My new favorite finish for walnut :)

[Alan Lilly]

I did a quick video review and commentary on my new favorite walnut woodworking finish.

[Danny Hamsley]

Is it an oil and varnish mixture, like Danish Oil?

[Brian Tymchak]

Alan, you mention the swirls left in the wood, due presumably to using a random orbit sander. You don't mention if you did this but I've found that making the final sanding step a light hand sand in the direction of the grain will help a lot with those swirls by hiding a lot of the sanding marks with the grain.

[Alan Lilly]

That's an excellent suggestion Brian. I didn't do that though. I just sanded to 400 grit and that was fine enough to eliminate the swirls.
In a few spots if you look really hard you might find a few, but that may be because I didn't sand with 400 grit well enough or I should have sanded with the grain.
Next time, I think a light sanding with the grain is a good idea, but I will still ROS to 400 grit first.

[Alan Lilly]

Is it an oil and varnish mixture, like Danish Oil?

It's my understanding that the Maloof finish is a 3 equal part mix of tung oil, boiled linseed oil and varnish. I don't want to play with mixes though and don't mind the extra price tag of the manufacturers Sam Maloof finish. A little goes a long way.

[Nick Sorenson]

I always like to final sand by hand (avoids the inevitable curly cues - pig tails - etc) after the P80 and P120 on the orbital.

I've found that you can get away with even P180 Garnet Paper (Garnet being the cheapest Klingspor paper available-PS10) on a block with the grain right before finish does the trick. I'd give the surface a few passes to be sure you got it, and especially pay attention to the edges since that's the easiest spot to miss at the end (and begining) of your stroke.

I like the P180 Garnet because it starts off course enough to remove the orbital marks and wears to a finer scratch as you go. Also, it's cheap enough that you can afford to keep fresh paper.

I like to sand a 2x2 foot area per piece then set them aside as they dull. I use a foam rubber block and fold the paper over the sides where I grip the block and it works great.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...LL._SY300_.jpg

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the video Alan. Id heard about that finish but hadnt tried it. Now I will!
Fred

[Andrew Petralia]

Thanks for the review Alan. I have had decent success with an ROS to 220 and a final pass with a Preppin' Weapon at 400 in the direction of the grain.

What was it about the other wipe-on finishes that you didn't like as much? Color? Luster?

Next time I head to Rockler, I'm going to give the Maloof finish a look.

[Alan Lilly]

Thanks for the review Alan. I have had decent success with an ROS to 220 and a final pass with a Preppin' Weapon at 400 in the direction of the grain.

What was it about the other wipe-on finishes that you didn't like as much? Color? Luster?

Next time I head to Rockler, I'm going to give the Maloof finish a look.

Probably due to my inability to do the other finishes properly, but they all appeared less natural and more plastic when compared to the oil/varnish finish. Also, I liked the style of application for the maloof finish, which is more time consuming than the typical finish, but for me it is also more forgiving.

Make sure your keep wiping down the finish frequently for some time after and keep the piece out of a dusty environment because of the slow finish setup.

[Charles Coolidge]

1884 3 cent piece?

[David Helm]

I've been using Maloof Oil for several years. You are essentially right about the makeup; Tung Oil, Boiled Linseed Oil and Urethane Varnish. I too love how the finish turns out. I top it off with a good paste wax; currently using Myland's.

[Sean Walker]

Looks great. How many coats did you end up putting on?

[Alan Lilly]

1884 3 cent piece?

1 cent piece I found with my metal detector

[Alan Lilly]

Looks great. How many coats did you end up putting on?

I made 2 bookcases... I did 4 coats on 1 and 2 coats on the other. Most people wouldn't notice the difference unless you ask them or you point it out.
I think I prefer the 2 coat finish for large pieces and 4 coats for smaller pieces like a box and such.

[Lee Reep]

I do a lot of custom blends for wipe on finishes, mostly for lathe turnings, but also for other projects. I tend to prefer a hand applied finish rather than sprayed finishes.

I would encourage everyone to do a little experimenting. Not only with poly/oil blends, but also try out shellac, which is really easy to apply,and dries very quickly. Making your own finishes is a lot cheaper than buying the boutique blends like Sam Maloof, which at over $25 per quart, is really quite expensive. Besides, he experimented to get his blend, so why not try the same?

The other advantage to doing your own is that you can customize the viscosity to your liking by just increasing the amount of mineral spirits. And for jsut simple wipe-on poly, ity is always cheaper to make your own. Despite what manufacturers say, varnishes can be thinned. They are just bound by environmental standards to keep VOCs low and hence minimize the amount of thinners. Most varnishes are way too thick out of the can, IMHO.