. 

Before: 

 
After:

  

Here is a shot of the whole tree:

  

It’s very scraggly right now and needs wired again. It’s getting progressively better each year. I’m thinking of letting the branch on the left grow longer and thicker and maybe eventually eliminating the right branch. They both need cut back for taper, especially the left one. And I have my nebari fixing to do. I just have to keep at it.