Suggestions please,Red gum Huon Pine Finish.

Been working on this little corner table,for a little bit too long,so decided to get on with it last few days.

Still some work to do, like tapering the legs from the shelf down,lots of sanding extra bla bla bla.
Finishing the tops of the legs.

The legs are solid Red gum, that was very dry,the shelves are Huon pine veneer on 18mm Mdf(veneered both sides).

But I’m undecided on, the type of finish to use ,I’ve mainly used Wipe on polyurethane, or various film finishes in the past.

But i now thinking maybe a polish(Not keen on French Polish at this stage)or something,maybe a wax,but would love to hear other suggestions please.

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Cheers Matt.

Livos oil or Whittle waxoil? Or U-Beaut hard shellac?

How much of a gloss are you after; if any?

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Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Livos oil or Whittle waxoil? Or U-Beaut hard shellac?

How much of a gloss are you after; if any?

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A little gloss would be nice,maybe a soft sheen, but I don’t want it distracting from my own perfect Glow[emoji6].

Cheers Matt.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simplicity

A little gloss would be nice,maybe a soft sheen, but I don’t want it distracting from my own perfect Glow[emoji6].

Cheers Matt.

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Okay, a flat finish then Matt. :D A hard wax oil, the Whittle or similar, would look smick. Maybe satin? Quite expensive but it goes a hell of a long way.

Just been doing some googling, I’m kind of leaning a little towards a Home made brew of BLO Turps Beeswax now, but I’m easily led astray.

Make a Historic Beeswax, Oil & Turpentine Furniture Polish Finish - YouTube

Just watched this [emoji3516].

Thoughts please.

Cheers Matt.

Wax/oil finishes tend to give a lovely finish, but you should consider them in the same way you'd consider whether a basic wax finish is suitable. ie. not suitable for a lot of handling and can be water-marked fairly easily.

I've a similar recipe that turned into a disaster when applied to a tea-tray. Not from spillage, but just hot cups. They left rings similar to how it would in shellac but not as easy to fix. Dammit.

Still, on other jobs I've been more than happy with the results from my mix. I just chose poorly for that #$%^ tea-tray. :sigh:

I've made my own finishes before now, both wipe on/ff using BLO, Turps & varnish plus a paste wax of BLO and beeswax. The paste wax was best used as a rejuvenating polish; it wasn't so good on raw timber. The WIWO worked well though; equal parts BLO, gum turps and quality varnish.

How would the Red gum take a Mix of BLO Bees wax an solvent(Metho?)

Considering it’s quite dry, I imagine I shouldn’t have any issues with the Huon pine.

Cheers Matt

It'll probably darken right up. Maybe even to almost black.

It may, or may not, become redder... I've had varied results.

Best to use the 'test-on-offcut' method to find out.

Actually, I just had another look at your first post.

For some reason I thought you said it was old redgum. You only said dry. :doh:

In that case, it'll probably redden up. And still darken, but not as much.

Either way, 'test-on-offcut' ;)

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Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Actually, I just had another look at your first post.

For some reason I thought you said it was old redgum. You only said dry. :doh:

In that case, it'll probably redden up. And still darken, but not as much.

Either way, 'test-on-offcut' ;)

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Thanks Skew,
But what actually meant will the Red gum absorb the wax a bit, or will it just sit on the surface.

Will definitely be trying it on some off cuts first.

Cheers Matt.

My bad. :rolleyes:

Most of the wax will stay on the surface. Some will fill end-grain. etc.

Matt . Why taper the legs after its together? Do you enjoy that sort of torture ? :) How much are you intending to remove ? ..

