What is your favorites finish?

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Hi,

We all favor one finish, could be for ease of use or that we mastered that one and can count on not ruining a project with it, or it could simply be because we prefer the colour or the smell or the method of application.

I like SAMAN brand stains for the color possibilities and their ease of application.

I like lacquer and shellac for the quick drying time that allows multiple re-coats in a short period of time.

I like Oils (Danish, Tung, Walnut) for the way they pop the grain pattern.

I like wax on a glass smooth finish for the feeling of sensuality to the touch

I'm curious to know: What are your favorite finish(es) and why?

Regards,
Marcel

[Gill]

Paint. It hides a multitude of sins.





Gill

[Jediscroller]

For furniture, my favorite is Danish or Tung oil and Beeswax. Nothing beats the handrubbed look. I'd like to experiment more with French Polishing as I think it looks even better. For scrollwork, I like Danish Oil and Clear Lacquer for hardwoods and hardwood ply and just clear lacquer for baltic birch that I use for portraits. Reason is ease and speed of application. Just dunk in the oil, let dry and spray.

Kevin

[William Young (SE BC)]

For scroll work I prefer 50/50 BLO/MS to enhance the grain and seal the wood followed by a few coats of satin or semi gloss WB lacquer sprayed on with a HVLP gun.

For wood lathe turnings I use a variety of different finishes depending on the particular piece. For spurtles and wooden spoons etc I only use food safe mineral oil.
For other items I use Wipe on poly on some, friction finishes applied right on the spinning lathe on some , Watco oil on some others applied in several coats and then polished with wax on a buffing wheel after the proper curing time. And of course WB lacquer on ones that I want to keep the original color on white parts of a project.
(Is white a color ? ? )

Painting is a last resort for me and I only use it on the cheapest of wood that has no grain quality going for it or has defects that I would prefer to hide. In most cases I prefer to see the natural grain of the wood showing through a clear coat finish.
Perhaps because of the fact that I am not a good painter I avoid the use of wood that needs painting in the first place.

Here is a large 13.5 inch clock I just made yesterday as an example of keeping the white parts white. It is finished with three coats of WB lacquer. Most any oil finish would have made the white parts yellow or orange .
Yes, there are some bad mistakes on that clock where the segmented ring slipped when glueing it up and I didn't notice until it was too late but rather than chucking it into the designer firewood box it is good enough to hang on my own kitchen wall as a constant reminder to be more carefull next time.
The picture does not do it justice because in reality the white parts are 'very'white.

I only used the scrollsaw on a couple operations when making that clock and the scrollsaw quite often does have its place in wood lathe turning projects.

I agree with the Saman WB stains from Walmart that Marcel uses. It is probably the best stain I have ever used if I am making something with BB and need it to have contrasting colors.
W.Y.

[minowevie]

For scroll work I prefer 50/50 BLO/MS to enhance the grain and seal the wood followed by a few coats of satin or semi gloss WB lacquer sprayed on with a HVLP gun.

For wood lathe turnings I use a variety of different finishes depending on the particular piece. For spurtles and wooden spoons etc I only use food safe mineral oil.
For other items I use Wipe on poly on some, friction finishes applied right on the spinning lathe on some , Watco oil on some others applied in several coats and then polished with wax on a buffing wheel after the proper curing time. And of course WB lacquer on ones that I want to keep the original color on white parts of a project.
(Is white a color ? ? )

Painting is a last resort for me and I only use it on the cheapest of wood that has no grain quality going for it or has defects that I would prefer to hide. In most cases I prefer to see the natural grain of the wood showing through a clear coat finish.
Perhaps because of the fact that I am not a good painter I avoid the use of wood that needs painting in the first place.

Here is a large 13.5 inch clock I just made yesterday as an example of keeping the white parts white. It is finished with three coats of WB lacquer. Most any oil finish would have made the white parts yellow or orange .
Yes, there are some bad mistakes on that clock where the segmented ring slipped when glueing it up and I didn't notice until it was too late but rather than chucking it into the designer firewood box it is good enough to hang on my own kitchen wall as a constant reminder to be more carefull next time.
The picture does not do it justice because in reality the white parts are 'very'white.

I only used the scrollsaw on a couple operations when making that clock and the scrollsaw quite often does have its place in wood lathe turning projects.

I agree with the Saman WB stains from Walmart that Marcel uses. It is probably the best stain I have ever used if I am making something with BB and need it to have contrasting colors.
W.Y.

William that is nice. I would hang that in my Kitchen too. If you ever throw that away. throw it my way.

What is WB. from Walmart. I would like to try that. I am just learning about the finishes. so have nothing to offer here. but I am going to print your post. for latter use. I would also like to learn more on the dipping thing. how do you , wipe it, or what do you do, after you dip it. thats in laquor right. thanks Marcel, and Willam. your fried Evie

[minowevie]

Paint. It hides a multitude of sins.





Gill

Gill , I just think your painting is awsome. you have a great sence of color. one of the things I am afraid of. and I don't agree with , it hides alot of sins. for , I think , paint. shows up every thing. At least in my case. every little hole and imperfection. You do great girl and I could learn from you. as i do all the time. the only probleam is. I can't spell. even small words. much less, understand what the big ones mean. but I'm learning. I do get my dictionary out some times. and that helps me understand , lol.your friend Evie

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Marcel's Definitions of Acronyms

Hi Evie,

50/50 BLO/MS Mixture of 50% Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) and 50% Mineral Spirit (MS)

WB: Water based.
You can now get furniture grade water based lacquers that are just as good as the oil base ones, without the fumes. Expensive, but High quality.

