• Beware of Counterfeit Woodturning Tools (click here for details)
  • Johnathan Silwones is starting a new AAW chapter, Southern Alleghenies Woodturners, in Johnstown, PA. (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Paul May for "Checkerboard (ver 3.0)" being selected as Turning of the Week for March 25, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Dipping for a finish...

Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,554
Likes
178
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
Way back when, one of you posted about finishing small objects (e.g., wine stoppers) by dipping them in finish and letting them hang, wicking up the finish-drip with a paper towel. I have looked and looked, can't find that post. Will the honorable party please step forward and refresh my memory? TIA!
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
169
Likes
26
Location
Ottawa, Ontario
I'm not the honourable party, but if you are looking for dipping techniques, you may want to go to penturners.org. They have a finishing forum and you can search it without being a member. I've finished pens by dipping them, and there are instructions on penturners of various methods.
 
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,554
Likes
178
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
I'm not the honourable party, but if you are looking for dipping techniques, you may want to go to penturners.org. They have a finishing forum and you can search it without being a member. I've finished pens by dipping them, and there are instructions on penturners of various methods.

Thanks, Grant, I'll check it out!
 
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,554
Likes
178
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
I believe that Kelly Dunn dips bowls using a Ron Kent recipe. I don't think that he does bottle stoppers.

Geez, I'd love to be able to dip bowls (was thinking more about stoppers here). I just tried dipping using a couple of drawer knobs I was getting ready to install, it worked pretty well. Not sure if it's better to use poly or lacquer for this, more experimenting I guess. Thanks.

PS: I just spent some time reading about Kent's recipe and techniques. I'll try the soap thing on some green wood, sounds cool. But the dipping is a little to long and drawn out for moi. Tried to visit Dunn's web site, but got a Norton alert and bailed.
 
Last edited:

Bill Boehme

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
12,886
Likes
5,169
Location
Dalworthington Gardens, TX
Website
pbase.com
Unless you have a special reason such as working with freshly cut green Norfolk Island Pine or other wood that needs extra care to stabilize, I wouldn't bother with the dish detergent thing. I think that using dish detergent to stabilize wood is a close relative of doing the polyethylene glycol treatment or soaking in Pentacryl ... all of which are for stabilizing freshly-cut green wood. If you are making bottle stoppers then use seasoned dry wood and forget all that other mess. When I first started turning I bought a bottle of Pentacryl and soaked a small rough turned bowl in it. The result was a drab looking piece of wood that looked like it had been soaked in used motor oil. I also have two five-pound "wheels" of polyethylene glycol. I also got those shortly after I started turning. Fortunately, I came to my senses before ruining more wood with these witches brew concoctions. The bad news is that it is like a white elephant: too expensive to throw away and probably a hazardous waste anyway and nobody dumb enough to take it from me.
 
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,554
Likes
178
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
Unless you have a special reason such as working with freshly cut green Norfolk Island Pine or other wood that needs extra care to stabilize, I wouldn't bother with the dish detergent thing. I think that using dish detergent to stabilize wood is a close relative of doing the polyethylene glycol treatment or soaking in Pentacryl ... all of which are for stabilizing freshly-cut green wood. If you are making bottle stoppers then use seasoned dry wood and forget all that other mess. When I first started turning I bought a bottle of Pentacryl and soaked a small rough turned bowl in it. The result was a drab looking piece of wood that looked like it had been soaked in used motor oil. I also have two five-pound "wheels" of polyethylene glycol. I also got those shortly after I started turning. Fortunately, I came to my senses before ruining more wood with these witches brew concoctions. The bad news is that it is like a white elephant: too expensive to throw away and probably a hazardous waste anyway and nobody dumb enough to take it from me.

I'm tempted to try the detergent approach with some green applewood, wouldn't bother with anything else (Madrone=Boil). Stoppers are definitely turned from dry wood, nothing else makes sense to me. Have not felt temptation to try the Pentacryl or PEG -- and your description of wood-soaked-in-motor-oil certainly doesn't make it more tempting!:p
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
78
Likes
99
Location
Joplin, Missouri
Jamie, I'm a dipper, so I think I can help. I have a 5 gal bucket that I have a blend of equal parts of BLO, Danish Oil and Miniwax Wipe On Poly (oil). After I finish sanding my turnings I'll dip them in the oil blend, let them drip and then take a paper towel and wipe off any excess. Depending on the wood, I may dip it twice or even let it sit in the oil for a day. After I have wiped off the excess I then set it aside for 3 or 4 days until it is completely dry and then Beall buff it.

