Beall Finish Question

Re: Beall Finish Question

Sean Troy

>Yes, but make good and sure it has dried completly. good luck, Sean

Re: Beall Finish Question

John Lucas

>I was going to say the same thing. I tried A poly finish last year because it was too wet and cold to spray lacquer. I used a Krylon spray on water based poly. It didn't buff well at all the first day but a few days later buffed out quite well. Be careful. If you cut through the finish you can't repair it. I made sure I had a thick coat and buffed at slow speed.

Thanks :-)

Barbara Gill, Remlik VA

>

Re: Beall Finish Question

Dick Hines

>Barbara, I have buffed lacquer with good results. Just Go light or just skip the red compound go right to the white.

Re: Beall Finish Question

Michael Stadulis, in Gloucester County, NJ

>Hi Barb,

My vote is for shellac. It can be velvety to the wet look. -Mike

Re: Beall Finish Question

Barbara Gill, Remlik VA

>Thanks Dick. Since several are walnut should I beconcerned about using the white? With an oil finish I don't with walnut. I am not sure if the poly will fill enouugh.

Re: Beall Finish Question

Barbara Gill, Remlik VA

>Thanks for the suggestion Mike. I usually use a penetrating oil finish and buff which for bowls, vases, and plates is good. This spray Minwax poly is easy to use and is for this particular project only. Although if I remember correctly, shellac is the finish of choice for Eastern red cedar. I need to go back and check the thread as I am getting ready to turn at least one from cedar.

Re: Beall Finish Question

John Lucas

>Barbara

I have had that problem before. I slowed down the speed of the wheel and then used the Carnauba bar and just concentrated more on the areas that had some white diamond showing. Be careful that you don't heat up that area. I feel the spot with my fingers and let it cool if it even remotely gets cool.

The last piece of walnut I did I skipped the white diamond and went straight to the wax Looked pretty good. I didn't have a before and after to compare so I can't say if it was more or less glossy than with the white diamond.

I need to go in the shop later tonight. I'll run a test and let you know. It probably won't show up well enough to photograph but if it does I'll post that. John

Re: Beall Finish Question

John Lucas

>Barbara

I did a test. I didn't put any finish on the board figuring this would be the worst case scenario for the white diamond filling the pores. It sure did. This photo doesn't show it very well. I needed my professional lights to do it right.

The left is a no finish at all. next is tripoli only, Then tipoli white diamond and wax, then tripoli and wax, then tripoli and Red Rouge, Then Tripoli red rouge and wax.

Conclusions. Wax and tripoli looked as good as wax, white diamond and tripoli except it didn't have white residue in the pores. This might not work with all woods but did with this walnut.

The Red Rouge was an afterthought since I had it on hand. It left a finish slightly smoother than tripoli but not as smooth as the white diamond. The tripoli, Red Rouge and wax was indistinguishable from the Tripoli white diamond and wax except there wasn't any white residue in the pores.

Re: Beall Finish Question

Barbara Gill, Remlik VA

>Thanks John. Actually I have never used the white diamond compound on walnut. The directions warned me not to.

Walnut and the Buffing Wheel

Russ Fairfield

>There are some techniques to learn for application of a wax to a bare wood surface. There really is more to it than just wipe-on-wipe-off. Using the buffing wheel doesn't make them any less important.

Almost all wood has some degree of a problem with a build-up of wax in the grain. Sometimes it is solved with a sealer or a finish, but it will always be a problem in an open grained wood because of the larger quantities of build-up.

With buffing, there are 2 more opportunities to fill the wood with something - the Tripoli and White Diamond compounds. Then we are sealing them into the wood with a hard Carnauba wax. Most of the time it doesn't make any difference, but when it does, it can ruin the appearance of the finished piece of wood. With Walnut, you are seeing the residue from the White Diamond. If you were to buff a white wood like Holly, you would most likely see a reddish coloring in the grain from the residual Tripoli. Any wax build-up in the grain of any wood after the final wheel will turn a dull milky color from exposure to atmospheric moisture, and it will be more noticeable in some woods than others.

Somewhat of a solution is to depend on the next wheel in the buffing process to remove th residue from the previous wheel. This isn't always reliable unless you can end the use of each wheel WITH the grain. Even then, there is no assurance that all of the previous buffing compound has been removed and replaced with the current one; and you will need a 4th wheel to to clean the wax out of the grain after the final application of the Carnauba.

There are a couple simple solutions. You can always clean the wood after each wheel with a solvent such as Mineral Spirits or Naptha.

The better solution is always remove the surface residue with a cloth, and clean the grain of a problem wood after each wheel with a stiff bristle brush. Buff it hard with the brush, and with the grain. Use a natural bristle brush because plastic bristles will scratch the wood. I use a horse grooming brush. A stiff (and clean) shoe brush will work if the bristles are flexible and natural. And, a grocery store scrub brush is OK if it has natural bristles.

Wood like Oak or Ash may require both the solvent and the brush.

A hard buffing with a stiff brush helps the application of wax to any wood surface. A vigorous brushing removes the excess, and compacts the wax onto the surface of the wood.