using waterlox on turnings

[Aaron Wingert]

I picked up some waterlox wood finish today at the recommendation of a guy at Woodcraft.

What have you guys/gals found to be the best way to apply it to your turnings? The guy at woodcraft said a piece of old t-shirt works well. Do you brush, spray...How do you do it?

I'm trying for a durable finish that looks nice and thick and glossy.

What sort of dry times have you experienced with it? Do you sand between coats?

Thanks for any advice!

[curtis rosche]

i put it on a paper towel/shop cloth rag. i stick the corner of the papaer towel into the opening on the bottle then tip the bottle. then apply to the turning. time depends on the wood and the coat. if its a soft wood and a 1-3 coat it could be touchable in a couple hours. otherwise its 24 hours. i use just a cloth to polish it between coats on the lathe

[Ryan Baker]

Waterlox is pretty thick (you're not going to spray it without some serious thinning), and it sets up sticky pretty fast. I put it on with a rag. Give it about 24 hours between coats. I find that I definitely need to use either very fine sandpaper or steel wool between coats, and buff at the end.

[curtis rosche]

leave it on the lathe to aplly but leave the lathe off, or use low speed. i did find you can get a really good finish if you put on a thick coat the let it set with the lathe on. something with the motion smoothes the finish to a mirror

[Bernie Weishapl]

I put it on with a old T-shirt. I finish off the lathe and use synthetic wool between coats. I let it dry 24 hrs before I apply the second coat.

[Aaron Wingert]

Thanks everyone! I'll be giving it a try on a curly claro walnut turkey call tonight.

[Harvey Mushman]

Thanks everyone! I'll be giving it a try on a curly claro walnut turkey call tonight.

Thin the first coat with an equal amount of mineral spirits so the Waterlox will achieve a deeper penetration. Reduce the mix of Waterlox to mineral spirits with each coat, gradually building up your finish.

I've made a ton of turkey calls and have found that ML Campbell Magna-Max is an incredible finish. This is a pre-catalyzed commercial cabinet lacquer. The great thing is that it is about as "bullet proof" of a finish as you can find!...(pun intended). Many turkey hunters will use some type of insect repellant and Magna-Max will not be harmed by DEET.

H.

[Terry Quiram]

Aaron

You should pour the Waterlox into smaller containers, like small baby food jars. Once you open the can the finish will start to cure and if you don't use it right away you will loose it.

[Cyril Griesbach]

Terry is right. It's thick..ie..high solids content and drier content and therefore will begin to set up in the can and you'll be left with a lot of expensive but useless finish. An alternative would be to buy a can of Bloxogygen and spray a shot in the can after each use.

[CW McClellan]

ML Cambell Mag Max has shelf life of 4 months
" " Lac has shelf life of 12-14 months
Even with adding Bioxoygygen dealer said won't prolong hardening
At $36.33 gal. best have few friends to split it up and buy 1 gal a group purchase--pour up in small baby food jars and use acording -less loss this way

[Aaron Wingert]

I've heard of using glass marbles to fill the can to the very top to minimize the amount of air in it. I thought about trying that....:confused:

[curtis rosche]

it depends on how quick you are going to use it. if you turn enough that you are putting it on a peice every thre- 4 days, you will most likely get to the end of the can before it gets to the unusable point.

[David Walser]

I've heard of using glass marbles to fill the can to the very top to minimize the amount of air in it. I thought about trying that....:confused:

There are pros and cons to using marbles (and other space taker-uppers). While the marbles allow you to easily "change the size" of the container, they also get coated with the finish. The finish that gets stuck to the marbles cannot be used to finish your project (just as the finish that gets stuck to the sides and bottom of the can cannot be used).