I turned a set of S & P grinders using Padauk; it's the first time I've worked with Padauk. I put the first coat of Minwax Fast Drying Poly on, and after 36 hours it's still tacky. Anyone have a similar experience? Will the poly eventually dry completely? Any remedies for this situation? TIA.
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Polyurethane on Padauk
- Thread starter Ed Weingarden
- Start date
I've never tried poly on Padauk so can't help with that. I've usually use lacquer or oil, but oil changes the color quickly, lacquer not as quickly. But you probably know that Padauk in general doesn't hold that beautiful color for long. A thick film finish with UV protection may prolong the color for a while.
From the wood database:
"Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red. Most pieces tend to start a vibrant reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening substantially over time to a reddish/purplish brown (some lighter-colored pieces can age to a grayish brown). UV-inhibiting finishes may prolong, but not prevent the gradual color-shift of this brightly colored wood."
JKJ
From the wood database:
"Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red. Most pieces tend to start a vibrant reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening substantially over time to a reddish/purplish brown (some lighter-colored pieces can age to a grayish brown). UV-inhibiting finishes may prolong, but not prevent the gradual color-shift of this brightly colored wood."
JKJ
@ JKJ - thanks for the info. Since they'll be handled often, I'm not sure of the durability of lacquer, and using an oil did not enter my mind. Now that I know what happens when poly is put directly on the wood, maybe next time (if there is a next time) I'll try shellac sanding sealer first. Guess I'll just have to wait to see if it eventually dries fully.
Most of the time, I don't put finish on padauk, but buff the surface, maybe with some wax. If I do want a finish, I'll wipe the surface with some alcohol to remove the padauk's natural oils prior to applying the finish. Padauk doesn't seem as oily as some other exotics, but it can behave the same relative to finishes.
I have had the same experience. I think it’s the oils in Padauk that interfere with the polymerization of the poly. I now use walnut oil instead.
Tom Gall
TOTW Team
I've always used shellac as the first coat over any exotic wood (and a lot of domestic woods). Sanding sealer? I've always used the spray can version by spraying onto a cloth (old pantyhose works great) and applying it to the piece. Dries quickly and saves on the number of coats needed of your preferred finish.
Very good point. Shellac is widely known as the universal undercoat or between coats of other finishes. Brushed, sprayed, pure shellac or sealer. Shellac by itself doesn't seem very durable, but better with a coat of something else on top.
For a very durable finish, regardless of handling moisture, etc, I like the gun finish TruOil. Normally quite glossy unless cut back with pumice and/or rottenstone. (Makes an amazing finish for gun stocks, often heavily used outdoors in all weather!)
JKJ
I have also used TruOil over padauk (and pretty much every other wood save the oily dahlbergias) without issue. One of my favorite finishes.
Do you mean the rosewoods (dalbergia) ?
Curious why you don't use TruOil there. Bad experience? Not needed?
I've used it on many rosewoods that get handled a lot and may get wet. But haven't tried it on the waxy lignum vitae.
JKJ
Yes, rosewoods-I have tried it on a few spindle projects like shaving brushes and the like. My experience is that the oily tropicals might grudgingly take up a few coats, but after I had a few that remained tacky after only a couple of coats I just quit using it for the oily tropicals. Sometimes I just do a final polish letting the natural oils be the finish, sometimes the Beall buffs with carnauba wax-ymmv and all that. I'm always experimenting because (I suspect like many of you) I am rarely 100% satisfied with a finish. I recently did a lignum vitae shaving brush that just got the Beall buffs; I figure if it gets grubby from use I can just refinish it.
Funny-I told a new turner at our club's last class (calabashes by Kirk Deheer) that if you ask a simple turning question, 10 different turners will give you 20 different answers, and all of them are true for them in their shop using their tools and methods. I'm always learning some new or different approach from different turners; that's part of the fun for me.
Update - yesterday I wiped mineral spirits on the bottom of one of the grinders. Later in the day I checked it and it was not tacky. This morning it also was not tacky, so I wiped both of the grinders completely with MS. If they remain non-tacky, I'll re-sand them as the next step. Stay tuned.
I've not yet had TruOil remain tacky. I use 0000 steel wool between coats. My shop is temperature/humidity controlled.
In my experience TruOil goes "bad" quickly, can set up if you look at it sideways. To control that, as I've mentioned elsewhere, I always quickly replace the air with inert gas before fastening the lid for storage. Another variable.
I do like to simply buff some rosewoods, use shellac on some that don't get handled a lot and are not expected to be around alcohol.
I did find out one thing the hard way - in experimenting I applied "danish" oil to some cocobolo with beautiful colors In a few months the piece was almost black.
So true about the different answers! There are often variables assumed but not clarified.
JKJ
I hear you about TO curing prematurely; once it starts stiffening up it is worthless for finishing (ask me how I learned that!). I poke a tiny hole in the foil and dispense from that, and can usually get through the 8-ounce bottle without too much of it hardening up in the bottom. As for applying it, my usual method is light coats burnished in with a t-shirt square dampened with mineral spirits, usually in my house after an initial coat or 2 on the lathe depending on the wood. On breezy/dry/sunny days on my sunny back deck (usually spring and fall), I will often have several pieces curing various oil finishes very quickly in those conditions (but certainly not in this summer's hellish heat and humidity!). If I'm building up 8 or 9 coats for something fancy, I will usually do whisper-light buffing with 0000 about every 3rd coat.
Lately I'm using T&T Danish and Varnish Oils for kitchenware I'm marketing as food-safe, or Doctor's Woodshop Oil and Wax friction polish if I don't have time to cure multiple coats of blo. Experimenting with various hand-rubbed oil finishes has always been my favorite part of any woodworking project. The fruit of all your labor is finally revealed. I never get tired of that!
I suspect you already have some of the good books on finishing. I like Bob Flexner's and I have another, can't remember the author at the moment.
I was concerned that if TruOil is still liquid but ALMOST ready to turn might have some effect on how it cured or whether it got tacky.
I use a tank of argon to treat finishes - I have one plastic bottle of TruOil maybe opened 6 years ago that still fine.
But a single can of Bloxygen should last nearly forever to treat small bottles of TruOil after use (it's also argon).
JKJ