What sealer/wax over BLO finish??

[Nathan Hawkes]

I'm a newbie, and I keep reading different "best" ways to finish a bowl. I settled on boiled linseed oil because I couldn't get antique oil in my town, but ordered some, & needed a substitute for temp. use. Anyway, the linseed oil doesn't dry very hard, so I need something to put on the outside. The bowls are definitely going to be practical use-fruit/salad, whatever. Should I use a wipe-on poly, spraycan lacquer (I don't have an air sprayer yet) or a lacquer/wax combo? I'd appreciate any suggestions, and explanations of why some are better than others. Thanks.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nathan,

Boiled linseed oil can take quite a while to dry and as you stated is very soft. Typically if I use BLO on a turning I"ll top it with dewaxed shellac and then with the coating of my choice depending on use......lacquer has a tough time sticking to BLO but will stick to DEWAXED shellac. Just about anything will stick to dewaxed shellac and it's my favorite coating. I often use BLO to pop the grain and follow it with dewaxed shellac. Then you can put on any finish you'd like.

[Jim Becker]

BLO is just oil, and as Ken states, it needs time to cure. About a week or so for a normal application. Minwax Antique Oil is a wiping varnish...don't go by the name...not an oil. You can use just about any wax you want, but many turners use carnuba wax as part of the buffing process.

[Nathan Hawkes]

Alright, I'm going to show my ignorance again. By pop the grain you mean make it stand out, right? So I'm going to have to get a couple different colors of shellac flakes, after looking a little. Seems like the cherry I have would benefit from a colored shellac. How long does it keep once mixed, and does it respond to cold at all? My workshop is not heated. I know that the alcohol won't freeze, but does the shellac degrade or anything if it goes repeatedly below/above/below freezing a lot? Does the Zinsser stuff at the hardware store--sealcoat work as well as real shellac flakes? Thanks people. I'm hoping to avoid as many mistakes as possible.
Also, I'm not sure I understand what sticks and doesn't to BLO finish. Will antique oil stick to it? It arrived ironically today. The BLO isn't cured yet, but if I wait a few days will it stick? Thanks.

[Burt Alcantara]

SealCoat is dewaxed shellac. If you put it over BLO it would probably be best to thin it with mineral spirits. Some suggest a thin coat immediately wiped off with a kitchen paper towel while the lathe is turning.

The other shellacs contain was which is a natural by-product in the manufacture. Shellac is made from bugs. No wax is actually added to shellac but removed in products like SealCoat.

I use both and can't tell the difference but I haven't used additional finishing products over the shellac.

Burt

[Jim Becker]

SealCoat is dewaxed shellac. If you put it over BLO it would probably be best to thin it with mineral spirits.

Shellac is reduced with alcohol, not mineral spirits. There is no need to reduce SealCoat unless you are looking for just a wash coat. It's a #2 cut and ready to use out of the container for brushing, wiping or spraying.

Nathan, you can actually put shellac over the BLO even before it's cured. It will not affect the shellac at all. (Jeff Jewitt recently did an article on this method in Fine Woodworking and I've successfully tried it on a project of my own) Shellac is also usable to relatively low temperatures, but best results are with normal room temps if you can get them with some form of portable heat. (Turn it off before you start using the shellac if it involves a flame in any way)

You can put the Minwax Antique Oil finish over the BLO no problem. It's not oil. It's a wiping varnish like almost any other wiping varnish. But it's probably best to wait 3-5 days before you do.

[Ben Gastfriend]

I agree here, the shellac will probably be the best option.

[Burt Alcantara]

Jim,
I thin SealCoat using mineral spirits for frictioning. I find that using it full strength puts an uneven finish on the surface while the thinned SealCoat leaves a nice sheen.

I will try alcohol to see how that compares.

Burt