John Schreiber
04-10-2007, 12:30 AM
I finally finished and delivered a small project.
Most of it went smoothly. The wood is 8/4 Honduras Mahogany about 24” x 8”. I laid out the lettering using a graphics program, glued the paper to the wood and cut to just inside the lines. Then I removed the paper and did the final cutting by eye. The tools were a couple of knives I made from some cheap butt chisels and I sometimes used regular bench chisels. That was the satisfying part.
Did I mention I hate spar varnish? It bubbles at the slightest retouch. Dust loves it. It takes days to dry. It has to be sanded between layers. I won’t use it again in a project like this even though I don’t know anything else which can replace it.
I used Epifanes Clear Varnish, top notch stuff. I used their expensive brush thinner. I used a badger hair brush. I cleaned out one room of our house for over a month, covered the carpet and upholstery with plastic, wiped down the walls and every other surface I could, covered the furnace vent, and kept the door closed except for going in and out. I always took a shower and put on clean clothes between sanding and varnishing. Short of a professional setup I don’t think I could have done too much more.
Part of the secret with varnish seems to be to put it down in long smooth strokes and don’t touch it again. Unfortunately on an incised sign like this long strokes are not an option. Getting the varnish into the letters without having it pool there was another challenge. I used a second brush to suck up the pooled varnish, but after eight coats, some of the carving lost its precision. I found that I had to wait at least three days before sanding or the varnish would be gummy. Sanding the edges without going through the surface was nearly impossible, but I did pretty well using 000 steel wool.
The black paint went on well, it is Interlux brightside boot top paint.
Any suggestions about varnishing would be appreciated.
62154 62156 62155
This picture doesn't hide the flaws of the final coat of varnish.
62157
Most of it went smoothly. The wood is 8/4 Honduras Mahogany about 24” x 8”. I laid out the lettering using a graphics program, glued the paper to the wood and cut to just inside the lines. Then I removed the paper and did the final cutting by eye. The tools were a couple of knives I made from some cheap butt chisels and I sometimes used regular bench chisels. That was the satisfying part.
Did I mention I hate spar varnish? It bubbles at the slightest retouch. Dust loves it. It takes days to dry. It has to be sanded between layers. I won’t use it again in a project like this even though I don’t know anything else which can replace it.
I used Epifanes Clear Varnish, top notch stuff. I used their expensive brush thinner. I used a badger hair brush. I cleaned out one room of our house for over a month, covered the carpet and upholstery with plastic, wiped down the walls and every other surface I could, covered the furnace vent, and kept the door closed except for going in and out. I always took a shower and put on clean clothes between sanding and varnishing. Short of a professional setup I don’t think I could have done too much more.
Part of the secret with varnish seems to be to put it down in long smooth strokes and don’t touch it again. Unfortunately on an incised sign like this long strokes are not an option. Getting the varnish into the letters without having it pool there was another challenge. I used a second brush to suck up the pooled varnish, but after eight coats, some of the carving lost its precision. I found that I had to wait at least three days before sanding or the varnish would be gummy. Sanding the edges without going through the surface was nearly impossible, but I did pretty well using 000 steel wool.
The black paint went on well, it is Interlux brightside boot top paint.
Any suggestions about varnishing would be appreciated.
62154 62156 62155
This picture doesn't hide the flaws of the final coat of varnish.
62157