macassar ebony finish

Re: macassar ebony finish

John K Jordan

>>>What type of finish do you use on macassar ebony? On my turnings I usually use an oil mixture, but am not liking the way it is turning out on the macassar.

DaveL,

Do you want shiny? For several types of ebony I use no finish, just polish by hand with a bit of paste metal or plastic polishing compound or with a buffing wheel. I use a bit of Renaissance Wax after polishing.

I didn't shoot these specifically to highlight the surfaces but the little one is glossy, the big one more satin, polished then toned down with steel wool or pumice or something, I forget.

JKJ

agree no oils

GaryG in MD

I don't like the yellowing from oils.

Just buffed wax, per JKJ is good. I use carnauba. If it's not going to be handled much, I stop there. If it will be handled, I add Ren Wax on top. I find this actually dulls the shine a bit, but it will hold up a lot better to fingerprinting.

A surface treatment would be real lacquer. I'm not a fan of water-based. My way to do lacquer on something like this is to use Mylands Sanding Sealer. That's lacquer. Use the usual precautions to avoid breathing the fumes. But it's way too thick, so I dilute it 50-50 with lacquer thinner. Some say that mineral spirits also works, but if you have lacquer thinner, you may as well use it. This is my new pen finish of choice since I've had trouble with my CA cracking. It takes a little more time, but I like the way it turns out. Attached is spalted maple burl cigar pen done with it. The photo is horribly out of focus, but you can see the color and shine. ...GG

Re: agree no oils

John K Jordan

I have used lacquer a time or two. Do you find it holds up well to handling and getting knocked around a bit?

BTW, I forgot to mention: one problem with a glossy finish on jet black ebony - it looks like plastic! I had several people (non-turners) ask me where I found the black lids I made for the threaded boxes. And one ebony magic wand looked very much like plastic until I cut it back to semi-matte. That's one reason I like to use black and white ebony and blackwood or some with brown streaks.

For small things like finger tops and magic wands sometimes use Myland's friction polish (shellac).

I've also used TruOil a couple of times which seems durable - I understand it is actually a varnish rather than an oil.

One of these is TruOil on ebony:

JKJ

JKJ

On many rosewood type turnings.....

jamiedonaldson

....I rub in a coat of lacquer, the same lacquer plus about 10% acetone I use for sanding sealer and wood stiffener. Just enough to seal, not build a surface finish, applied and wiped with paper towels. Gives a nice woody feel as well as protecting the wood surface for handling.

Re: On many rosewood type turnings.....

John K Jordan

I need to try the thinned lacquer.

I made two mistakes with finishes on the rosewood Cocobolo ( Dalbergia retusa). Long ago I tried using "danish" oil on a small turning - that apparently accelerated the darkening and the wood was as black as ebony before long.

Just recently I experimented with wiping on the Parfix 3408 CA glue which works well on many woods. This very thin CA has a 40 second set time which makes it easy to wipe on and wipe off. On the Cocobolo it set up almost instantly and left a mess to clean off. I've had Cocobolo and some other exotics cause medium CA to set up too fast and ruin the work so I should have known better.

JKJ

Re: macassar ebony finish

Mike Stafford

Like Jamie I use brushing lacquer on most small items these days. My preference is Qualalacq brushing lacquer thinned about 50% with their proprietary solvent. I make a small amount at a time in baby food jar because it will evaporate in New York minute. I fold up a paper towel, dip it in the solution and quickly rub on an even coat. Then with a new paper towel I switch on the lathe and buff it dry. In between coats I use 4/0 and 6/0 steel wool to remove any raised grain or unevenness. I apply as many coats as it takes to get an even finish. I prefer a satin finish topped with a bit of Renaissance wax.

This is a Macassar ebony box finished in just that manner.

yes, it seems to hold up pretty well