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Showing results for tags 'polyurethane'.
Found 14 results
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Some of you know that I am building a tool chest. I live in Virginia and winter is fast approach it. We are getting nights in the mid thirties to low 40s now. I would like to finish and by that I mean put a finish on this chest when I'm completed with it. That's going to be another couple weeks at the most. I had planned to use polyurethane. It is pretty much my go-to finish for anything other than musical instruments. But I have a three-fold problem. First of all it's going to take a bit of extra curing time in cooler weather for the polyurethane to dry. Second of all I'm going to have to store it in my shed. No temperature control. So it's a dovetail box held together with Tite Bond. Made from pine. Can that box withstand low 30s temperatures for a couple of weeks? I know that polyurethane only really takes about 3 to 5 days to fully cure, but my wife has a very sensitive repeat that very very sensitive nose. She also has cerebral palsy and it's not just about a dislike of smell, but sometimes really hard pungent or heavy or chemical type smells will throw her into seizures. Even things like the little car freshener Christmas treats things like that. And so I have to leave that in the shed until it is dry and completely cured. My other option is not to finish it at all and wait until winter is over. But I will be carrying it in and out of the house to the back yard where I do woodworking in the meantime. It's going to get dirty and nasty because I'll be working out of it. I would rather not do that. But I work in the wintertime out back on my bench as long as the snow and everything else allows me to do it, even in cooler temperatures. So I need a solution. I need to know if the box will withstand possibly freezing temperatures, I need to know if I can go ahead and use the polyurethane and give it that time or if I need to go to something else. I was considering shellac because you can pretty much throw it under any kind of finish, and I could shellac the box and it would be semi-protected at least until springtime rolls back around. But I do not know how long it takes for shellac to dry so that it has very little smell. It might be the same situation. Any type of advice that you can give me is more than appreciated. Thank you
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I am experimenting with different finishes on the same piece of turning, and now in furniture. Example - the outside of a bowl may have one sheen, the inside another, using the same product, but rubbed out differently. I have tried putting a paper doily on a piece to spray a final coat of a satin poly pattern over a piece with high gloss or semigloss. A subtle difference. So far, my doily trick is not working well, but I will experiment more. Have you done pieces with different finishes on the same piece, either for durability or a slight aesthetic contrast? Moving to a walnut kitchen table, I have put danish oil on everything, then a lot of coats of poly on both sides of the top. The legs have only the danish oil on them. The subtle contrast is interesting to me. Only I, or the lady in the house, can determine if we like the look. My question is whether danish oil only is suitable for the legs of this table. It would be easy to touch up later, but will that hold up at all?
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I just goofed. I am working on a walnut table top with semi-gloss poly over dark walnut danish oil. I will smooth to a better sheen when it is all done. Today, I forgot to scuff the second coat before putting on the third coat of Minwax, fast dry poly. It was twelve hours between the second and third coat. I have had a bowl "delaminate" just once when I forgot to rough up the surface between coats so I know it can happen, though it took two years before it happened. What to do? Finish with a fourth and fifth coat as planned and take my chances? Take the hit now, and sand back? Maybe the question is about the probability that this lapse is going to cost me. A little wisdom here, please.
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There's a guy on a FB forum who has made the ubiquitous planter boxes from cedar pickets. He says, "Customer wants them painted/stained black, and sealed with a polyurethane." (Some of us) are trying to convince him that poly for an exterior finish and worse over paint, is a really bad idea.