The Guy with the wax recipe. Adding BLO to a turps and wax mix doesn't make sense to Me . If its just a feed dry wood scenario then OK . But not as a finishing wax . Which is for sealing , drying off and buffing to some sort of dull wax shine . His piece needs to be dry and easy to wipe off and shine whenever it collects dust as it will just sitting around . Same as an apple that is waxed or all waxed furniture. BLO means the job has to wait not just until the Turps evaporates off but also the BLO which will take a week or three depending on how much is left on the work . He'd be better off just wiping down with BLO a few times and letting that dry over a couple of weeks then applying a wax finish after its dry. Just a wax and turps mix . No BLO. Most good wax mixes contain Bees wax, Carnauba wax and pure turpentine . I didnt pick up what Turps he was using but Mineral turps is not the way to go . That video also shows off that lovely stool he made at the end dripping with wet wax . That's going to be pretty sticky for a while and not having Carnauba in the mix means it will remain soft and show finger marks after handling for some time Id say .

Whats wrong with shellac ? Why is it so popular ? Could be because its so good . Because it looks so good . Huon is fast to polish with shellac. Redgum will also be the same . A little shellac and then a wax is how I would do it .

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Originally Posted by auscab

Matt . Why taper the legs after its together? Do you enjoy that sort of torture ? :) How much are you intending to remove ? ..

The Guy with the wax recipe. Adding BLO to a turps and wax mix doesn't make sense to Me . If its just a feed dry wood scenario then OK . But not as a finishing wax . Which is for sealing , drying off and buffing to some sort of dull wax shine . His piece needs to be dry and easy to wipe off and shine whenever it collects dust as it will just sitting around . Same as an apple that is waxed or all waxed furniture. BLO means the job has to wait not just until the Turps evaporates off but also the BLO which will take a week or three depending on how much is left on the work . He'd be better off just wiping down with BLO a few times and letting that dry over a couple of weeks then applying a wax finish after its dry. Just a wax and turps mix . No BLO. Most good wax mixes contain Bees wax, Carnauba wax and pure turpentine . I didnt pick up what Turps he was using but Mineral turps is not the way to go . That video also shows off that lovely stool he made at the end dripping with wet wax . That's going to be pretty sticky for a while and not having Carnauba in the mix means it will remain soft and show finger marks after handling for some time Id say .

Whats wrong with shellac ? Why is it so popular ? Could be because its so good . Because it looks so good . Huon is fast to polish with shellac. Redgum will also be the same . A little shellac and then a wax is how I would do it .

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See this why i like communism, i would go too the hardware shop,
Bob i need too finish table,here use this government approved,next.

Now I’m confused again maybe i should use my shellac mix then just buff on some wax, do i need to watch the Karate kid again.

Cheers Matt.

Constantia Organic Finishes wood oil, or in combination with their Red oil will produce a lustre with depth. Easy to work with and easy to maintain. This is a Red Gum box i finished recently.

Attachment 512513

This is part of our office desk (SWMBO's side as it was less cluttered than my side). Forest Red Gum and Tallowwood:

Attachment 512519Attachment 512520Attachment 512521Attachment 512522

Full of gum veins and other defects, it was awkward to catch the level of sheen particularly with the morning sun creating havoc through the window. The finish is two coats of matt varnish (that alone should appeal to you :rolleyes: ) followed by Scandanavisn Teak Oil rubbed in with either steel wool or a scourer. I have used this extensively over the years for many purposes and it is also the finish I use for my hand saw handles. I would describe it as a high satin level of sheen. The use of steel wool or scourer in conjunction with the oil after 48 hours for hardening gives a silky smooth finish.

Very light sanding is done between the two coats of varnish applied at 24hour intervals. A further refinement would be to first coat the timber with a 50:50 mix of mineral turps and varnish to achieve a higher penetration into the timber before sealing with the two full strength varnish coats. Any brand of matt varnish is probably ok and I think Danish oil can be substituted for the Scandanavian Teak Oil as really it is just a lubricant for the rubbing medium.

I am wary of full gloss finishes (varnish, shellac/French Polish etc) as the surface has to be absolutely perfect for that. Full gloss makes even minor imperfections stick out like you know what canine parts.

Regards
Paul