Need some finishing advice

[Andy Pedler]

Hi all, I'm working on finishing up a chess board, and I'd like some advice on the finish for it. It is made of birdseye maple and walnut. I did a lot of reading of old threads here and printed out a few of them, but somehow I'm still a little confused.

I sanded down to 220 and then did a light sanding with some 400 grit sandpaper. Then I applied a first coat of Watco Danish Oil "Natural", following a mix of instructions found here and on the can; apply liberally first, wait 30 minutes, re-apply second time, wait 15-30 minutes and wipe off any excess.

My question is, what is the next step? I'd really like to get a glossy finish on this (my dream is to have an almost mirror-like finish so you'll be able to see a reflection of the chess pieces). Here are the "weapons" at my disposal (on the shelf in the shop):

1. Watco Danish Oil "Natural"
2. Can of BLO
3. Spray can of Deft "High Gloss" lacquer
4. A couple cans of polyurethane

I can hit the HW store if I need something else, but I'm hoping one or more of these will work.

Q1. Should I continue to apply further coats of the Watco (waiting a few days in between to let it cure)?

Q2. Can I spray the Deft over the Watco? If so, do I want to do this?

Q3. How much sanding do you recommend between coats? I have plenty of fine sandpaper and 000 and 0000 steel wool on hand.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I'll post pix of the finished project when we get there. Thanks in advance!

- ap

[Paul Dwight]

That ultra-high gloss, mirror-like sheen takes a whole lotta work. The key is what you do after you finish laying down the topcoats -- "finishing the finish." You have to sand to remove imperfections and get a perfectly level surface. Then you polish the remaining finish to bring the sheen back up.

The process works best with a film-forming finish (which eliminates BLO and essentially eliminates Watco) that can be polished well. Lacquer works very well. Polyurethane is not as good a choice because, being a more flexible finish, it doesn't polish as well. The other advantage of lacquer over polyurethane is that each coat of lacquer partly dissolves the one before it, so that all the coats form one thick layer. Polyurethane doesn't do this, so when you sand through one layer of poly you see a faint white "witness line" marking the transition from one layer to the next. The witness line problem is a big deal because you'll be doing a lot of sanding and are very likely to cut through layers.

So, your can of Deft spray-on lacquer is a good place to start. Only thing is, you'll probably need more than one can. Spray can lacquer goes on very thin. You'll probably need more than 10 coats to build up enough film thickness for the leveling and polishing steps.

After you've applied your 10+ coats, wait a week or so for everything to fully cure. Wrap some wet-dry sandpaper around a good, flat sanding block and start leveling the surface. The grit you start with depends on how many imperfections you need to remove. If your topcoats went down well, you should be able to start with 220. If you have to fix problems, you may need to start at 120 or 150. Work your way sequentially up through every grit to about 400. After dry-sanding with 400 grit, add some water and start wet sanding with every grit as you continue working your way up to as fine a grit as you can obtain. Clean the surface thoroughly before moving to the next grit. If you can find an automotive paint store, you can buy wet-dry sandpaper up to 1200 or 1500 grit. Once you get to that point, you can finish with automotive polishing compounds. Be careful, especially near the edges, not to cut through to bare wood.

You might surf over to www.homesteadfinishing.com and check out Jeff Jewitt's "Articles" section. I think he has an article on "rubbing out" or "finishing the finish" which will go into more detail. The subject is also covered well in several of Jeff's books and in Bob Flexner's book.

As an alternative, you might want to pick up a bottle of Zinsser's French Polish shellac and experiment on some scraps. I haven't tried it, myself, but it has gotten good comments in a couple of woodworking magazines. A shellac finish that has been french polished by somebody who knows what he's doing is a thing of beauty with a gorgeous high gloss. Zinsser's product is supposed to take some of the "voodoo" out of the french polishing process and bring it more within the capabilities of the average woodworker.

Hope this helps. -- Paul

[Mark J Bachler]

Not sure if it helped Andy, But I now have a better understanding of the process.

Thanks much.

[Andy Pedler]

That ultra-high gloss, mirror-like sheen takes a whole lotta work.

The process works best with a film-forming finish (which eliminates BLO and essentially eliminates Watco) that can be polished well. Lacquer works very well.

So, your can of Deft spray-on lacquer is a good place to start. Only thing is, you'll probably need more than one can. Spray can lacquer goes on very thin. You'll probably need more than 10 coats to build up enough film thickness for the leveling and polishing steps.

Hope this helps. -- Paul
Hi Paul,

Thanks for the great information! But as with all things, the more I learn the more I discover I don't know, and the more I'm confused. So let me ask a few more questions.

I've already applied the first coat of Watco, and I'm actually extremely happy with the results. It looks great. But it isn't the glassy look I'd like to get to. My first question is, can I spray the Deft lacquer over the Watco oiled finish? If so, how many coats of the Watco should I put down? Or is this one of those, "Maybe next time...." kinds of things?

Secondly, assuming that I can spray the Deft on over the Watco, is there any trick to knowing how much to spray on for each coat? Are there risks to putting on too much or too little?

Finally, how long do you need to wait for the Deft lacquer to dry between applications? Do I sand or use steel wool between applications of lacquer, or just build up the 10 coats and then go into the final finishing process? that you describe?

Thanks again!

Andy Pedler - Newark, CA

[Donnie Raines]

Andy,

I would seal the oil with de-waxed shellac....maybe apply 2 coats. At that point you can apply the lacquer if you want to. Lacquer has some serious fumes to deal with, so please take that into account. Lacquer can be sprayed rather quickly over a previous coat. You can apply another coat as soon as the previous coat is dry to the touch....5 mintues or so depending on the conditions you are working in.

Another option is to buy a can of Zinseer clear shellac spray from Lowes. That stuff will build to a very high sheen and will have minimal fumes.