Michael Dresdner » gel

Bartley clear gel

Michael — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:00:34 +0000

Q: I recently purchased a quart of Bartley Gel Varnish over the internet. The product I received is Bartley Gel Stain – Clear Satin. Is this the same as the Bartley Gel Varnish?
A: Yep. The best I can figure is that Bartley started as a one step wipe on stain and finish, sold as an “all you need do is wipe on the stain and you’re done” panacea. That started people referring to what was actually a tinted finish as a stain. It made sense to keep the familiar name for the clear version. The same gestalt exists in deck coatings; most are technically tinted finishes, but are called stains.

Gel varnish, still hiding

Michael — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:00:28 +0000

Q: I have used the gel varnish that was sold at Rockler for a number of years with outstanding results. Since Rockler no longer carries it and there appears to be a company change taking place I am wondering if there is another brand of gel varnish you recommend.
A: That particular gel polyurethane was made by Lawrence McFadden and sold under several labels, including Rockler, Bartley and LMcF. The company was recently sold to Seagrave Coatings. Seagrave’s owner tells me there were a few problems with packaging and logistics that caused delays. You can expect to see the gel by early August in your favorite store. It will be sold under the Bartley label in both clear and colors.

Gel dye

Michael — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:00:51 +0000

Q: I am trying to find the gel base for water based dyes. Do you have formula or resource to this gel base, and does anyone make water base dye gels?
A: I used to. Back in the late 80’s to 1995, my wife ran a company called Clearwater Color Company, making waterbased gel dye stains for woodworkers based on a patent pending formula of mine. We eventually sold the company and it continued for a few more years, but I am told it has now dissolved. I have thought about once again offering the stains if there proved to be enough desire for them, but to date, I have not had enough call to do so. To the best of my knowledge, no one else ever offered a waterbased dye in a gel form. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as adding dye to a gel base; the entire mixture was somewhat delicate to create and the various components had to be added in just the right sequence for it to work. Incidentally, I still have some containers of the stain, now 15 years old, and it still works fine.

Fishy finish

Michael — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:00:06 +0000

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 remove it using more Teak Oil, much of the color came off as well.
A: I am not surprised. Stain is meant to be wiped on and wiped off completely, leaving only what the wood can absorb. Layering it on heavily or leaving it longer won’t result in anything but trouble. Granted, more porous woods, like poplar, will absorb more stain than a dense wood like oak, and will get darker. The fact that stain came off when you scrubbed off the excess finish is an indicator that you left more on the wood than it was able to absorb.
The way around that is to use multiple types of color, not try to force one stain to override the nature of the wood you are putting it on. For instance, to get a very dark espresso, I’d start with a dark brownish black water soluble dye directly onto the raw, sanded wood, then follow that, when the dye was dry, with a dark wiping stain flooded on and wiped off. The combination will give you a dark, even color with wood grain still showing.
Teak oil is also meant to be wiped off in 15 minutes, not overnight, and letting it sit that long will indeed create a sticky mess. The simple answer is you really should read the directions and do what they say. At this point, you would be very wise to remove it all and start over.
Incidentally, Teak Oil, which is the exterior version of Danish oil, is not the finish I would have chosen in this case, for a variety of reasons that I have covered in previous posts. I’d have chosen an oil based polyurethane, either wipe on, gel or brush on, and I would go with several coats at least.

Flat out no

Michael — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:00:41 +0000

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 wipe off finish; the coarser the substrate, and the thinner the finish, the duller its appearance. In other words, start with wood sanded no finer than 180, wipe on the finish, and wipe it all off. Stick to two or thee coats, one per day, each wiped off completely, and you will have a very low sheen. For thicker finishes, lower the sheen by rubbing with the grain using fine steel wool. You will find dry 0000 steel wool will give you a lower sheen than rubbing with steel wool lubricated with wax. Finally, for a thicker finish, you can also sand the final finish uniformly with 600 or 800 grit paper, which will also leave a dull surface.

Bartley gel it is

Michael — Thu, 13 May 2010 14:00:51 +0000

Q: The Rockler gel urethane I used to use is no longer available. Any suggestions?
A: The Rockler gel was a private label product made by Lawrence McFadden. They went into bankruptcy and their formulas and remaining product was purchased by Seagrave Coatings. Peter Teppermann, the president of Seagrave, assured me that they will continue selling the product under the Bartley label, but not under the Rockler label, at least for the present. Thus, go ahead and buy the Bartley gel, made by Seagrave, and you will find it is the exact same product you are used to using in a Rockler can.

