woodturning finishes

[khumo]

gday,
i have a lathe and all the gear to do so but im not so sure about the way im finishing the bowls, i currently use beeswax as the finish but im looking for something more harder and shinier, what is the best cheapish product to use and how to apply it?

thanks

Cameron

[Claw Hama]

Wecome to the forum Cameron. The Ubeat polishes are a good start. You will get lots of people giving you lots of options very soon I'm sure. Sometimes I use danish oil, the Ubeaut Shellawax is great, I also like the Traditional Wax. Hope this helps

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

In my opinion, three products that should be on every turner's shelf are Danish Oil, EEE and Shellawax.


These have been extremely well covered in these forums if you do a search, EEE & Shellawax are made by our forum host. ie. They're UBeaut products.


But to boil it down to a nutshell....

UBeaut Shellawax is more or less a shellac that's applied to the piece on the lathe. A little bit on a rag, press firmly and work it into the spinning piece. If properly done, your fingertips will get hot! :U

It's best to leave the piece for a week or three before giving it much handling. But this is true of any finish, really.



Danish Oil is wiped onto the finished piece, left until it goes tacky, then wiped off. Left for at least a day, lightly sanded back and then another coat applied. This process is repeated until you have enough coats to get the finish you want. Well done it's so, so glossy. Ooooh! Aaaah! :B

Some say "1 coat a day for a week. Then a coat a week for a month, a coat a month for a year, then a coat every year after that." Which has some element of truth to it. The best thing about a good* DO is that if the piece ever gets dented or scratched, you can just sand the area and give it a fresh coat.

(My personal preference is Rustin's Danish Oil... IMHO the muck you buy as alleged "Danish Oil" thru Bunnies, Mire 10, etc is really just a PolyUrethane that has had an eye-dropper's worth of tongue oil waved over the top of it. But that's a whole different soap-box that I probably shouldn't get on here. :innocent: )

* = Good meaning "high proportion of Tung Oil, low to nil proportion of PolyU"


EEE is a pre-finish. No matter what finish I use, I always use this first. If I sand to, say, 600 grit then using this will give me the equivalent of... oh, I dunno... working down to about 12000 grit?

Just a bit applied to a rag and applied like a friction finish after sanding. Then, using a clean rag, all traces of it must be removed before applying the finish. Just keep polishing on the lathe until no more "colour" comes off.


Good luck and enjoy! :2tsup:

[RETIRED]

EEE is a pre-finish. No matter what finish I use, I always use this first. If I sand to, say, 600 grit then using this will give me the equivalent of... oh, I dunno... working down to about 1200 grit?

Just a bit applied to a rag and applied like a friction finish after sanding. Then, using a clean rag, all traces of it must be removed before applying the finish. Just keep polishing on the lathe until no more "colour" comes off.As Skew said, EEE is an extension of the sanding process but it actually breaks down to about 12-15,000 grit the more you work it BUT you must go to at least 400# before you use it.

The higher the better.

[Cliff Rogers]

Yup, Danish Oil & Shellawax Cream for me, depending on the piece & its use.

I also have Shellawax of spindle work, tool handles etc & Traditional Wax.

[steck]

In my opinion, three products that should be on every turner's shelf are Danish Oil, EEE and Shellawax.

I'm with him, and him and him!
When you are starting out the Ubeaut products might not seem that cheap but a little goes a long way and a jar will last for ages.
Enjoy!

[Scott]

Everything the brains trust said.

[vtbao]

Great info to me!
Thanks all

[khumo]

thanks everyone that explains alot,

so i will get a shella wax product which one though? cream or the original bottle stuff?

cam

[Scott]

Hi Cam,

I'd get the EEE Ultrashine to top off the sanding process and get Shellawax Cream to finish.

-Scott.

[RETIRED]

This might help. http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/using-shellawax-131234/

[John T]

HI ROBO
A question when sanding a bowl to 600 grit and eee cream,+ shellawax glow why do i get stains if it gets whiped with a damp cloth.
regards john.

[RETIRED]

How long between finishing and wiping?

[Jim Carroll]

thanks everyone that explains alot,

so i will get a shella wax product which one though? cream or the original bottle stuff?

cam

This all depends on the size of the project.

The liquid is generally suited to smaller turnings where you can apply it and it is still wet when polishing, pens bottle stoppers etc

The cream was developed for larger turnings bowls, platters etc where you turn the lathe of apply the cream and then turn the lathe on to polish.

[John T]

12months john

[RETIRED]

I will get the boss to look at this one John.

[John T]

HI IAN pm sent

[ubeaut]

HI ROBO
A question when sanding a bowl to 600 grit and eee cream,+ shellawax glow why do i get stains if it gets whiped with a damp cloth.
regards john.

G'day John - Shellawax which is on a functional piece needs to have at least 2 - 3 coats/applications to make it a surface coating which should stand up to more handling, moisture, alcohol, etc. it is also preferable to sand up to at least 800 - 1200 Not necessary to use EEE over this but preferable.

You can sand higher if you want that's up to you, but the higher you sand and the better the finish should be even if using EEE as well

One coat is basically in the timber more than on the surface, even though it may have a deep lustrous appearance it is still mostly in the timber. This is fine for decorative work that won't be handled or subjected to moisture, etc. but it may be damaged with such things as wiping down with a damp rag.

Other/most problems with dulling are caused by the timber being either, too wet (green), too oily, too dry (spalted/rotting) or too porous. All of these can have an effect on the finish and not just a Shellawax finish but pretty much all finishes.

I would be using Shellawax or as you said Glow (both liquid) rather than Shellawax Cream which has a far greater concentration of wax, making the Cream much easier to damage with moisture.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil :U

[ubeaut]

thanks everyone that explains alot,

so i will get a shella wax product which one though? cream or the original bottle stuff?

cam

If you can afford it get both. The Shellawax (liquid) will do just about anything now and the cream can be mixed with the liquid to act as an extender for large work.

If you do small things or anything functional like pens, salt and pepper mills or anything else that's constantly handled then get the liquid as the cream has a higher wax content and although pretty hardy won't stand up to as much handling before it begins to shows signs of ware and tear.

Cheers - Neil :U

PS EEE will make all the shellawax's work and look better and will also make almost any other surface finish look many times better when used over the top.

[John T]

THANKS NEIL& IAN for that info john.

[ubeaut]

HI ROBO
A question when sanding a bowl to 600 grit and eee cream,+ shellawax glow why do i get stains if it gets whiped with a damp cloth.
regards john.

What John neglected to mention in this post was:
"i was at our local market one frosty saturday and some water dripped on the table near the bowl and splashed on it when i wiped it left white stains"
(from PM sent to )

Frost, cold, wet, market. Brrrrr reminds me of 30 year ago. Every Sunday at the Ferntree Gully craft market, rain, hail, sleet, snow and the odd shine .Sorry John, but that's not a really good scenario for almost any finish. I have had the same thing happen to polyurethane finishes under the same condition. The big problem is you often can't get to it straight away to wipe it off and you don't know what else is in that drip(s) like acid, eucalyptus, or a few dozen other nasties. It had to drip from somewhere which has had goodness only knows whatever else on it before the frosty water.

I'm not making excuses for the problem or having a go at John, just throwing a little more light on the subject. It really does help to have all the info. Much easier to give a more helpful and concise answer if the full story is known.

Cheers :U