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My daughter wants a clear finish on an Oak top for a bed side table. The polyacrlic from min wax is in a can but is hard to mix to a satin sheen. I did pre raise the grain with distilled water and will lightly sand with 400 to know it back down. The color of the oak when wet is a lighter tan but when dry is basicaly white. So I think I have white oak. Should i put some linseed oil on it first to give it some depth and color or just coat with clear water based poly? Will water based poly go over linseed oil? I could impart some color with a base coat fo shellac but i have non mixed and I have dark garnet, orange and light. So a seal coat of light could be laid down. This oak has bin holes due to bugs and some slots where they traveled horiziontialy. But over all the table top is sound and in good shape. Will the water based dry to a wet look of tan boards or a dry look of dry boards? i have some scraps I can practice on but wanted your valuable opinons first. Thanks in advance Michael
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Please bear with me. The following has many assumptions & when i'm wrong please enlighten me. Currently I'm in the process of making pens---by orders of SWMBO. Pen turning is not my most thrilling task. I am using CA (thin) & CA polish to finish the pens. Multiple coats (minimum of 3 each). This leaves a glossy/glassy finish---which seems to be the intent of using CA (assumption #1)---CA is expensive (fact #1). Previously, when using & reviewing the use of polyurethane, it also leaves a glossy/glassy (some say plastic looking) finish. (Assumption & fact #2). You can see where this is going--right? If the intent is to leave a glossy finish--why not just use poly (the cheap way out)? I have NOT compared the perceived depth of finish between the two (CA & poly) but would assume (#3) that multiple coats of poly can be built on each other to obtain the desired depth of finish. After building the finish, either with CA or poly, is it recommended to apply a finishing wax to the pen? I'm assuming (#4) that the wax would dull the sheen somewhat and possibly wear off with use. All comments, bombs, daggers, etc. welcome. Thks smitty
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Would someone please explain the reason(s) for applying shellac then a coat of polyurethane.
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Got some steps to put finish on next week and looking at poly. Minwax used to be what I used but I notice the can is now gray. Anyone know what the difference is? That said what brand does everyone use and is there a reason or like me just always used it?
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Worked on this while stuck at home. Two 4 X 8' - 3/4" sheets of plywood glued together. Self adhesive edging around the outside edge, several coats of floor quality polyurethane and on 300 lb. capacity wheels. Exact height for using it as an extension table for my table saw.
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I made this “Cascade of Leaves” bowl from Sapalee. It measures about 11 inches across and has carved leaves all around. It’s finished with two coats of walnut oil and three coats of a satin polyurethane. It took me over 6 hours to carve this...
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Varithane (HD) has a new poly, water based, marked "3X". Supposedly three times the dried thickness. I'm trying it out, and it seems OK, although I've thinned it with about 10% water (it's chilly here, need flow). It's thick, white, creamy, sticky.... I think I'll stop at that.
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This is the larger one of the two.
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TGIF 2017-06-27 Last week, we looked at varnish, how it’s made and its properties. Today we’ll look at two of the three ways to apply this finish – spray and brushing. Spraying Don’t, just don’t. When I first got my spray gun, I tried spraying poly. I still have spots on the top of my tool box and I’m glad my cars were well out of the way. Why? Shellac, lacquer and water borne, dry very quickly. The over-spray dries and settles as dust. Varnish dries slowly, so the over-spray drifts, lands on flat surfaces wet, where it dries and cures. And it didn’t get cleaned out very well from the gun, which then required a good cleaning. Shellac and lacquer are easily cleaned from the gun with their respective solvent. Brushing Process Here is the technique that I use. The first coat provides the “sealer” There is no need to use a separate sanding sealer. There are several disadvantages to a sanding sealer – another product to buy and its reduced resistance to impacts and water vapor transfer. Sanding – Few of enjoy sanding, yet a poorly sanded surface will not give you a good finish. I usually stop at 120 or 150, or 220 if I’m refinishing a veneered surface. After sanding wipe off dust with a cloth dampened in mineral spirits. For opened-pored woods like oak, you might blow out the grain with compressed air. Preparation - Since varnish can attract dust into its finish, being clean is very important. Work in a clean room, preferably not the one where you’ve done