Help with mission finish

[Tom Krueger]

Hi guys. New here so bear with me. Never built anything in mission before just have a question. I think I've come up with a nice color (transfast brown mahogany dye for a base color followed by dark walnut oil stain. )I've read mission looks best with as little finish as possible, so I was thinking about maybe 3 coats of shellac rubbing out the last coat with steel wool and dark paste wax. (don't know where to find black wax, I heard that's what Stickley used?)
Any help or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

[John TenEyck]

Many folks here have been pleased following Jeff Jewitt's process for creating Stickley Mission finishes: http://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/resources/articles/ I am one of them.

John

[Art Mann]

I don't use Shellac as a final finish very often because it isn't very durable in my experience. I use wax only for looks over a durable under coat because it provides almost zero physical protection from scratches or chemicals.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Many folks here have been pleased following Jeff Jewitt's process for creating Stickley Mission finishes:
http://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/resources/articles/ I am one of them.

John

Me too.


One finish that has worked well for me is the hoary classic mix-your-own oil & varnish. Leaves a reasonably durable finish, and a "soft" appearance

1/3 BLO
1/3 varnish - your choice. W'lox, spar, whatever
1/3 thinner. I like turps, other people use other stuff

Ratios are not decimal-precision.

Over-thin the 1st coat for absorption. Flood it on. Watch to make sure you re-flood any spots that absorb the finish and look dry. Let it sit until just before it really thickens - barely getting tacky - which is usually 30 - 45 minutes for me - then rub it off like a madman - you gotta get it all to avoid pools/shiny spots. Come back every 15 minutes or so for an hour to look for weeping out of joints, etc. Use a dowel, sharpened to a point, inside a rag to get into corners.

Next 2 or 3 coats - same method, but regular strength.

[Bill Littler]

I'm going to be finishing a mission piece soon too. Could I substitute Bulls Eye SealCoat for the General Finishes SealACell Sealer the Jeff Jewitt's recipe/process describes? I have a qt of this on hand and would like to use what I have rather than add to my collection.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I'm going to be finishing a mission piece soon too. Could I substitute Bulls Eye SealCoat for the General Finishes SealACell Sealer the Jeff Jewitt's recipe/process describes? I have a qt of this on hand and would like to use what I have rather than add to my collection.

Yep. That works just fine. I use shellac all the time as sealer [mine from flakes; the Seal Coat is very good] It is a 2# cut. If it was me, I would thin it back to a 1# cut, and then put on two light coats,using a padding cloth.

[Bill Littler]

Forgive me for my ignorance but thinning to a "cut" is not something I'm familiar with. Could you help me? Definitely a newbie with this :confused:

[Bill Littler]

One more question. According to the label, Seal coat can be used with dyes. Could I save a step and put my dye in with the seal coat? Thanks in advance.

[Gene Davis]

I am a Jewitt practitioner myself. Dye first, then seal with GF Seal-A-Cell, then the GF gel stain, then Arm-R-Seal x 4 to 6. Everything wiped after the dye, and if you can spray the dye, do it.

The best thing to do is, whatever you select as a program, try it out on a sample.

Not sure what color dye and gel stain to use to get the mission finish of which you speak, and you have not said what species of wood you are using. My guess is QSWO.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Forgive me for my ignorance but thinning to a "cut" is not something I'm familiar with. Could you help me? Definitely a newbie with this :confused:

Hey - no problem - none of us were born knowing this stuff. With the exception of George W....I believe he was present at the Creation of All Things Woodworking - not an age reference, an "unfathomable knowledge" issue.

Shellac is defined by its "cut" - that tells you how much shellac is in a particular batch. If you put 2 # of shellac flakes into 1 gallon of denatured alcohol [DNA], you have a 2# cut. For a quart, you just do the math and keep the proportions the same.

The Zinnser Seal Coat is a 2# cut of fairly clear dewaxed shellac - perfect for sealing. But - I prefer it to be thinner, so I make a 1 # cut. I make mine from flakes, but that's just me - you can take the Seal Coat, measure out something - like a cup - and mix it with a cup of DNA. So you have a 1 # cut.

Before the decimal police jump on me....you don't have precisely a 1 # cut. If you think about it, 2# of shellac flakes has some volume, so when you mix it with 1 gallon of DNA, you have more than 1 gallon of the mix. So - 50/50 won't get you to precisely a 1 # cut. But - that is a trivial difference, important only to those with too much time on their hands.... ;)

Ask away. We don't bite. Except Myk and Harold, sometimes....... :p :p

[Kent A Bathurst]

I am a Jewitt practitioner myself. Dye first, then seal with GF Seal-A-Cell, then the GF gel stain, then Arm-R-Seal x 4 to 6.

As am I. I was pleased to be able to take a class with him at Highland, some years ago.

Understand this: His recipes all changed once he became a distributor of GF at Homestead Finishing. Before then, I don't recall GF being mentioned. I don't blame him - no complaints whatsoever. He would never recommend a product that was less than top-notch, and he doesn't sell any products that are less than top-notch. Just sayin....... cui bono.

On the flip side - I get my shellac flakes from him, so that's all balanced out...............

[Kent A Bathurst]

One more question. According to the label, Seal coat can be used with dyes. Could I save a step and put my dye in with the seal coat? Thanks in advance.

Yes - but with completely different results. That is done for "shade" or "tone" - not to dye the wood. Don't do that in this example.

Unless, of course, you try it out first and decide that is what you are looking for - - in which case, ignore everything I just said. ;)

[Bill Littler]

Thanks for all your help Kent. I'm following it step by step. I did a sample piece the last couple days up to last step and had good results. Just got done staining my project a little bit ago. Super excited to see the finished results! Thanks again.

[Bill Littler]

Finishing process is going very well. I've completed each step including the gel stain step of Jewitt's procedure and love the results so far. I'm running a bit short on time though. Since I used the Zinsser Bullseye Sealcoat as my sanding sealer could I use a spray lacquer as the final finish coat? I'm looking for a way to get a couple coats of finish on and dry by Friday morning (project is for a fundraiser auction Friday evening). Will spray can lacquer provide equivalent protection to the ArmRSeal? According to the mfg the spray lacquer dries very quickly and I can get a couple coats on in just a few hours. Would a spray polyurethane be better choice? I really don't like taking short cuts especially when I'm down to the final hours but if it's a good viable option I might consider it.

Project is a hall bench so people could be sitting on the bench portion. That would be the only high wear area that I'd be concerned with.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Spray lacquer - I know nothing about that.

One option - take your time to do a bang-up job: Get a spray can of Zinsser - it is clear dewaxed. Spray on a couple light coats. This will give you enough of a finish for the auction. Post a note on the piece, telling the buyer[s] that the bench will go back to your shop for 1 week for final finishing, then delivery to them. I can't imagine anyone would shy away from that deal - - probably appreciate your attention to doing a quality job.

The Arm-R-Seal, and other varnishes, will adhere just fine to the shellac............