Question about finish on bark/ natural surfaces.

[Bill Jobe]

I understand the need to sand between coat of most finishes.
Are there certain finishes that cling best to additional coats without sanding for pieces with unsanded,rough areas such as where rot was removed, or for sealing the bark?

[Bill McNiel]

Bill,
I have done a fair number of live edge projects and would advise you to remove the bark. If you don't, time will.
regards- Bill

[Wayne Lomman]

All finishes have a re-coat window. The manufacturer's data sheet should quote both a minimum and maximum re-coat time. If you re-coat within this time frame, the coating will bond to the previous coat.

For example, today I am using a product called Interplus 1180. The ambient temperature is about 15C so the data sheet says at that temperature I can re-coat after 11 hours minimum and 56 days maximum subject to the fine print at the end of the document. This means I'm good to go after the weekend. On the other hand, I recall a product where the maximum re-coat time was 60 hours and we couldn't get back to it until 63 hours had elapsed. It seemed close enough but 12 months later the top coat de-laminated. The customer wasn't happy - it was inside the spiral casing of a hydro electric turbine and it had to be shut down for the repair. The rework cost was eye watering.

Bark will stay on some species and not others. My father was a professional turner specializing in mulga, which is an extremely dense acacia species from outback Australia. My mother has a piece of his work that is over 70 years old and the bark is still rock solid. Cheers

[Bennett Ostroff]

You could spray shellac on the bark (no sanding needed between coats) and then finish the top separately, assuming you want something more durable. But I also would 100% remove the bark if it were me.

[Bill Jobe]

The wife likes the bark. It has to stay.

[Wayne Lomman]

If the bark can be separated intact, glue it back on. No reason to get rid of it if you like it. Cheers

[Dave McKeithan]

On the natural edge tables I make, when I leave the bark on, I flood the wood/bark interface with thin CA glue. This seems to help keep the bark from coming loose. I finish with poly and just spray on several coats on the bark area. I've never had any problems with the finish not adhering or delaminating.

[John K Jordan]

I understand the need to sand between coat of most finishes.
Are there certain finishes that cling best to additional coats without sanding for pieces with unsanded,rough areas such as where rot was removed, or for sealing the bark?

I know several professional turners who use Krylon 1311 acrylic matte spray finish on wood and bark.

[David Helm]

I agree with Bill. I have done a fair amount of live edge work, including kitchen peninsula and other "non-working) counters. Bark loosens, but it also can harbor wood boring insects. I see that your wife likes the bark on. That may be a hard one to change.

[Bennett Ostroff]

I just remembered that I used Minwax Wood Hardener on some bark and it worked perfectly and looked great. From the Minwax website:

Minwax® High Performance Wood Hardener is a quick drying liquid formulated to strengthen and reinforce decayed or rotting wood. The hardener penetrates deep into the wood and its special resin binds and reinforces the decayed wood fibers.