Finish

well, I use lacquer mostly, it's cheap, fast, and easy to work with - I buy it by the gallon and just spray it on

On Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:54:40 -0500, Bill Noble wrote (in message ):

I kinda like shellac - either the clear or the amber. It's reasonably priced, cleans up with alcohol, dries quickly. Water soluble poly finishes are kinda nice, too, and also dry quickly, clean up with water, and don't stink up the house. Sometimes I will use a lump of beeswax pressed against a piece of cotton fabric... against the piece while it is spinning on the lathe. The friction heats up the fabric, which heats up the wax, which melts into the fabric and then into the wood. Very quick, and simple and no cleanup. Not real durable - it's just wax, but it is food-safe. Ditto for pure tung oil, which is very slow to set up, though.tom koehler

I quit using finishes years ago and went with the Beall buffing system.. On soft woods, I do use a coat or 2 of Danish oil to make them buff nicer..

I love the soft glow that buffing gives woods, especially ironwood...

mac

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Deft brush on lacquer works well too. You brush on a coat or two, and power sand it with fine paper or scotch brite, and apply another coat or two if needed, sand again, and wax and power buff. Thanks, Tony

Been a while since i posted , but i couldnt resist this one. I do a little something extra at times to fiinish my bowls.

I like a really shiny glossy finish so it looks like glass.

The thing about how i do it the bowl never leaves the lathe until it is completely done,

Once all the sanding is done, get some cheap felt and cut in to 1" strips, keep em on hand.

Get some pumice, powdered. I use a course and a fine.

Rotate the bowl at low speeds. Sprinke course pumice on a felt strip, and hold the coated strip against the bowl while it turns. Do this as much as you like. Use a clean strip after you burnish with pumice. Do the same with the fine pumice if you want to.

For finish coating i put spray laquer in a light coat on the turning bowl. This helps keep the coat even and dries it in seconds. Once each coat dries, take a clean felt strip and LIGHTLY hold it against the bowl to burnish and polish that coat. If you get it too hot, it will melt the laquer and make a mess. Then you have to remove it and start over. Be gentle and dont let it get hot.

I stop here, speed up the rpms, and just let it spin high speed for about 30 minutes to cure it.

Last item, i use spray gloss polyurethane. Low rpms and very light coats. Let it spin dry in between coats. I usually do a minimum of 6 coats this way.

Another alternative to all this fuss is find an old LP record player. Make a hub to fit the spindle. Place your bowl on the hub and turn it at 33rpm while you spray it with poly. This does an outstanding job of even coating.

cad aka jimmy holland

you are working too hard to get a glass like finish - just use automotive techniques - I may have a few photos on my web site, I've not updated the gallery section for a while - here's what I do

sand properly spray several coats of lacquer - I buy deft in gallons - it's cheap and works let it dry sand properly wet sand to 600 (I use water when wet sanding) spin lathe up to moderate speed use the coarse automotive polishing compound wipe off use the fine automotive polishing compound use soft cloth and carnuba wax