What finish do you prefer ?

Ken Ward

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432
Location
Tampa & NC
Don't know if this topic has been brought up before,but after the peanut oil thing,I was just wondering what type of finish do folks like best.I use a Danish oil that I mix myself (cheaper that way) on most all of my work,flatwork and turning.Although recently with certain woods I just use the beal buff and wax with a carnuba blend.I just prefer the natural looking finish.
 
If you meant strictly for lathe work, then I don't have an answer. I don't do spinny.

For woodworking projects, my preference is for shellac - sometimes applied as a French Polish, but usually just padded on and rubbed out.

For things like cabinets or table tops I'll use poly, or Behlen's Rock Hard.

Danish oil? Seldom, if ever.
 
What finish do you prefer

Nope wasn't just refering to just turnings.Its been so long,but when I did furniture work,I really liked poly,but like Paul said,I don't care for work that looks like plastic.

If you meant strictly for lathe work, then I don't have an answer. I don't do spinny.

For woodworking projects, my preference is for shellac - sometimes applied as a French Polish, but usually just padded on and rubbed out.

For things like cabinets or table tops I'll use poly, or Behlen's Rock Hard.

Danish oil? Seldom, if ever.
 
Depends on what I've turned... on my pepper mills, I use a satin wipe on poly because of the handling they get... the poly will hold up and keep it's finish better... don't like the high gloss, just the satin.
On my wine glass stems, I like to use the high gloss poly... again because of the handling.

On bowls, I've used the satin poly in the past, but have just got a gallon of mineral oil that I tried on a cherry piece last week... it's a great finish and may switch all my bowls to that.

Pens I still use the CA finish.... wine stoppers get a poly finish

Don't do flat work, so not relevent for me.
 
Most of my turned pieces get a wipe-on oil/varnish blend like Formby's Tung Oil Finish or Minwax Antique Oil. I also use spray-on gloss lacquer on some stuff. I typically use gloss finishes, and just knock back the sheen with abrasives if I don't want the glossy look on the finished product. but I also have semi-gloss versions of wiping varnish and spray lacquer on hand for times when I can't knock the gloss back by hand.

I like a glossy lacquer look, which (for me, at least) does not seem as plastic-like as most poly finishes. For some applications, though, I think poly is the best choice because of its durability. Chuck's peppermills are a good example.

For the little bit of flatwork I do, I don't really have a particular favorite finish.
 
Pens and bottle stoppers get 3-4 coats of CA knocked down with 6000 mesh pad. Peppermills get a rattlecan lacquer, 600 between coats (4-6 coats) and Armor seal finish. Most bowls get wipe-on Poly and Armor seal finish coat. It's kinda fun to experiment with different finishes and see what pops up. Letting the finish cure is where I usually fall short.
 
I use dewaxed shellac frictioned on....often followed by a couple of coats of Deft brushing lacquer frictioned on..Then Beal buff..I use this on my bottlestoppers.

On bowls...my favorite is Antique Oil.

On pens....I like BLO and CA.
 
Interesting topic because everybody does finishing differently im sure and youll get alot of variations in answers.

I enjoy the finishing as much as i do the turning and I use alot of different methods.
* AO or DO, 2-3 coats then either spray laquer or i may just buff
* Seal-a-Cell followed by Armor-Seal and sometimes over the DO/AO
* Recently I picked up some of Mahoney's walnut oil and use it with a
hand wax finish on top.
* I use beeswax and orange oil mixture on some
* Analine dyes and DO/AO or spray laquer.
It all depends i guess and i like to experiment with the finishes......always a favorite topic to see what others are doing................Dan
 
Interesting topic because everybody does finishing differently im sure and youll get alot of variations in answers.

I enjoy the finishing as much as i do the turning and I use alot of different methods.
* AO or DO, 2-3 coats then either spray laquer or i may just buff
* Seal-a-Cell followed by Armor-Seal and sometimes over the DO/AO
* Recently I picked up some of Mahoney's walnut oil and use it with a
hand wax finish on top.
* I use beeswax and orange oil mixture on some
* Analine dyes and DO/AO or spray laquer.
It all depends i guess and i like to experiment with the finishes......always a favorite topic to see what others are doing................Dan

I kinda figured you would join in with a laundry list of options. I think you've probably tried most of the combinations. :)
 
Interesting topic because everybody does finishing differently im sure and youll get alot of variations in answers.

I enjoy the finishing as much as i do the turning and I use alot of different methods.
* AO or DO, 2-3 coats then either spray laquer or i may just buff
* Seal-a-Cell followed by Armor-Seal and sometimes over the DO/AO
* Recently I picked up some of Mahoney's walnut oil and use it with a
hand wax finish on top.
* I use beeswax and orange oil mixture on some
* Analine dyes and DO/AO or spray laquer.
It all depends i guess and i like to experiment with the finishes......always a favorite topic to see what others are doing................Dan

AO=Antigue oil DO=Danish oil ??????

my choice is shellac for figured woods or to eliminate trouble from previous finishes and lacquer for top coat ,,rubbed out with Steel wool and wax.
 
When you speak of waxes, what kind of waxes are you using... I've used the beeswax in orange oil, it's okay, don't use it often... I also have a can of furniture wax... not even sure of the brand... I use it on some woods, and even use it on the ways of my lathe..

Dan, you mentioned Seal-a-Cell and Armor-Seal... is that something you can get a a borg... I haven't seen that as a brand name... maybe just haven't looke really close though.
 
My favorite finish is the one someone else does!

I'm with Carol for sure!! :thumb:

Thing is no one else will finish my stuff, so it usually falls to me :rolleyes: :)

For spinny stuff, I use a lot of different stuff, as I find some woods work better with some finishes.

The open pore, toothy grained woods like Keyaki (Japanese Elm) I find does poorly with wax, it just clogs it up, I like a few coats of sanding sealer, then rattle can lacquer, I really try to stay away from Poly, I agree it looks plasticy but it is durable, so for some things, I will use a wipe on version of a water based Poly, it is actually made for floors, so it is tough, but I find if I add about 5% of a fairly concentrated mixture of a yellow water dye it really can warm up the poly so it does not look so plasticy.

In the past, I used a fair bit of sanding sealer and then just turners wax, buffed on, but I have seen some of my bowls that where done like this maybe two years ago, and they have gone splotchy, so I had to take them back, and refinish them.

For bowls or "Art" object, that just sit, then a good rattle can lacquer, is fine, but if it is a bowl that is meant to be used, like a salad bowl etc, then what I've come to really like is a finish that was shown to me by Eli Avisera, from Israel, a mix of mineral oil and beeswax. I mix maybe 40% wax and 60% oil. I find this goes on nice and leaves a more robust finish than just mineral oil. If I give someone a bowl, I also give them a small container with some of the Eli wax in it, and tell them to wipe some on from time to time with a paper towel, it does not take much. One final thing that I do especially for a finish on things like salad bowls is I add a few drops of lemon oil, it just smells nice and fresh, when you first give the bowl to someone they get this nice lemon fragrance from the bowl, and most people comment on that positively.

I also find I'm liking Waterlox oil better than than Watco, as a hardening oil on bowls, this finish can really take a rough life too, but on lighter woods I don't like how even the "Natural" oil can darken a piece.

On flatwork, I use mainly Shellac, I have really come to like it for a finish, even if I only use it on the first coat, then change to a wipe on warmed up Poly or a rattle can lacquer.

Lots of finishes out there! :thumb:
 
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