sanding, clean the surfaces prior to applying the varnish, wear clean clothes, and apply the finish and leave for the day. Also pour some finish out in a separate container and use it from there. This keeps debris from getting into the varnish can. You can also use a paper filter to filter out any lumps. When you can, work on horizontal surfaces and with a long angle light behind the finishing surface. Use a natural bristle brush. Shake out any loose hairs prior to use. Then dip in mineral spirits to condition the brush. For the first few coats I use a good quality brush. For the last coat or two, I use a “badger-hair brush”. No badgers were actually used in its construction. If you are using a satin or semi-gloss varnish, stir the finish well before dispensing into your application container. Stir again after thinning and stir regularly during application as the flatteners will settle out. First coat – thin the varnish significantly so that it cures faster (a thinner coat). I thin 50:50 with mineral spirits. Apply with a brush. No need to be super critical here, just avoid heavy runs and puddles. Let dry overnight in a room-temperature room. Temperatures below 60 or above 80 will affect any coat curing Second coat - repeat same process as first coat. Third coat – Sand with P400 sandpaper. I like to use 3M’s 216U (sometimes labeled “Sandblaster.”) This will level the surface and remove any raised grain. You can also use ScotchBrite light gray to get an overall dullness to the surface. Wipe the surface with a lint-free cloth dampened in mineral spirits. For this coat, thin the varnish, somewhat less, usually 3:1 varnish to thinner. Many varnishes are very thick in the can to comply with VOC regulations. Adding thinner may take it out of compliance, but will make a much better flow out. Your objective here is to put on a thin coat. Thick coats cure longer and sometimes poorly. It's why varnish can look plastic or have deep brush marks. If you've ever seen a thick run or drip that is just gummy underneath, you see that thick coats don't cure well as they cure from the top down. Apply the finish in the direction of the grain. Flow off the end of the board and start the stroke about 1” in from the end. Once you’ve applied the finish, wipe the brush off on a rag and tip-off the finish by moving this brush across the surface with a light tough and nearly vertical to the surface. This will smooth the finish, cut down the thick parts and fill up the low spots. Let dry overnight. Fourth coat – Sand like for third coat. Lightly sand with same sandpaper and clean as before. This this coat, but now only about 10%. Apply in the same way as the third coat. If you are happy now, you can quit, but you have a couple more options. · Apply a fifth coat just like the fourth · Sand again and apply a thin coat of wiping varnish (next week’s topic) This will give you a nice even finish. · Finish the finish to smooth it out. One way is rub with 0000 steel wool and furniture wax, then buff out the wax with a clean soft cloth. Or you can take a crumpled up paper grocery bag to lightly abrade the surface. · Rub out with rubbing compounds (after 3 -4 weeks cure time). Varnish does not rub out as well as harder finishes like shellac or lacquer, so it’s better to just pick the right sheen from the can. Sheen information If you want a flatter finish than you have, you can let the varnish sit for a few days. Decant off the top part of the can and stir up the bottom part that will have the majority of the flatteners. Some people say to apply gloss finish up to the last coat, since it determines the final sheen. Not a problem if you have it, but I’d not buy a second product just for this purpose if I didn’t have other needs for it. Cleaning the brush I keep two or three jars of mineral spirits and label them III, II, and I. First wipe off the excess varnish from the brush onto a clean rag. Then dip and swish in jar III. Wipe off again, Dip in jar II, wipe off. Then dip in jar I. In time, jar III will get too gunky to use. Let it dry out and throw out the solid residue. Promote jar II to jar III, jar I to jar II, and start a new jar I with fresh mineral spirits. Store each jar with a well-fitting lid. Once you’ve reached this stage, I have another jar with lacquer thinner that will clean and remove some of the oiliness of mineral spirits. Wipe the brush dry and store in its jacket to dry. Over time the brush may get thick. You can buy a commercial brush cleaner that is a soup of solvents that will strip out most finishes. I also have use NMP stripper as it’s a bit gentler on the bristles and less noxious to the user. I wait until I have a few brushes in this state, then soak overnight in the solution with a plastic bag rubber banded over the top. Some more reading: http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/finishing/finishing-for-first-timers
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Trophy Cabinet
Gene Howe posted a gallery image in Small Crafts, Boxes, Picture Frames, and Lighting
From the album: Gene's Stuff
Solid oak trophy cabinet. Sliding glass doors and purchased glass door hardware. 48" wide. 36" high 9" deep. one coat of Watco Light Walnut and four coats of home made wipe on poly.