For pens and bottle stoppers I use CA to finish them. I like the CA finish because it is very durable and will withstand the constant hand contact.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
Steve

PS--The 5 gal buck is only about 1/2 full. I keep a lid on it so that it doesn't dry out. It's one of the plastic lidded buckets that you can get at Lowes or Home Depot.
 
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,554
Likes
178
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
Jamie, I'm a dipper, so I think I can help. I have a 5 gal bucket that I have a blend of equal parts of BLO, Danish Oil and Miniwax Wipe On Poly (oil). After I finish sanding my turnings I'll dip them in the oil blend, let them drip and then take a paper towel and wipe off any excess. Depending on the wood, I may dip it twice or even let it sit in the oil for a day. After I have wiped off the excess I then set it aside for 3 or 4 days until it is completely dry and then Beall buff it.

For pens and bottle stoppers I use CA to finish them. I like the CA finish because it is very durable and will withstand the constant hand contact.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
Steve

PS--The 5 gal buck is only about 1/2 full. I keep a lid on it so that it doesn't dry out. It's one of the plastic lidded buckets that you can get at Lowes or Home Depot.

Wow, a little bit of everything, eh? Thanks! I've been making various bottle stoppers and just experimenting with finishes on them, I'll give that one a try. I've only done one with BLO and CA, don't think I did the CA quite right, wasn't as glossy as expected. Read some more (and watch videos)....try it again.:) CA isn't something I'll use a lot, I'm too sensitive to it, but for some things it'll be just the ticket methinks.
 

Bill Boehme

Administrator
Staff member
Beta Tester
TOTW Team
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
12,886
Likes
5,169
Location
Dalworthington Gardens, TX
Website
pbase.com
Since Watco Danish Oil is linseed oil, Stoddard Solvent, naphtha, and polyurethane varnish that part of the mixture could probably be eliminated and made up by increased amounts of the other two ingredients. Of course, that would require some experimentation since they don't give exact percentages of ingredients.
 
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
361
Likes
2
Location
Hawi, Hawaii
Website
www.kellydunnwoodturner.com
Jamie, I have a couple mixes. Both have dipping tanks. Neither do i do for bottle stoppers. To my knowledge my website is clean. I pay to keep it that way. Anyone have a problem please let me know. There is not much these days even showing on my website but hope to change that soon. kellydunnwoodturner.com General email, kellydunnwoodturner@gmail.com I was doing a rattle can lacquer on my bottle stoppers. Then got an email from David Chung from Oahu that when Guilio Marcolongo was here he touted using CA as a finish. I like it. I put it on a bit of old cotton sock after the stopper is finished and slowly spin it by hand. And keep it up till it does not soak in any more.(a small amount of sock) I hold the bit of sock in one of those things doctors use to crimp vessels etc. forget the name. 1st time out of the chute holding by hand glued my fingers together. What this will do is raise grain and have a buildup of ca glue. Wait till it hits. My suggestion is to NOT use the spritzer. If you got voids in the wood and it goes white it wont come out. It only is maybe a minute or so. Then sand the stopper flush.(by hand) I then power buff the stopper and put Ren wax and buff that. Then put it on the main metal part.
My bowl processes are in several places. I have no secrets and share freely. If you ask a question of me please know I dont check in here very often. But do answer my emails.
 
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,554
Likes
178
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
Jamie, I have a couple mixes. Both have dipping tanks. Neither do i do for bottle stoppers. To my knowledge my website is clean. I pay to keep it that way. Anyone have a problem please let me know. There is not much these days even showing on my website but hope to change that soon. kellydunnwoodturner.com General email, kellydunnwoodturner@gmail.com I was doing a rattle can lacquer on my bottle stoppers. Then got an email from David Chung from Oahu that when Guilio Marcolongo was here he touted using CA as a finish. I like it. I put it on a bit of old cotton sock after the stopper is finished and slowly spin it by hand. And keep it up till it does not soak in any more.(a small amount of sock) I hold the bit of sock in one of those things doctors use to crimp vessels etc. forget the name. 1st time out of the chute holding by hand glued my fingers together. What this will do is raise grain and have a buildup of ca glue. Wait till it hits. My suggestion is to NOT use the spritzer. If you got voids in the wood and it goes white it wont come out. It only is maybe a minute or so. Then sand the stopper flush.(by hand) I then power buff the stopper and put Ren wax and buff that. Then put it on the main metal part.
My bowl processes are in several places. I have no secrets and share freely. If you ask a question of me please know I dont check in here very often. But do answer my emails.

