Bowls with a finish Question

Dan Mosley

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Palm Springs, Ca
I had some free time today that i could experiment around in the garage with my wood projects and had a couple questions about finishing

Picture 1 - Used a cracked bowl that i repaired to try some alcohol based dye on - two coats - sanded lightly with 400 - 3 coats of semi gloss laquer (000 between coats) - will let dry and buff with white diamond and carnuba in a week or so.......one thing i noticed on the inside lip was a little patch of punky type area that i missed when sanding and boy does it show up with the dye on it (<-lesson learned). It was a scrap bowl anyway but i see that you can darken with additional coats and lighten back up with light sanding (or you could turn it lightly to i suppose). It did seem to raise the grain a bit so the 400 or better light sanding is a must. Mixing it yourself with alcohol gives you the ability to make it stronger or add alcohol to make it lighter - mixing only enough for the project as it does evaporate eventually - found that out when i let it sit and came back later....LOL .......anybody else experimenting with wood dyes (analine type) ???

Picture 2 - Natural edge i finished in one turning and submerged into oil for 3 days - then out and wiped down and standing at the moment (wanting to see if it will or will not crack) Tenon still on and will wet sand with oil and let stand and apply finish later - undecided at the moment how to finish it but im thinking a couple wet sanded coats of antique oil and semi gloss laquer 2-3 coats and buff........thoughts ?

Pictures 3 & 4 - I have no idea what kind of wood this is my brother in law sent it to me to make him a bowl and he had no idea either.....I finished turned it and sanded thru 400........submerged in oil for 3 days and out to dry right now in the picture - it does not look all that great in the picture but this wood has some interesting pockets and inclusions all over it.......I am not going to buff it because of the pockets .......This one im a bit stuck on how to finish it out............I was thinking of letting it dry for a week and using spray acrylic - couple coats but it does not seem that it may be the best idea..............thoughts ???
 

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Dan, when you say "wet sanded coats of Antique Oil", do you mean sanding the wet finish, or wet sanding the finish after it cures? If you sand the wet finish, you'll be creating a slurry of wood dust in the finish (varnish) that can mute or hide the finish somewhat. Sometimes it's done to fill the pores of the wood, but I prefer to fill them with clear finish (like AO or lacquer) instead of wood slurry. I would just sand the AO lightly after it's dried to remove the dust nibs, then hit it with the spray lacquer. If you're trying to fill pores in the wood, the you can build up coats of lacquer and wet sand (after a day or so of curing) every other coat or so.

On the piece with all the inclusions, I'd go with lacquer instead of acrylic. But that's because I like lacquer more than acrylic finishes.

All three bowls are looking nice. Bummer about the crack in the first one.
 
Vaughn - i wet sanded to fill the pores of this mesquite wood i have but your right i dont like the slurry all over the exterior of the pores. i would have to sand deeper to remove them and the process is a pain........i will try just building up the laquer as you said and see how many coats it will take. I use AO and Danish oil mostly as i like the finish they give.
Yep on the porus bowl i am going to go and buy more spary laquer - i just have a couple cans of acrylic and thought i may try them but i do like the laquer finishes the best
 
Dan Mosley;163113 Pictures 3 & 4 - I have no idea what kind of wood this is my brother in law sent it to me to make him a bowl and he had no idea either.....I finished turned it and sanded thru 400........submerged in oil for 3 days and out to dry right now in the picture - it does not look all that great in the picture but this wood has some interesting pockets and inclusions all over it.......I am not going to buff it because of the pockets .......This one im a bit stuck on how to finish it out............I was thinking of letting it dry for a week and using spray acrylic - couple coats but it does not seem that it may be the best idea..............thoughts ???[/QUOTE said:
The wood looks a lot like an oak burl I did recently.. I won't give any advice on finishing, I'm still looking for a good method myself.. I see what the guys do on here and sometimes get discouraged.. there are some really nice finishes shown on FWW.
 
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