How I spent my weekend

[Bas]

This weekend I was determined to put some finish on the cabinet doors. Over time, I've moved away from oil and embraced both shellac and water-borne finishes, but I had one more can of oil-based poly left, so I figured I might as well use it up. With a traditional wood like quartersawn white oak, it seemed reasonable.

First sanded, cleaned, and applied a coat of BLO, let dry. I thinned the poly with a little naphta, applied with a quality brush, and ended up with a mess. :BangHead: :BangHead: Imagine raising the grain on polar, dipping it in honey and dumping a box of pencil shavings on top of it. I don't know why, but the surface was extremely rough, and no, it's not that dusty in there. I used the same mixture on the face frames with a wipe on method, and it came out great. Only difference is that I used mineral spirits, and wiped instead of brushed.

So while waiting for it to dry I decided to follow Howard Acheson's advice and I went to Denny's. Stayed there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so I'd have plenty of time to watch the busboys clean the tables. For those that have never seen Howard's advice on wiping on a finish:

...Important is to apply a wet coat with an applicator and merely get it on. Think of a 16 year old kid working as a busboy at Denny's you have sent over to wipe off a table. Sort of rub/swirl the the material on like you would if you were applying a paste wax. Don't attempt any straight strokes. The applicator should be wet but not soaked.

The manager of course wanted to know why I was taking all these notes and sprinting over to newly cleaned tables and gauge the dampness of the surface. Try explaining that after you've accidentally dropped half the Breakfast Grand Slam on your clean shirt because you spotted a table being cleared! But after describing the what, how and why of wood finishing I was allowed to stay, and he even offered me a job when I returned the next morning! After wiping down 594 tables in 18 hours I felt like Danny LaRusso in the Karate Kid ("wipe on, wipe off". "left-a-circle, right-a-circle". "don't forget to breathe, verrry important"). Having felt I had learned everything there was to know about wiping, I returned my apron and left.

OK, so I didn't go to Denny's...but after sanding off the original coat, I did manage to successfully wipe on several coats with this method, and it looks great :eusa_danc :eusa_danc :eusa_danc

Thanks Howard.

 

[LeftyTom]

[GLOW=green ]Very good, grasshopper.[/GLOW]

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Bas, I'm sure everyone has their favorite finishing method, so I'll throw in mine just for the fun of it. :gar-Bi I applied finish to some white oak panels yesterday. I use a mix of BLO, Varnish/Poly, and Thinner/Mineral Spirits: equal parts of each in what I call my "slap and wipe" method. Sounds like what Howard was describing in his post. The application isn't as important as the removal. I use one of the cheap general purpose brushes to just get the mixture on the surface: slap it on and spread it around, keeping the surface wet for about 10-15 minutes. Then wipe it off w/ a clean cotton rag. This method cuts down on a lot of the dust accumulating on the surface while it is still wet. For follow up coats I just use a thinned Varnish/Poly, applying and removing the same way.

HTH, Bill

 

[Trent Mason]

Bas, you are one funny dude. :rotflm::rotflm::rotflm: I'm glad that Howard's advice worked out for you. :icon_thum