Thanks, Kelly, I'll check out your site for sure! I tried a BLO/CA technique presented in this YouTube video (no problems with CA sticking, but I use a tight nitrile glove anyway). Stopper turned out pretty well, but not as glossy as expected. Probably need to fine-tune technique. It's such a nice quick way to finish these smaller items! There are several different approaches to the CA treatment, as I found doing a search. Re: spritzer, I assume you mean the accelerator. Nah, not really any reason to use it for this task. Medical "crimper" = hemostat I think. I have a small one.
 
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,554
Likes
178
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
Jamie, the stopper will be dull looking. A power buff and wax will take care of that. Or any item done with ca glue then sanded to get the high spots out. But you now have a plastic finish. It will buff to a great shine.

Oh, I have buffed it. I still think the finish can be improved with technique (for when I want a shiny plastic surface). I'm a bit out of commission this week with a nasty cold, but will be back experimenting in a couple days.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
78
Likes
99
Location
Joplin, Missouri
Jamie, I use Viva paper towels to apply my CA. I use straight CA, no BLO. I have heard a lot of people try BLO with CA and many of them seem to have had difficulty with it. I put on 20 coats of thin CA for my pens, not as many on my stoppers. I find good success after putting on the CA (10 coats sand and then 10 more coats). The key to getting a good shine is once you have the desired number of coats on is to sand with 240, 320 and then 400 to get the surface good and smooth. Be careful not to sand thru the finish. Once sanded I use micro mesh to polish the finish. Buffing is not necessary after the micro mesh, but I do buff most of the time. I learned from Alan Trout to put a small fan behind your back and use it to blow the fumes away from you. It makes a big difference it working with CA.

Good luck.
 
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,554
Likes
178
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
Jamie, I use Viva paper towels to apply my CA. I use straight CA, no BLO. I have heard a lot of people try BLO with CA and many of them seem to have had difficulty with it. I put on 20 coats of thin CA for my pens, not as many on my stoppers. I find good success after putting on the CA (10 coats sand and then 10 more coats). The key to getting a good shine is once you have the desired number of coats on is to sand with 240, 320 and then 400 to get the surface good and smooth. Be careful not to sand thru the finish. Once sanded I use micro mesh to polish the finish. Buffing is not necessary after the micro mesh, but I do buff most of the time. I learned from Alan Trout to put a small fan behind your back and use it to blow the fumes away from you. It makes a big difference it working with CA.

Good luck.

Thanks, Steve. I see MM mentioned often, in many places. Do you just do one "grit" (or whatever they call it) after the CA? It's one of those systems I've just never looked into seriously, but have been curious about. I wonder what kinds of problems folks have with the BLO-followed-by-CA approach. Following what was in the video I linked, it didn't seem tricky at all. You pen guys produce the most amazing finishes (well, next to the Classic Car Guys I know).
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
78
Likes
99
Location
Joplin, Missouri
Jamie, there are 9 "grit levels" with MM. You use all nine levels. The best is the MM that is on foam. I get mine from Wood-N-Whimsies in 3"x4" sheets and then cut them so that I get 6 out of each sheet. Like the Classic Car guys, the best results are had by wet sanding.
The comments I have heard about BLO & CA is that it can make the finish cloudy. I don't know if that was CA put on top of BLO or if they applied them together.
Steve
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3
Likes
0
Location
Desert Aire, Washington
Keep in mind there is nothing special about so called Danish oil. It's nothing more than thinned poly. As such, you can replace it with just that and forego the Danish completely.

My general rule is, if it mixes, it's fair game.




Jamie, I'm a dipper, so I think I can help. I have a 5 gal bucket that I have a blend of equal parts of BLO, Danish Oil and Miniwax Wipe On Poly (oil). After I finish sanding my turnings I'll dip them in the oil blend, let them drip and then take a paper towel and wipe off any excess. Depending on the wood, I may dip it twice or even let it sit in the oil for a day. After I have wiped off the excess I then set it aside for 3 or 4 days until it is completely dry and then Beall buff it.

For pens and bottle stoppers I use CA to finish them. I like the CA finish because it is very durable and will withstand the constant hand contact.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
Steve

PS--The 5 gal buck is only about 1/2 full. I keep a lid on it so that it doesn't dry out. It's one of the plastic lidded buckets that you can get at Lowes or Home Depot.
 
Back
Top