fostel@ncsu.UUCP (10/18/83)
When I'm pleasing my own instincts, I like to use light colored stain or
other pentrating sealer. A very nice material which is reasonably clear
and smoothes very well is called sanding sealer. But it is not a finish
layer, just a short cut if you get tired or sanding or scapeing something
smooth. After the stain, as I said, my instincts want me to use Butchers
Wax. A fairly hard finish actually, but it is not indestructable, and it
take a bit of elbow grease to get it to have the kind of "depth" you might
want on some nice grain patterns.
For anything "real" I use poly-urathane varnish. It is very easy to apply,
little more than careful painting. It is very hard, very water proof,
and looks very good. Among pragmatic carpenters I have known, it is the
defacto std. Its only limitation is for food preperation surfaces where
it might get in the food and kill you .... (so does everything else.)
It usually comes in either high lustre or buff. The high luster really
is, and it seems to age very well without any noticable yellowing or
cracking. For application to "white" where you want to keep a very natural
appearance, use a clear sealer before the poly-varnish or the initial
(and permanant) color may be a bit yellow. On darker woods, you can get
away with just a few coats of poly over bare wood! Or use a clear sanding
sealer and then a few coats of poly. If all else fails you might read
the instructions on the poly-varnish. Be sure to apply thin coats: the
layering seems to increase the "depth" of the finish as well as avoiding
runs and bubles. Oh yeah, if you seem to be getting bubbles in the finish,
you are probably allowing too much brush contact: use just the extreme tip
of the bristles and stroke in a single direction lightly to work out the
bubles or they will be there to haunt you for ever.
----GaryFostel----jamcmullan@watmath.UUCP (Judy McMullan) (10/24/83)
What is your favorite finish for fine wood? In general,
and for tables in particular.
I made a stereo cabinet from cherry and applied poly-urethane to the bare,
sanded wood. I used two or three coats (I can't remember exactly) of the
"satin" or "buff" finish stuff. The cherry went a little darker from the
urethane but retained it's beautiful, rosy colour. People have put their
drinks on it and I have never had rings. I did not have any trouble applying
it. Do not try to put it on too thick in one coat, though. Tiny bubbles that
appeared immediately after a brushstroke disappeared in a moment and there
are no bubbles or other imperfections in the finish now.
Oil is nice, but never gets completely dry, so a poor choice for
something that paper or cloth will be sitting on; an oil finish
tends to bleed on a warm day.
I have a bed made of zebra wood. It has no headboard to get abused so it has
just been rubbed lightly with oil. The oil feels dry to the touch and
it never stains the bedclothes.
--Judy McMullan
...!{allegra|hcr|utzoo|utcsrgv|bunker|decvax}!watmath!jamcmullangreenber@timeinc.UUCP (06/18/85)
I recently decided to refinish a desk I had build a few years ago.
Originally finished with Constantines Satin Rubbing Laquer, it had
a great finished that years of usage had rendered scratched an worn
out.
So a little sanding and a recoat should have done the trick, right?
Nope. It seems that constanines must have changed their formulea for
the finish, for the coat really attacked and ate into the old finish.
Time fo stripping.
I reapplied the finish and it just didn't take. Stripped it again,
and went for a polyurethane finish (feeling like a traitor, BTW!).
What are the opinions of you folks about the best finish, and some
of your best finishing tips?
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
Ross M. Greenberg @ Time Inc, New York
--------->{ihnp4 | vax135}!timeinc!greenber<---------
I highly doubt that Time Inc. they would make me their spokesperson.
------
"There's something wrong in the world. There's always been. Something no one
has ever named or explained" --- Francisco d'Anconiasasaki@harvard.ARPA (Marty Sasaki) (06/19/85)
This reminds me of a story...
My friend Peter has a very beautiful cherry table that he uses as his
kitchen table. The table was finished with oil, and Peter is constantly
renewing the oil finish (a little sanding and another coat of oil). At
one point he was living with David. Now David is a hobbyist, making all
sorts of things. One day, David managed to spill a large amount of epoxy
onto the top of the table, and didn't notice the glue until it had fully
cured. David was horrified, but pulled out his pocket knife to see if he
could chip the glue away. When he pressed the point under one edge of
the cured glue, the entire glop just popped off. The next time Peter
oiled the table there was no clue that David had made any mistake.
This has sold me on oil finishes.
--
----------------
Marty Sasaki net: sasaki@harvard.{arpa,uucp}
Havard University Science Center phone: 617-495-1270
One Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138