Old gold

Michael — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:00:58 +0000

Q: What is the best protecting coat over gilded projects and how do we get an antique look?
A: There are two types of gold leaf; real gold, which is pure gold hammered to thin sheets, and imitation leaf, sometimes called Dutch metal. Generally speaking, real gold is not antiqued, nor top coated. If you are going to create antique gold finish, which needs to be top coated, use imitation leaf, which is much cheaper and, unlike real gold, needs to be top coated anyway.
Once the leaf is on and dry, you can antique it in several ways. The two most common, often done together, are to ‘wear’ the leaf by eroding it in high spots with Scotchbrite® or steel wool until bits of the size or ground color show through, and glazing the surface after leafing.
Glazing means wiping on a colored stain and wiping it back off, leaving darker or contrasting color in the low areas and recesses. For that you can use commercially prepared furniture glazing liquid, or wiping stain, or gel stain, or you can mix your own from pigment concentrates reduced with solvent and binder. To make oil based glaze, start with Japan colors or artist’s oil color tubes and thin with mineral spirits, adding a tiny amount of boiled linseed oil to give you more working time. For waterbased, simply use artist’s acrylic colors or craft paints.
Once the glaze is dry, seal it with whatever you like; lacquer, waterbased clear topcoat, or oil based polyurethane or varnish.

We don’t need no stinkin’ scratches

Michael — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:00:56 +0000

Q: There’s a method I want to try; waterbased dye, seal, gel stain left dark in corners and wiped to simulate wear, top coat. How can I brush top coat using varnish without screwing up the gel, since varnish needs scratches to hold to?
A: No it doesn’t. Just let the gel dry thoroughly so that it does not get moved around by the brush, and flow the finish off the brush as opposed to scrubbing. That technique will allow you to easily topcoat this sort of glazed finish without any problems, and oil based varnish will easily adhere to dried oil based gel stain.

Lawrence McFadden update

Michael — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:31:34 +0000

Q: Any word on the Lawrence McFadden Seagrave deal?
A: The decision of the bankruptcy court that must approve Seagrave’s purchase of Lawrence McFadden has been postponed until February first. I will get back to you via this blog once that is finalized, but in the meantime, I spoke at some length to Peter Tepperman, the owner of Seagrave Coatings, this morning and he told me he has every intention of continuing to offer the McFadden formulas for instrument finishes, gel urethanes, and other standard line products for which McFadden has developed a fine reputation over the years. The conversation left me very confident that I can now recommend Seagrave Coatings with the same fervor and assurance as I always did with McFadden in the past. I think we have a winning situation. Here’s a link to Seagrave so you can see what they are all about.
www.seagravecoatings.com

Gel unwell?

Michael — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:00:47 +0000

Q: I have been using Rockler’s gel polyurethane since it was first put on the market. Now that Lawrence-McFadden has gone out of business, is there a product that performs as well their gel polyurethane?
A: As of Monday, January 4, 2010, Lawrence McFadden is in the process of transferring its formulations to Seagrave coatings in NJ. This will need approval from the courts but it will probably be approved. It remains to be seen which formulas Seagrave will continue to sell and where they will sell them. Below is a letter dated January 5, 2010 from the owners of Lawrence McFadden Co. explaining the transfer. In the meantime, I will keep my readers posted and share my opinions on a quality gel polyurethane.

Letter from Lawrence McFadden

To Our Valued Friends and Customers:
We recently entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement for the sale of our intangible and intellectual property to Seagrave Coatings Corporation of Carlstadt, New Jersey. Although the sale currently remains subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, we anticipate a final determination
Shortly. Nonetheless, at this time, LMC is in the process of transferring title and possession of its formulae, other intangible property and related finished goods to Seagrave in order to insure
A timely and smooth transition of our operations and your orders.
Pleased be advised that as a way of showing our appreciation for your business and loyality to LMC over the years and in order to avoid any delays or interruptions in your orders, as of January 4th, 2020, please direct all inquiries to either (1) Hill Pressley, Chief Chemist at Seagrave (regarding any existing orders), or (2) Lisa Truesdale, Customer Service Representative (regarding any new orders), both at 201-933-1000. Seagrave is a long established technology driven manufacturer serving customers with aerospace, industrial, defense, maintenance, and home furnishings for over 150 years with an impeccable reputation in the coatings industry. We are confident that you will continue to be well served by Seagrave, its employees and its products.
Best wishes for a successful 2010.
Sincerely, Peter B. Beck Douglas B. Hampton, Sr.