HVLP: High Volume Low Pressure.
Spray gun that doesn't waste as much of the finish by sending it in fumes due to high pressure, also lets your compressor rest since it starts less often.
Available as a unit gun/turbine, or as a gun only (Upgrade) that usually includes a pressure adjuster to which you hook your air source.

The above are to the best of my knowledge, but could need clarification from others.

(...and your spelling is improving regularly . The important thing is: we can understand what you are saying. Spelling is icing on the cake. )
Regards,
Marcel

[William Young (SE BC)]

Evie ;

You have probably already guessed what 50/50 BLO/MS means but in case you didn't know it is a fifty fifty mix of Boiled Linseed Oil and Mineral Spirits.

The reference to WB from Walmart was for the Water Base (WB) Samen (brand name) stain that they sell. Walmart is the only place I have been able to find it in Canada however Marcel may have an alternate supplier.

And WB lacquer means Water Base Lacquer which is still more of a commercial product and not available in Walmart or most paint stores yet so I order it from an industrial coatings supplier.
Here is the specs and info on it for USA . . It is also available in Canada so if anyone would like to know who caries it in Canada I could post a link to that one also upon request.
I have used it for years and it is a more durable finish and has all the qualities and then some of the solvent based NC (nitrocellulose) lacquers but without the disadvantages and health risks associated with the NC products..

http://www.targetcoatings.com/produc...pray_lacq.html

W.Y.

[William Young (SE BC)]

Hi Marcel;
It appears as if we were typing at the same time and my message overlapped on yours. Does this mean that two great minds think alike ?
I type slow with two fingers and I hadn't noticed that yours came in before I was done and hit submit.
Good info in both our responses that should be of help to some.
W.Y.

[minowevie]

Thank you Marcel , now I finally know what BLOW means. lol
I just can't wait to tell my hubby. half boiled linseed oil x half mineral spirets.
and I can't wait to go to walmart to find that stain. gosh we just learn so much here.

Now to the dipping thing. what do you do after you dip your pieces in laquor.? wipe it or what. does'nt it dripp. and settale on the bottom? this would make things so much easyer. thanks. your friend Evie

[William Young (SE BC)]

Evie;
Lacquer is an extremely fast drying finish in either NC or WB and is not intended for dipping except in a few very isolated cases of small items where I know of a few people that turn pens on lathes and will dip them in lacquer with varying degrees of success.
Lacquer is primarily a spraying finish.

I have heard of some brushing lacquers that dry somewhat slower but have no experience with them.
W.Y.

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Evie,

SAMAN stains are found in many places here in Quebec. They are a popular brand and can be found in most large surface stores such as Canadian Tire, Rona, Home Depot, Walmart and some local specialized stores as well.

They are packaged in plastic bottles and are a little expensive when compared to other popular brands of stain.

Their big advantages are: they are water based, they cover well, they will not raise the grain, you do not have to worry about overlapping marks when applying. They come in a variety of color that can be combined to form about any nuance you can think of.

SAMAN also manufactures finishes that can be applies to melamine to change the colour of kitchen cabinets for example.

And when Bill referred to dipping, he was talking about dipping in oil not lacquer.

For spurtles and wooden spoons etc I only use food safe mineral oil.

-Bill

I would like to point out that ALL finishes are food safe once they are cured. You just need to let them cure properly. So any finish can be used on children's toys or furniture or kitchen utensils. Heck, shellac is approved by the FDA to be used in manufacturing candies and pills as a coating agent.

A problem that could occur is with the use of organic oil: it would go rancid before drying, so it would not be recommended.

And if it's late at night, you suddenly run out of mineral oil in the middle of a project: no need to worry... Baby oil will make a good substitute; just smells different (some may prefer it )

Regards,
Marcel

[William Young (SE BC)]

Perhaps a misunderstanding ?
When Evie said

Now to the dipping thing. what do you do after you dip your pieces in laquor.? wipe it or what. does'nt it dripp. and settale on the bottom? this would make things so much easyer. thanks. your friend Evie

I assumed that she thought that lacquer could be applied by dipping.

Then Marcel said

And when Bill referred to dipping, he was talking about dipping in oil not lacquer.

So that is why I answerd Evie stating that lacquer is not suitable for dipping . It is best sprayed. I was not referring to dipping in oil as per Marcel's quote.

On the other hand, BLO/MS or most any other oil or oil based stain can be dipped quite sucessfully .
I don't use Samens WB stains for dipping because it is too expensive . I just use it for some smaller projects and generally non scrolling related items but it is a very good stain. I use gallons of other brands of oil based stains for dipping parts of large clocks.
So for me it is lacquer dip no and for oil or stains yes.
Does this make sense or am I reading or explaining something the wrong way or in a confusing way.
W.Y.

[minowevie]

Will , yes you have maid that clear. mmmmmmmmm. I am just wondering. I thought I did see something on this forum about dipping. in Laquor. must be a old thing sorry . and thanks for clearing that up. boy , could I have been in troubale. lol your friend Evie

[William Young (SE BC)]

No problem Evie;
I was just a little curious as to whether or not I had expresed myself badly or in a confusing manner.
If anyone has heard of a dipping lacquer they may want to comment on it.
Personally I only know of spraying and brushing lacquers with the very fast drying spraying formulas being the most popular..
W.Y.