potential customer question

[Charlie Knighton]

when a customer looks at turning, they always want to know what type of finsih, how long it lasts, and how to renew being a new turner i do not have the experience to express knowledgable answers so help!

FINISH HOW LONG LAST HOW TO RENEW
DANISH OIL
DANISH OIL WITH BEALE
LEMON OIL
LEMON OIL WITH BEALE
POLY GEL
LACQUER
TUNG OIL
URETHONE OIL

suppose to be in spreadsheel form

 

[Barbara Gill]

Where in Virginia are you? I live in Middlesex County down near the Bay.

I use almost only a Danish oil finish with the Beale. The length of time any finish lasts depends upon it's use. For items that are going to be used and not displayed I suggest that the customer use either food grade mineral oil very lightly when the item needs "spiffing" up. I also use and sell Clapham's Salad Bowl finish ( beeswax and mineral oil) for the same thing.

For items to be displayed only I use Renaissance wax after the buffing with
tripoli.

Lemon oil is not a very good finish (IMHO). It is mostly mineral oil.

 

[dkulze]

Hey Charley,

I'm with Barb. I use eurythane oils almost exclusively for my pieces. This includes most Danish oils and tung oils, as they are usually composed mostly of eurythane oil. The finish you get is durable and long lasting. The more coats you use, the more plasticized it gets and the longer it goes without any need to refresh. Lemon oil and mineral oil are non-polymerizing, which basically means they never dry. BLO polymerizes but is cloudy and soft, resulting in much less stable finishes than eurythane.

The biggest influences on refinishing/refreshing are humidity and sunlight. If cared for politely, a piece will go years with no need for anything more than a dusting or light wipe down. I generally tell folks that, if the piece starts looking dull, a light wipe down with any commercial past wax will restore it. Worse comes to worst, they can hit it with commercial furniture polish with relative safety. If there's a problem, I encourage them to keep my card with the piece and contact me (which, purely incidentally, also acts as advertisement when people "ohh" and "ahh" over the piece).

Notably, exposure to water without IMMEDIATE drying will result in permanant discolorations that have to be deeply sanded out, if you can get them out at all.

I don't use laquer, shellac, or varnish so I can't speak to them.

Dietrich

 

[Charlie Knighton]

where

i live in martinsville va i attended a class by barbara dill on multi-axis spindle turning is that you??

how long would a display bowl out of the sun of friction polish last and how do you renew it some pieces look very good with that wet look, but i would hate to think 6 months down the road the finish goes kaput

 

[seafoam]

Thing is, many finishes aren't really renewable by the consumer, especially film finishes. Best they can do in most cases is a paste wax.

FWIW, I have some pieces that I finished with friction polish many years ago when I was starting out and they are fine, but they have been hidden away in boxes for most of this time

On kitchen use bowls I always use an oil finish (walnut or mineral) and give instructions on reapplying more oil or salad bowl wax (beeswax/mineral oil blend). It uses simple and safe materials and is hard for users to mess up.

 

[Barbara Gill]

No, I am Barbara Gill. Barbara Dill is from the Richmond area I believe. My family has a place up at Philpotte lake. I was raised in Greensboro, NC.

I have pieces several years old that are out of the sun; they look as good as when they were finished.

 

[dkulze]

Hey Charlie,

The friction polishes tend to be pretty low durability compared to your polymerizing oils. They are mostly wax and shellac in a solvent/lubricant and are designed mostly for small items. If you take the time to do a couple of coats of eurythane oil, you'll get more depth and staying power. If you're worried about wait time to do this, just do the first coat or two on the lathe and, after a brief soak and wipe clean, burnish it with a cloth sufficient to heat it up a fair amount. This will cut drying time significantly as it speeds the evaporation of solvents and curing of the oil.

Dietrich

 

[Douglas Long]

Baitbegger, thanks for posting this question, and thanks to all who've answered. I've been turning for around ten years now, and I'm still using the same mixture of alcohol, shellac, and mineral spirits that I started with. I just never gave any thought to using better methods. I have several pens that I've turned over the years, and I have noticed how quickly the finish dulls. This goes the same for other items that I've turned. I knew that there were other finishes, I just never considered changing. I'm now going to do some research and expermenting to see what improvements I might be able to make.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Hey Charlie,

The friction polishes tend to be pretty low durability compared to your polymerizing oils. They are mostly wax and shellac in a solvent/lubricant and are designed mostly for small items.

What you mean to say, I assume, is that the resins in oil-based finishes, commonly called varnishes, are more durable than the shellac resin and its alcohol solvent. Tung, Linseed and walnut oils, to name a few, do polymerize, but without the resins to harden them, they're very soft films indeed.

No free lunch, however. Though shellac is vulnerable to alkali and heat, it's easily renewed, because the new coat binds chemically, rather than mechanically to the previous coats. Likewise with lacquer. Chips and scratches are easily repaired, while poly, and especially water-based poly, can be next to impossible.

To my way of thinking, save for a look-only piece, the best finish is the one the user can renew. Means polymerizing oil or low-solids "Danish" oil in non-surface-loading thickness. Dents like the wood, without chipping, and looks great, however briefly, when oiled again. Looking stuff gets shellac.

This bowl was originally coated with a urethane wiping varnish, but looked so uneven when the second coat sat on the surface and soaked into the punky areas, refusing to even out with sanding and an attempted third coat, that it was unacceptable. I re-chucked it and turned away the varnish and a bit of wood and went back to a walnut oil. Coat one is about cured, waiting for buff off and coat two, and I think I'm going to call it a save. No choice but to go back to bare wood with an oil-based.

 

[dkulze]

I use the eurythane wiping varnishes for punky wood like that, Mike. I've just learned that you're gonna need multiple coats with long cures in between till you get an even finish. Even then, you do well to put the piece in a warm, dry place (or in the sun, as the UV seems to speed curing) for a pretty good period to let it stabilize. Have had good results that way but ya pretty much have to use enough coats to plasticize the wood.

I've found scratches pretty easy to fix with light sanding and a fresh buff. Even mild discolorations such as from water, though, are permanent. Not so much so with laquer or shellac unless they're really bad.