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From: fostel@ncsu.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.rec.wood
Subject: RE: Finishes
Message-ID: <2376@ncsu.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Oct-83 11:02:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: ncsu.2376
Posted: Tue Oct 18 11:02:51 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Oct-83 04:51:40 EDT
Lines: 30



    When I'm pleasing my own instincts, I like to use light colored stain or
    other pentrating sealer.  A very nice material which is reasonably clear
    and smoothes very well is called sanding sealer.  But it is not a finish
    layer, just a short cut if you get tired or sanding or scapeing something
    smooth.  After the stain, as I said, my instincts want me to use Butchers
    Wax.  A fairly hard finish actually, but it is not indestructable, and it
    take a bit of elbow grease to get it to have the kind of "depth" you might
    want on some nice grain patterns.

    For anything "real" I use poly-urathane varnish.  It is very easy to apply,
    little more than careful painting.  It is very hard, very water proof,
    and looks very good.  Among pragmatic carpenters I have known, it is the
    defacto std.  Its only limitation is for food preperation surfaces where
    it might get in the food and kill you .... (so does everything else.)
    It usually comes in either high lustre or buff.  The high luster really
    is, and it seems to age very well without any noticable yellowing or
    cracking.  For application to "white" where you want to keep a very natural
    appearance, use a clear sealer before the poly-varnish or the initial
    (and permanant) color may be a bit yellow.  On darker woods, you can get
    away with just a few coats of poly over bare wood! Or use a clear sanding
    sealer and then a few coats of poly.  If all else fails you might read
    the instructions on the poly-varnish.  Be sure to apply thin coats: the
    layering seems to increase the "depth" of the finish as well as avoiding
    runs and bubles.  Oh yeah, if you seem to be getting bubbles in the finish,
    you are probably allowing too much brush contact: use just the extreme tip
    of the bristles and stroke in a single direction lightly to work out the
    bubles or they will be there to haunt you for ever.
    ----GaryFostel----