Waterlox original sealer finish Question

[Rich Engelhardt]

Jerry,
There's nothing basicly wrong with the technique he describes - as long as it works for you.


I do feel though that using a chip brush - then saying "any brush will do" - is less than responsible for a professional publication.
He/they could have sprung an extra dollar for a cheap paint brush. Chip brushes are for dusting off chips, not putting on a coat of finish.

I also feel it's less than responsible to give the impression that products with known compatibility issues can be used together.
Zinc Stearates and urethanes don't get along with each other at all. Sooner or later it's going to come back and bite someone.

Sadly, it usually works out the person that gets bit is someone that's put a couple hundred hours of work and a few humdred dollars in materials that watches the final coat of finish they applied fisheye.
Then that poor soul inadvertanty draws another innocent party in by blaming the finish maker for the problem.
I'm all too familiar with that sad chain of events....

[Jerry Hillenburg]

Hi Rich,
It has been a while since I read Michael's article, so I reread it to refresh my memory. He uses the chip brush only in Step 1 to do what we have called in our shop 'slopping on'. After slopping on he waited 10 minutes, all-the-while filling dry spots, then ragged the surface clean and let it dry overnight. The idea of Step one is to fill the pores. As you noted, Michael said 'any brush will do'. I tend to agree that any brush will do for slopping on. Rich, you may not have thoroughly read Michael's article.

I know I did a lousy job of thoroughly reading it.

In my retirement I have the time to strive for perfection in my projects. I spend hours researching online, building full size mockups, and anything else to make my projects the best they can be. When I reread Michael's article I got a sick feeling. For surface preparation he said, "Be sure to sand to P320 grit or higher for blotch-prone woods." When I first read it, I glossed over that important detail. I sanded to 180 and I do have some blotches. I strive for perfection but I can never achieve it because I always do something silly like this. We all are human - we all make mistakes. We say things in a way we regret - (see my last post). We just do the best we can do.

[Scott Holmes]

Sanding past 220 or 240 on raw wood is a waste of time and sandpaper. It will most likely INCREASE the chance of blotching since now the wood is burnished.

Wipe-on then wipe-off is an oil/varnish technique... with wipe-on varnish it will greatly increase the amount of wipe-on varnish used (manufactures encourage this) it may marginally help get even sheen. Flooding the first coat or wiping a less diluted wipe-on varnish would do the same thing.

[Jerry Hillenburg]

Scott,
As I mentioned I have minimal blotching on my table top. Do you think they will disappear - or a least be less noticeable -
as the cherry darkens?

[Scott Holmes]

Possibly; cherry that has been stained can get worse. Cherry that has not had color added should be fine should mellow over time.