Best finish over oiled pen???

[Dario]

Intrigued by Russ Fairfield's article about how unfinished pens become better over time due to natural oils...I took an experiment (probably have been done by others so I won't claim this idea)...after cutting and drilling my blanks, I soaked them for days in Watco Danish oil. After turning I apply sanding sealer.

Question is...What is the best final coat choice after sanding?

I finished one pen (a mesquite Baron) but since I cannot use lacquer (assuming I read Russ's article right), I just used Mylands friction polish on it.

BTW, I really like how the "bare" wood looked after sanding with just the sanding sealer on it...though technically it is not bare anymore.

 

[Ron in Drums PA]

Dario, Danish Oil is a finish.

I would soak the blanks after turning them. After a week then I would buff them out.

You can mix your own DO
1/3 Varnish or Poly
1/3 BLO
1/3 Thinner (MS or Turp)

 

[Dario]

Ron,

If I soak the blanks again after turning, should I forego the sanding sealer and not use any?

If I want to make it have that glass like shine, what is my best choice?

BTW, what would you use to buff them after drying? With so many options in materials it gets confusing which works best for what application [V].

Thank you.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA
<br />Dario, Danish Oil is a finish.

I would soak the blanks after turning them. After a week then I would buff them out.

You can mix your own DO
1/3 Varnish or Poly
1/3 BLO
1/3 Thinner (MS or Turp)

What kind of 'poly'? And what is MS?

 

[vick]

ms - mineral spirits
oil based poly

Originally posted by Rifleman
<br />

Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA
<br />Dario, Danish Oil is a finish.

I would soak the blanks after turning them. After a week then I would buff them out.

You can mix your own DO
1/3 Varnish or Poly
1/3 BLO
1/3 Thinner (MS or Turp)

What kind of 'poly'? And what is MS?

 

[Dario]

Frank,

I think MS is mineral spirit...poly I am not sure which one. I am assuming any clear polyurethane like Minwax? Ron please clarify.

Oops...Mike beat me to it.

Thanks!

 

[vick]

Dario,
I am a little confused you are talking about having unfinished wood and then you are asking what finish to use to get it like glass. If you want to have the oiled look but a glass finish CA BLO would be my recomendation. If you want to leave if unfinshed I would say just add blo or wax after sanding.
The recipie Ron gave is for a oil varnish and it is very good, I use it all the time on flat work and other turning. Personally I believe it is to soft for a pen, but that is a personal opinion. You should be able to lacquer over an oil finish if you want by sealing the oil finish with a dewaxed shelac, before applying lacquer.

Hopes this helps and I did not offend anyone.

 

[Dario]

Originally posted by vick
<br />Dario,
I am a little confused you are talking about having unfinished wood and then you are asking what finish to use to get it like glass. If you want to have the oiled look but a glass finish CA BLO would be my recomendation. If you want to leave if unfinshed I would say just add blo or wax after sanding.
The recipie Ron gave is for a oil varnish and it is very good, I use it all the time on flat work and other turning. Personally I believe it is to soft for a pen, but that is a personal opinion. You should be able to lacquer over an oil finish if you want by sealing the oil finish with a dewaxed shelac, before applying lacquer.

Hopes this helps and I did not offend anyone.

Mike,

Thank you.

I am sorry if my post is a bit confusing. I wanted a shinier finish than just a plain oiled wood but wanted the wood oiled so when the outer finish wears out, the base will still look good (I hope).

I tried coating other pens with Minwax Tung Oil (I know it is not really Tung oil []) after but seems like they wear off fast on my tests after a days curing...or do I need to let them cure much longer?

 

[vick]

Dario nothing to be sorry about, I am going to plead ingnorance on the Minwax tung oil. Personally I think a pen needs some kind of protection. If Russ is listening I would be curious to know how many pens he leaves unfinished now.

Also Russ is usually very helpfull I know he has answered a couple of questions that I have e-mailed him. If you need a clarification on something he wrote or his opinion I would suggest sending him an e-mail. I know I value his advice more than my own[]

 

[Ron in Drums PA]

Any good oil based poly is fine, just remember, you get what you pay for.

MS = Minerial Spirits

Why do you want to "Pre-Soak" the wood for?

I'm also confused, first you say "unfinished" then "oiled" then "glass like finish". You are asking for three different things here. Which one do you want first?

If you want a glass like finish I'd go CA or BLO/CA

If you want a oil finish, you do it after you finished turning and sometimes when you are sanding. (and sometimes when you are turning)

The only time I can think of when you might want to "pre-soak" blanks is to stabilize the wood, something I have not tried yet.

I have used auto polishing compound to buff but I have found that a white diamond stick is better. Darn if I know why!

The pen I use daily only has one coat of DO as a finish. I wouldn't sell it mainly because I don't think anybody would want it. It has a nice "unfinished feel" to it. The wood colors have changed nicely from use. I can't wait to see what the patina will look like a year form now. BTW it's maple burl and I wouldn't part with for any price.

 

[Dario]

Ron,

I will repeat (again)...I am not after bare wood...I just pointed that out from Russ's article.

I wanted the wood oiled (oil IN wood) hoping that when the outer finish wears off, I still have a nice wood and not just a dull surface. I believe in good foundation.

I am not sure if it will work...I am still experimenting. Part of that experiment is soaking the wood...is it better than wiping oil after turning or not is still unknown to me. Soaking is more for time factor...I am hoping that a pre-soaked blank will have dried oil after turning.

Seems like CA will be my outer finish then...IF I decide to apply one.

Again, I apologize for all the confusion.

Thanks!

 

[spalted_1]

Dario
I feel like a newbee here but I recently bought a vacuum pump on ebay and I have vacuumed poly/w dye mix into blanks with pretty good results.Would take less time and might give good results.Good luck Jim

 

[Mudder]

Originally posted by spalted_1
<br />Dario
I feel like a newbee here but I recently bought a vacuum pump on ebay and I have vacuumed poly/w dye mix into blanks with pretty good results.Would take less time and might give good results.Good luck Jim

What kind of dye do you use? My experiments so far have yielded less than desirable results.

 

[spalted_1]

I use sherwin williams dye.My pump is pulling very strong and I have alot of wood That I let set in the sun 2&3 days and was kinda gluey.I put it up for about a month now and pulled a blank of mulberry yesterday and it did fine except for sanding it loads up on the sandpaper yet.The knives turned it ok tho.I do cut the blanks and drill them before dying.Hope this helps Jim

 

[slincoln]

Hi Dario ...

I am sorry if my post is a bit confusing. I wanted a shinier finish than just a plain oiled wood but wanted the wood oiled so when the outer finish wears out, the base will still look good (I hope).

I tried coating other pens with Minwax Tung Oil (I know it is not really Tung oil []) after but seems like they wear off fast on my tests after a days curing...or do I need to let them cure much longer?

Minwax Tung Oil is a combination of pure tung oil and an alkyd varnish, it's meant to be penetrating and not really intended to produce a surface film build-up. If your pen is saturated with oil you won't get the penetration this product was designed for.

Having said that, you can build a finish with enough applications and it does look very nice, it takes some time for the final coats to completely cure. Typically I'll let a pen cure for a week with this type of finish (after up to 10 coats) then buff by hand and "maybe" apply a coat of ren wax.

Thanx Kindly,

Scott