What finish to use?

[Tony Bilello]

I am looking for a quick durable finish to apply to my turnings.
If I want to sell my 'stuff' I cant have too much time into them.
I was thinking of spraying laquer. Is there anything that is also that durable that can be applied quickly on the lathe?

Thanks in advance

Tony B

[Jim Becker]

Define "durable". Pretty much any finish you choose is going to be fine on turnings outside of some very specific needs for things like newel posts, etc. Varnish, lacquer, shellac, etc., are all perfectly fine for turnings. Spraying lacquer is a good choice as long as you have a safe place to do it and proper safety gear.

[Tony Bilello]

What I meant by durable is that it can get wet accidentally.
I found from experience that oils and waxes do not handle the occasional splash.
Is there any kind of poly or varnish that can be rubbed in on the lathe?
I would prefer to take the piece off of the lathe and be done with it.

Rhanks

Tony B

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tony,

What kind of turnings are you wondering about?

Pens and bottlestoppers...small things I often friction finish on the lathe.

I'll friction a very light coat BLO on to pop the grain. I'll follow that with a couple of coats of dewaxed shellac. Then I'll friction on a couple of coats of Deft brushing lacquer.

All these are frictioned on and can be accomplished in 20-30 minutes.

Larger things like bowls, I've come to use danish or antique oil OFF THE LATHE. These are actually oil/varnish mixes. 2 coats and then buff following a drying period.

[Mike Peace]

Tony,

Larger things like bowls, I've come to use danish or antique oil OFF THE LATHE. These are actually oil/varnish mixes. 2 coats and then buff following a drying period.

Ken, do you put on a coat of wax as part of your buffing regimen or do you stop with tripoli and/or white diamond?

[Glenn Hodges]

Tony Russ Fairfield is know for his expertise in finishes. This is his link

http://www.woodturnerruss.com/FinishingSecrets.html

I use lacquer on some of my bowls, and Russ's tung oil mixture on others. I have been eating salad from a wild black cherry bowl finished with lacquer, and the bowl still looks great.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Ken, do you put on a coat of wax as part of your buffing regimen or do you stop with tripoli and/or white diamond?


Mike,

I'll typically use wax. If I don't like the way it looks then a second buff on the white diamond remedies the situation.

[Chris Stolicky]

I find that the Behlan's (sp?) Woodturners finish is a quick and easy way to put a shine on small turnings. You just use friction and heat it up. I really don't know what happens if you get it wet though. I typically use a little bit of BLO to pop the grain and then use the friction polish.

I don't use it on wood pens though. I stick to CA/BLO, unless it is an oily wood like Cocobolo. In that case, I would only use Ren. Wax.

[Matt Hutchinson]

I have been using Watco wipe on poly on the lathe (satin - I don't prefer gloss on most fine woodworking). It takes a little getting used to, but it does very well. I still have some tricks to try, but overall I have had good luck. With the lathe spinning slowly I apply the poly liberally. Then, I let it set for a few minutes. It is quick drying and this lets it coagulate, as well as soak in a tiny bit. Then I wipe it off with a dry rag. This puts a very thin film of protection, and you won't get a lot of build. A few coats like this and it's ready for wax. I don't have a buffing system yet, so I just apply a thin coat of high quality paste wax by hand, then buff it out after it's dried.

One thing I would like to try is thinning it a lot, then letting is soak very deep into the wood. I am hoping this will really create a deep, rich looking finish, as well as bring out any figuring.

Hutch