Homemade Poly/oil finishes

I have used one part by volume each of gloss polyurethane varnish, 100% tung oil and naphtha or paint thinner. I normally apply a coat of Deft first, wiping on with a paper towel, allow to dry, steel wool or scotchbrite then rub in several caots of the oil varnish mix, using steel wool or scotchbrite in between coats. Finish looks best when buffed and waxed

Sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean by hyde.

Hope this helps

Kip Powers Rogers, AR

I was looking for the same thing recently, and went to David Marks website looking for the formula, since he mentions it frequently on his show. Turns out this is one of the "frequently asked questions", and the answer is that he uses General Finishes products. I've just finished some Cherry tables using their "Seal-A-Cell" and "Armor-Seal" products, and have been very pleased with both the ease of application and final result. The Seal-A-Cell is an oil used for the initial coat, and popped the grain on some curly cherry quite well. The Armor-Seal is a wipe-on poly/oil mixture, and 3 coats are recommended. I've got the

Ron

======================= Kip, I've seen a similar procedure advocated before and I have a question about it. For me, the most useful thing the oil (tung, boiled linseed, etc.) does is "pop the grain. By applying Deft (or lacquer, shellac, etc) you're sealing the surface of the wood. So my question is: do you Scotchbrite or steel wool all of it off, or are you building your oils over the surface of the sealer? I like to do the oil first, then layer on the other ingredients. That way the wood has a chance to absorb the colorant deeper into the wood. Am I missing something here??

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.

I am using a 1/3 mixture of urethane, boiled linseed oil, and mineral spirits on highly figured pine. I have another issue...I dipped, dried, sanded the piece several times and it looks good, but when I put the piece in the sun, it "sweats" beads of finish. I assume it isn't really dry. Is there a better way to dry the piece instead of air drying? I live at 9,000' feet with 20% hunidity.

Bob

You need to apply in discreet coats, wiping well in between. What you have now is oil which cures by oxygen cross-linking trapped under a film of barely-cured oil, which walls out oxygen.

That's for the future. Since you soaked this one, warm it up to speed chemistry and keep wiping up the bleed-through.

=================== Bob, Are you sure what you're seeing is really the finish? Pine is very bad about secreteing it own sap when heated, even after it appears to be totally "dried".

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.

Thanks, George. Will do

I think that I probably remove most of the sealer with Scotchbrite/steel wool but doubt that it is possible to get it all. In my experience, it takes fewer coats of the oil/varnish mix to get a satisfactory finish - so if you don't mind more coats, skip the sealer

Kip Powers Rogers, AR

===================

Kip, I understand about the build up of the finish, but what about the color? In my experience, the sealers only allow oil penetration in areas where it has incomplete coverage. For instance, sealers are useful for woods with wild grain like cherry to prevent blotching due to uneven colorant (oil, stain, etc.) penetration. For porous woods like oak, walnut, etc., I'll use the oil first to get the color, then use the sealant to build the surface finish as needed, then any additional final finish (lacquer, poly, wax, etc., or a mix of any of these like you're using). Don't know if either way is better, or just a turner's choice. But it just seems to me that if you put the sealer on first, then you're just trying color the sealer instead of the wood. Just my opinion.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.

Ken:

Interesting point. My experience with oak is negligible. With figured walnut, using the sealer first results in the figure showing nicely IMHO although I haven't done a really good experiment to compare sealer/no sealer. I'll try to remember to put that on my list of stuff to try. But for the last couple of years, lighter color woods have sold better for me and I haven't worked walnut very often, even though it's fairl;y easy to find here

Kip