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Thread: Thoughts on my projects finish

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Shelby Township, MI
    Posts
    39

    Thoughts on my projects finish

    Hey guys,

    Glad to see this new forum, it comes at just the perfect time. I'm just getting ready to finish my current project, It will be for the LOML as my gift to her for our upcoming wedding, so I want the finish to look awesome. The project is made entirely from soft maple, most of which is figured, I want to "pop" the figure, and give a nice "deep" looking finish.
    What I was planning on doing is putting one or two coats of BLO on the first coat diluted 50% with mineral sprits, and lightly sanding or scraping between coats. Next, I was planning on spraying (spray can) a couple light coats of zinzeer(sp?) dewaxed clear shellac, lightly sanding or scraping as necessary between coats. Then, spraying (also spray can) a few coats of Deft gloss lacquer. And finally, I may rub the finish out with some pumice and/or rottenstone to finish it up, and maybe a wax buffing. Does this seem like a good finish? I tested on a scrap, and I think I'll get the results I want, but I didn't fully prep the scrap as well as I should have. Any thoughts?

    Thanks,
    John

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Monroe, MI
    Posts
    11,896
    John, consider using heated BLO instead of thinned BLO. You can heat it in a double boiler to about 130 degrees and it flows into the wood much better than straight out of the can. My understanding is that not thinning it gets a lot more of the oil into the pores of the wood rather than mineral spirits.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Upstate New York
    Posts
    414
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Meiser
    John, consider using heated BLO instead of thinned BLO. You can heat it in a double boiler to about 130 degrees and it flows into the wood much better than straight out of the can. My understanding is that not thinning it gets a lot more of the oil into the pores of the wood rather than mineral spirits.
    Matt, that's an incredible idea! I'm going to have to try it just to see how it works! Thanks for sharing!
    "Be true to your work, your word, and your friend." -Henry David Thoreau

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Sydney Australia
    Posts
    5

    Heating Spray Cans

    every time i use spray cans of ANYTHING i always let it sit in a jug full of hot tap water for a while (shaking every few minutes) (like heating a babys bottle)I have never had the bottom of the can "pop out" from excessive pressure,and the finish is ALWAYS better than cold. (I think the skill levels are the limiting factor now). the tap water here is approx 80 dec C
    just my thoughts on it......
    Craig

  5. #5
    I'm sounding like a broken record to myself here, but you can save yourself a little $$ and some steps by going from the the BLO directly to a varnish. I had fantastic luck with a wiping varnish: Waterlox. Oil-based alkyd or phenolic varnishes are compatible with the BLO, so there's no need to insulate with shellac.

    I haven't been able to find a spray version of it or any non-poly varnish, though.

    Alternatively, you might consider just using shelac as your topcoat. You can build it to a nice gloss and if you want to try yr hand at a padding, you can get a gloss finish that'll make you very popular with your wife (assuming she likes gloss finishes).

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Glenmoore, PA
    Posts
    2,194
    John, you don't say what this project is. Knowing that might (or a pic even better) would help with rendering an opinion on finish. If it is something small and won't be subject to abuse then maybe some BLO followed by a French Polish might be the ticket. When used on the right project and executed properly it is the world's finest finish in my opinion.

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