Finishing problems on Olive

[Ira Matheny]

This is my first time finishing olive. I built some spectacular fly fishing nets...as Xmas gifts.
But I'm having problems with the finish. [BTW, the olive is 4 year air cured]

Steps taken and results:

a] Assembled & sanded to 220
b] Wipe on, wait a few minutes, wipe off with BLO & MS [50%/50%]
c] Wait 48+ hrs drying
d] wipe on General Finishes Arm R Seal oil based poly cut with MS [60%/40%]
e] Both finishing materials applied when about 70d F, on wood that was about 70dF
f] Relative humidity was in the 40% to 80% range during most of this time.
f] Cured 12 hrs in unheated/conditioned garage [OAT about 50dF]
g] Continued curing additional 4+ days in conditioned house [70dF]
h] 5 plus days, still sticky.
What is wrong with this system?

Should I scrape off Poly and BLO and start over with shellac? I've never used shellac. So which one should I use? Steps and suggested times?

I have an unopened qt can of Zinsser Bulleye Sealcoat 100% wax free AND a pint of General Finishes SEal-A-Cell, clear. Never opened or used either. Are either of these product of value?

[Phil Mueller]

Hello Ira, and welcome to SMC. I’ve never worked with olive wood, so I can’t speak from experience. The drying issue might be caused by a number of things. My initial guess would be the BLO wasn’t cured enough before you applied the Arm R Seal. I tend to wait a week or more after an oil application before a top coat, and even then I will usually seal the oil with shellac first.

If you have the time, give it another week and see what happens. Otherwise, remove the finish, seal it with the sealcoat, let that cure for a few days and then use the Arm-R-Seal for the top coat(s). I do like to use an oil finish initially to bring out the grain, but I have also found that shellac does just as well in most cases.

[Ira Matheny]

I've scraped off the finish. Decided to just polish with Rouge, Diamond and finish with Carnuba [Beall system].

I don't think the cure time was the issue. I was making a number of nets in this group. They all had the same treatment. The others were made of Western Maple, Hard Rock Maple, Walnut, Pistacio, Oak, SA Lacewood and Canary Wood. They all dried and turned out great.. Only the two olive handled nets would not cure.

I've had people suggest I might try wipe with Acetone, Mineral Oil, Mineral Spirits and other concoctions. Of these suggesions, none of those people had tried it, they had only 'Heard' about using these different system.

[Phil Mueller]

Well, glad it worked out in the end. I’m in the market for a nice smallish fly fishing net...if you decide to sell one, send me a pm.