Chair finish gone bad -- help!

Re: Chair finish gone bad -- help!

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Give it some more time. First, since your custom blend has more solids vs. carrier, it will take a bit longer to dry. Second, the resin in spar varnishes typically do not dry as hard as other varnishes. They remain a bit more pliable to help them stand up to the rigors of a marine environment.

Re: Chair finish gone bad -- help!

Sam Simpson

>Hi Y'all,

Dave, this is one of those problems which serves to highlight a nagging problem that professionals have when trying to explain things to amateurs. The problem is that manufacturers never bother to inform anyone what they put in their products. Even going so far as to cloud the issue by embracing names like "Danish oil."

The advice you got was to add a little gravy to your soup. Two different mixtures, with no information as to what was in either.

No one knows what you are left with. All I can say is, if the products you used where not absolutely fresh, you might just as well start over. Failing that, be patient and see what develops.

Regards Sam Simpson.

Well said Sam

bill tindall

>This problem points out two important finishing issues.

1. Because one has no idea what the manufacturer has put in the can, one is at peril messing with formulations to try to "imporve" them. Compatability, adhesion and drying issues are likely to occur. There are products formulated to achieve any finishing objective. A less risky apporach is to choose one to suit the needs.

2. Finishing is never as easy as it looks. One should never use a new finishing schedule on finished goods without first evaluating it on a test piece.

What drives me nuts is that places like Sherwin Williams are constantly reformulating. I just get comfortable with a schedule and S&W changes some component.

Re: Chair finish gone bad -- help!

Paul M. in San Diego

>A lesson I've learned over time...

If you don't practice your finish on a scrap, you're practicing your finish on your project.

Any time I mess with a new finish, I *always* go through the full finish process on a sizable scrap of the project wood to see how I like the results.

I still hate my built-in entertainment center that I lovingly crafted and then turned a bright pink by using some crappy watco product without testing it first. I did manage to counter most of the pink with a white pigment mixed in spar varnish, but it still is not anything someone would call pleasant.

Re: Chair finish gone bad -- help!

Greg Sloop, Portland Oregon

>I feel your pain...

Laughed out loud when I read it, but cringed too. I hope I never have your "luck."

As for practicing, I try to do as little as possible on my projects, but sometimes it just "happens."

Thanks for the reminder of finishes gone bad.

Cheers,

Greg

Re: Chair finish gone bad -- help!

John

>Dave

Whenever I use a oil and varnish mix I always apply the finish, wait for it to tack-up then wipe it off with a clean rag...if you don't you'll end up with a sticky mess. Apply a fresh coat of finish to your chair wait a few minutes then wipe it off. You will also need to wait a day between each coat applied.

I've used a oil and varnish finish on a chair before and it took four coats to achieve the results I wanted.

Good Luck

John

Re: spar varnish

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>I'm no finishing expert; but my memory's pretty good. I seem to remember someone on BP saying that spar varnish was exactly the wrong varnish to use on indoor furniture because it's formulated for the marine spar environment, which means it's intended to stay flexible and softer than other varnishes.

Pam

Getting the red out - hijack

Sam Simpson

>Hi Y'all,

Paul, when adjusting tints there are some rules of thumb that work well. All you have to do to counter one colour, is add the colour that is exactly the opposite corresponding colour in the colour circle. It's a pity to have to live with a finish you don't like. When you wish to defeat red you add green.

On your entertainment cabinet, you might consider making up a glaze of raw umber (which has a decidedly green tint) and using it as a toner coat over your pink. This will probably require a top coat of clear afterwards.

Of coarse you will follow your own advice and play with this in an out of the way place first. You will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to correct these minor colour problems.

Regards Sam Simpson.

Re: Getting the red out - hijack

Paul M. in San Diego

>Hi Sam,

The product I used was an "Iced Oak" from watco. This product turned the wood a purply-pink color that looked like a fresh bruise. Yuk :-P

I found that the opposite of a purply-pink was a slightly greenish yellow. This is almost exactly the color of spar varnish, as it does have a greenish undertone. I added a white pigment to the process, as it brought out a better color variation on the woodgrain. The end results are pretty good, but not as good as I would like.

And Pam is right... Spar varnish is not for indoor furniture. After a few years, the CDs and tapes don't stick to the shelves anymore.. ;-)

Re: Chair finish gone bad -- help!

Victor Parisian

>Dave, When I first read your post and saw where you were I immediately checked the weather in your part of the country. Minus 20 F outside does not make 40 degrees F inside warm.

However, I must agree with Sam. Good luck.

Victor in Balmy Houston where it may get down to 32 tonight.

Re: Chair finish gone bad -- help!

Glenn Madsen

>Seems to me that Waterlox Original is a commercial product which comes very close to meeting the goals of your 'custom blend'.

It's what I use now, after having a custom blend (from FWW) take close to 6 weeks to cure sufficiently to wax, when applied to a dresser I refinished for my wife.

Who knows what the chemistry is in any given can, with all of the reformulations required for VOCs and pollution control these days? But that's why they employ the chemists.

Re: spar varnish

Alan Hamilton

>Dave,

As always, Pam has it exactly right! Spar varnish is formulated to remain soft so it can expand and contract, along with the wood, without crazing, cracking, chipping, or something else that begins with a 'c'. Even when spar varnish is completely cured you can still peel it up with a fingernail. (I am aware there are spar varnish devotees who tell about the superior finishes they get with spar varnish.)

So you added a soft finish (the varnish) to another product not renown for its hardness. I think you were doomed from the start.

Others have mentioned this, but I'd like to emphasize it: There should be no surprises with your finish! Don't risk all your hard work for a few pennies worth of finish and a little time.

I don't call it 'practising'; I think it as 'testing'. After having learned the hard way--more than once--I go through my entire finishing regimen before I put anything on the piece. I test on the scraps that are always left over, which aren't good for anything else--except firewood I suppose. Even when I have tested a routine, I still go through it again, just in case...

BTW, I save most all of my tests. I write on the back, with a Sharpie indelible-ink pen, exactly what I did. They're a great resource.

Alan