Your favorite Wipe on Finish?

[Brian Kent]

What is your favorite wipe-on Product for turnings? It is time to buy/mix some more and I an wondering about your favorites for turnings.

Context:
I use wipe-on finishes on almost everything I make & it's time to buy / mix some more.

I have used:
First furniture pieces - Watco Danish Wood Oil
Coffee Table - Waterlox (incredibly hard!)
Rocking Chair - Maloof Oil/Varnish followed by Oil/Wax
Outdoor furniture - Epifanes Marine (brushed on for thickness)
Various home mixes of Poly and Mineral Spirits
BLO, BLO / Poly / Mineral Spirits
Howard's Feed n Wax
De-waxed Shellac, Regular Shellac
Wipe on waxes, buffed carnuba

Since I started turning I have used my leftover Maloof products, Howard's "Feed n Wax", and Beall's buffed carnuba.

But I am about to use up all of my wipe on products and need to buy / mix some more. I have not been disappointed with any of the above. So this question is about your personal favorite Wipe-on product for turnings?

In case of a tie, this time I am looking for gloss finish or shiny wood finish over matte.

[Prashun Patel]

My favorite is Maloof Mix: BLO + semigloss polyurethane + some ms. It just always comes out great, and has better can-life than the 'better' varnishes, and is impossible to mess u. On an in-the-wood finish there's no difference in appearance though.

When I want a slight film but clarity's important, I reach for shellac.

For production, I prefer Deft Finish in a spray can. A single can'll last for several turnings. It's so darn brainless it feels like cheating...

[Mike Peace]

I like Minwax Antique Oil. Available from your local Ace hardware, Rockler and others.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

My goto finish is Polymerize Tung oil, (from Lee Valley) it's less yellowing than BLO and is an easy to apply oil that makes a tough finish.

[curtis rosche]

My go to finish is almost always Waterlox original. I love the way it looks.

[Brian Brightwell]

Brian, first of good name. Could you comment on Waterlox. I have never used it.

[Prashun Patel]

There are four things to know about Waterlox:

1) It's darker than most other varnishes.
2) It has a relatively short bottle life. You have to take care to decant into smaller containers or use Bloxygen or use it all up quickly.
3) The "Gloss" and "Satin" Waterloxes are full strength. The "Original Sealer Finish" is thinned to wiping consistency and is darker than the other two.
4) The Original Sealer Finish comes in VOC compliant and "Original" formulation. You want the Original one if you want it to perform as well as people around here say it does. It wipes on easy and levels wonderfully. It also brushes well if you choose.

[Scott Hackler]

For all my pieces I apply a 50% thinned Bulls Eye Shellac for a sanding sealer, sand that the next day with some 400 and apply WOP satin (4-5 coats over several days) or Minwax Tung Oil Finish (3-4 coats over several days) and then a slight scuff with some 600 and to the Beal buffing wheels. Finally I apply Ren wax and hand buff. This produces a nice soft gloss with the poly and a warm glow satin with the Tung Oil( my preference).

[Michael Stafford]

My favorite is Qualalacq lacquer thinned 50% with their proprietary thinner. Flood on with a bit of paper towel, wipe off with a clean paper towel and buff dry with cheesecloth. Works best on smallish items.

Larger items get thinned wipe on poly made in small batches, flooded on with a brush, wiped off with paper towel, buffed dry with more paper and cheesecloth.

Both finishes benefit from a top coat of Renaissance wax applied with a white 3M pad and buffed with cheesecloth and soft flannel or felt.

[Brian Kent]

Brian,
Everything Prashun just wrote about waterlox.
I have only used it on walnut, so I didn't know it was dark.
The finish is so hard that I have invited people for 4 years to put their shoes and coffee cups directly on the coffee table and it shows no scratches. It was also a test finish for future use on a dining table. There are cracks, but only where the wood shrunk underneath.
Brian

[David Walser]

My favorite wipe-on finish for turnings is Deft's brushing lacquer (branded as Deft Clear Wood Finish). I usually use semi-gloss, but gloss works, too. If the finish is too glossy, I can always reduce the gloss a tad with some 0000 steel wool. I like it because it produces an attractive, durable finish and because it's extremely quick and easy to apply. I can easily apply 4 coats (or more) in the space of an hour. Buffing in-between coats with a clean paper towel will cure the finish enough to apply another coat. In addition to using it as the final finish, I'll often use it as a sanding sealer. Thinned 50/50 with lacquer thinner, I can quickly fill the open pores of ash or oak with lacquer/sanding slurry. If lacquer isn't going to be the final finish, I can then sand down to the bare wood and apply whichever other finish I choose. Good stuff.

