Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Finishing Question
Gary Bills in NC
>When I apply a tung oil finish to a bowl I cover the entire bowl with oil and wipe it with a dry paper towel. I then place it on a table covered with a 6 mil. Plastic sheet. I get blotches on the bottom of my bowls from the plastic. What is the method you use to get a good finish without getting the bottom messed up? How is it held while drying?
Re: Finishing Question
Peter Teubel
>I put mine on a wire rack.
Re: Finishing Question
keith zimmerman, Normal IL
>I use a board that I have driven many long brads through so it looks like a bed of nails. By doing this, I only have a tiny point of contact with the bottom. I find there is generally no visible damage to the finish on the bottom with this method.
keith
Re: Finishing Question
Russ Fairfield
>I leave whatever was used to hold the bowl in the lathe attached until the bowl is completely finished. Then I reverse it in the lathe and turn and sand the bottom, and apply one sealer coat of finish..
Re: Finishing Question
Ruth
>I do exactly what Keith does with the nails in a board. All the good pottery houses do it that way, that's where I got the idea. Works great. I have sets of 3 nails in triangles of various sizes so there would be only 3 tiny dots IF you can even see that.
Ruth
Re: Finishing Question
Dick Hines
>When I use tung oil I only do one side at a time. Example. Inside in the morning before work and out side at night before I leave the shop. It takes longer to get the finish on but I it works for me.