Noah Barfield
04-28-2013, 12:37 PM
Hi all,
I'm having difficulty finding a fast, consistent finishing method for the items I make for the local farmers' market. Right now, I'm using plain (inexpensive) eastern sugar and silver maple to make bottle stoppers and salt / pepper grinders. With the bottle stoppers, I use art markers to apply the color and then spray 6 coats of Deft clear lacquer. Because the bottle stoppers are so small, the drying time is fairly minimal.
With the grinders, however, I'm coloring them with Transtint dye suspended in 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). The Deft spray over the color really provides the depth and "pop" that I want, but I'm finding that each coat takes 30-40 minutes to dry. With six coats, that requires a minimum of 3 hours not including sanding. Because I'm trying to do more production-mode turning, I'd like to cut that time down.
With both the bottle stoppers and the grinders, I've tried using Doctor's Finish oil / shellac mix. It produces a matte / semi-gloss finish, but makes the colors look dull and muddy. Definitely no "pop."
A few more details--My shop is in an unheated (but well insulated) single car garage near Seattle. I don't have $$$ or room for a nice air compressor, so I'm preferably hoping to find a finish that I can either spray on (rattle can) or wipe on.
Your expertise would be greatly appreciated!
Noah
I'm having difficulty finding a fast, consistent finishing method for the items I make for the local farmers' market. Right now, I'm using plain (inexpensive) eastern sugar and silver maple to make bottle stoppers and salt / pepper grinders. With the bottle stoppers, I use art markers to apply the color and then spray 6 coats of Deft clear lacquer. Because the bottle stoppers are so small, the drying time is fairly minimal.
With the grinders, however, I'm coloring them with Transtint dye suspended in 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). The Deft spray over the color really provides the depth and "pop" that I want, but I'm finding that each coat takes 30-40 minutes to dry. With six coats, that requires a minimum of 3 hours not including sanding. Because I'm trying to do more production-mode turning, I'd like to cut that time down.
With both the bottle stoppers and the grinders, I've tried using Doctor's Finish oil / shellac mix. It produces a matte / semi-gloss finish, but makes the colors look dull and muddy. Definitely no "pop."
A few more details--My shop is in an unheated (but well insulated) single car garage near Seattle. I don't have $$$ or room for a nice air compressor, so I'm preferably hoping to find a finish that I can either spray on (rattle can) or wipe on.
Your expertise would be greatly appreciated!
Noah