[John Keeton]

Minwax Wipe On Poly - foolproof, relatively cheap, and the "best overall and best value" in the Fine Woodworking test done in Issue #178, July-August 2005, if that means anything to you.

I have, however, on Leo's recommendation a year or so ago, acquired some of the Sutherland Welles polymerized tung oil (same as LV), but have yet to use it. I am impressed with its clarity and look forward to using it. The caveat is - it is horribly expensive and did not fair as well in the FWW test as did several others. It was listed as a 10 in darkness (1 being lightest) compared to a 4 for Minwax WOP.

[Deane Allinson]

Minwax Tung Oil Finish (4-5 coats over several days). Or Hope's 100% tung oil (I have to order it and Minwax is in hardware stores).

[Dennis Nagle]

I use 3-2-1. 3 parts shellac, 2 parts DNA, 1 part BLO. I burn in a coat on the piece, let it set for 5 min, then burn in another coat. I repeat that process until I have the shine I want. Then I use carnauba wax over that.

[Dennis Ford]

+1 for Minwax Wipe On Poly.

[Brian Kent]

Minwax Wipe On Poly - foolproof, relatively cheap, and the "best overall and best value" in the Fine Woodworking test done in Issue #178, July-August 2005, if that means anything to you.

According to the Lowes Website, the "Application Method" of Minwax Wipe On Poly is a "natural bristle brush." So I guess we can wipe this on with a brush instead of a lint free cloth. :rolleyes:

[Jamie Donaldson]

There is no need to wet a brush when applying WOP because you're going to wipe of any excess in about 5 minutes. Flood on a heavy coat with a cloth or paper towel, then wipe off the excess with another towel. Don't forget to spread out the finish towels to dry to avoid any possibility of spontaneous combustion! I couldn't operate a shop without Rags-in-a-Box from Lowes!

[David C. Roseman]

When I don't mind a slightly amber tint, and want a very soft lustre, I like Mahoney's Walnut Oil and Minwax Antique Oil. For a more durable finish, I've become real partial to General Finishes' ArmRSeal. It's an oil and urethane mix, with advantages of both. Very quick and user friendly. I prefer semi-gloss, for it's sheen, but it comes in satin and gloss. I just drip or wipe it on, rub it in, then lightly wipe it down with a piece of paper towel as it starts to polymerize. If part of the piece it textured, it self-levels nicely. I recoat after 15 minutes, with no problem, so can build a finish pretty quickly. Easy to sand and repair after it's fully cured, unlike some of the true polyurethanes. Yet still quite durable.

With very light wood, where a clearer finish is preferable, I've just started using GF Woodturners' Finish, which is waterborne. Doesn't seem to make the wood figure "pop" like oil or urethane, though, so I quess that's a trade off.

David

[Justin Stephen]

I was using WOP for awhile but grew to dislike the plastic-y finish. I tried to use WTF for a few segmented pieces but likewise didn't care for the tactility of the finish. Just lately it has been Minwax Antique Oil and I am happy with that right now.

[Prashun Patel]

Justin-
I'm surprised WOP has as many fans as it does on the Turner's forum. I agree with you that when built up it looks plasticky. You should try using an alkyd or phenolic resin varnish (thinned to wiping consistency). They dry harder, buff better (at least on flat things) and are clearer than poly.

I do like the odor and can life of poly better than the other varnishes, so in oil/varnish mixes - or semigloss/satin applications, I prefer poly to other resin types.

[philip labre]

I prefer Tru-oil. It's a polymerized oil like Leo recommended, but it's linseed oil based. It was developed for gunstocks and is quite popular with luthiers as well. Just wipe light coats on with a scrap of t-shirt and
3M pad between coats. Multiple coats can be applied per day and once hardened, buffs well.