what oil finishes do you all use on your turnings? do you just buff them, or what 'outer' finishes do you put over the oil, once it cures? mike
[OP]
Member
what oil finishes do you all use on your turnings? do you just buff them, or what 'outer' finishes do you put over the oil, once it cures? mike
Moderator
Mike - I started with Watco 'Natural' Danish Oil, then went to Minwax Antique Oil and for the last couple of years have stuck with Minwax Gloss Wipe-On Poly. Once it is cured I buff using the Beall system and all 3 steps. I am considering getting the PL compound and wheel for the poly and changing the wax over to Conservator's or Renaissance as they do not show fingerprints or water spots.
Steve
“You never know what you got til it's gone!”
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[OP]
Member
Steve, ever have problems with dark wood like walnut picking up white compound and not being able to get it out? regarding pl, caswell plating sells great wheels and a couple of compounds for buffing plastic. mike
Moderator
Mike - to be honest, I have only turned a few very small items out of Walnut and have not had any problems. I did pay attention to the advice of others and did not use the white diamond when buffing the Walnut bottle stoppers. Thanks for the pointer on the plastic buffing compounds!
Steve
“You never know what you got til it's gone!”
Please don’t let that happen!
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Contributor
Mike I also use minwax AO. I have been using it now for a couple of years on most of my turnings including utility items. I buff after a couple of weeks of drying. I do not use white diamond on dark woods such as walnut. I strickly use Renaissance wax as it does not show finger prints. Carnuba shows them really bad and if it happens to get a sprinkle on it, it will have water spots.
Bernie
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.
Member
Now, I am going to setup/buy a 3 part buffing system. Now the Beall system has 3 wheels of different cotton blends......now are those specific wheels important or could I use three pure cotton wheels, with the three waxes. this could save alot of money, but if in any way it would have a noticeably different outcome I'll just buy the beall system. You never know because sometimes companies stress things like the different wheels that can't be found elsewhere just so people pay more for their product. and as far as the beall system on the lathe what is better, switching out the wheels (which I'm leaning towards) or the center to center mandrel?
Contributor
I have the beall system on a spare 1750 rpm motor I had. I mount the three wheels one at a time. The first wheel is used with tripoli, the second is used with white diamond and the third is for wax in which I use only Renaissance wax not the carnuba.
Bernie
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.
Member
Mike --
For the experience that I've had (not much) the finish that I like best is about 3 coats of Tung oil followed with shellac. Second favorite oil and lacquer.
I've tried buffing/polishing my pieces a couple of times and haven't found that to add to the finish...but that could just be because I'm doing things incorrectly.
Member
i use waterlox and love it. it shines nice. it hardens soft woods. it doesnt soak in near as much as i have seen teak oil on really soft woods
14x48 custom 2hp 9gear lathe
9 inch pre 1940 craftsman lathe
36 inch 1914 Sydney bandsaw (BEAST)
Wood in every shelf and nook and cranny,,, seriously too much wood!
Member
Same here. I also often do a couple coats of waterlox and then buff by hand with 0000 steel wool and then apply paste wax for a muted deeper looking finish.Originally Posted by curtis rosche
Member
White diamond, in dark wood, will get into the little pores, and you cant get it out....
I use tung oil and wipe on poly. WOP is FAST. Oils take a little while to dry between coats. I'm moving towards WOP, but I think I'll try Antique Oil next trip to the BORG. Almost out of the WOP
Member
Conservator's or Renaissance wax
be very careful with endgrain
Contributor
Mike,
You asked about oil finishes. My personal favorite is Mahoney's Walnut Oil. Walnut oil dries to a nice warm sheen and can be buffed to a high gloss, if desired. I find it hardens more quickly than pure tung oil. (Much of what's sold as "tung oil" in the local hardware store contains not a drop of tung oil. It may be some other, less expensive oil, with chemical dryers and hardeners added.)
Member
Ah. I stand corrected. I use the hardware store tung oil, which is usually not "tung oil" as mentioned..... Pure tung oil usually does not "dry". So the hardware store tung oils are usually a blend, which may or may not contain any actual tung oil......... I think the one I bought was like 50% TO.
Kinda like Danish Oil. There's probably no Danish (the breakfast kind) in it either....
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