Q: We are in the process of making a dining room table out of solid padauk and purpleheart, and wanted to know the best way to finish it. We would love to be able to keep the colors of the natural wood, without ambering over time. A clear, durable finish would be great as well. [...]
Q: I’m getting some shiny areas in the finish after four coats of satin lacquer, scuffing with 180 in between. The sealer over the pore filler is two coats of tinted garnet shellac. Over that is one coat of sanding sealer. I fear I’ve sanded through the lacquer and gotten down to either the tinted [...]
Q: I’m restoring a Martin guitar, and after staining, I added three very light wash coats of 1lb. cut shellac. I’d like to strike the pores black with Finishers Glaze seal with sanding sealer, fill pores with Bartley’s dark, seal and topcoat. Martin mahogany pores are darkened nicely. I’m trying to do it the right [...]
Q: I stripped an oak fish tank stand and applied two heavy coats of espresso colored Varathane oil stain, leaving it sit one hour before wiping it off. I then applied two heavy coats of Watco Teak Oil and left them overnight. I found a sticky, gooey mess in the morning. When I tried to [...]
Q: We want to do a comparison of the performance of a variety of solvents for shellac:Lee Valley’s Shellac/Lacquer Thinner; a lab grade of denatured ethanol and common hardware store methyl hydrate. We plan to prepare samples of blond shellac, mixed in each of the three solvents, apply them to wood samples and test the [...]
Q: Is the resistance to strippers a sure indicator of a polyester finish or does it merely suggest it? A: It suggests it, but is not an indicator of polyester alone; it is merely an indicator that the finish is highly cross linked. Polyester is probably the most common of the highly cross linked finishes [...]
Q: I am making a redwood raised planter bed using 2×6 material obtained from the local retail supplier. I elected not to use pressure treated wood because we intend on growing vegetables. Since the wood will be in direct contact with the ground, what type of finish would you recommend? A: Generally I don’t suggest [...]
Q: I love gel polyurethane but I was wondering if there is some kind of flattener you would recommend that could be used in it to make it flatter than satin. A: No, there is nothing you can add easily, but there are certainly ways to control the sheen. Bear in mind that is a [...]
Q: What finish will stand up to New York winters? Sometimes the windows sweat on the inside and my finish comes off in a year or two. A: Part of that my be your choice of finish, but it may also be the preparation. You must start with clean, sanded wood to get good adhesion, [...]
Q: Is an oil/polyurethane mixture a good choice for a dining table? A: Oil alone is a fairly poor choice. Oil based polyurethane is an excellent choice. A mixture of the two will fall somewhere between poor and excellent.
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