longbeard
Member
I have a few wooden BS to make (first ones) and wasnt sure of the finish i should use that will hold up over time and cleaning. They will be stainless stoppers with some unknown wood from woodcraft.
I use CA on those withpout alot of ridges and grooves, on those with alot I use a durable spray finish.
I use CA on those withpout alot of ridges and grooves, on those with alot I use a durable spray finish.
Spray finish, never thought of that.
Thanks
Just a thought, are those (Lacquer or spray Poly) food safe? or do they really need to be, they wont really be in contact with food or the bottle itself. Like i said, these will be the first ones i've done, so just trying to cover the bases.
Thanks guys.
I've used the Wood Turners Finish from General Finishes and had good results. Exotic blanks has it on their website.
I (Beall) buff mine. I like the look and feel of a waxed finish and the recipients love it. Wiki has a good article on carnauba wax at Carnauba wax - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Hard to go wrong and it's a simple solution. Simple is good. I bought that "handle" for holding stoppers while you buff them. Why didn't I invent that?
Just a thought: If you haven't bought the stopper kits yet, you might want to check out the Ruth Niles stoppers. I don't use anything else any more except for a shop that wants only the cheapest stoppers. To my eye, the Niles stoppers are much more elegant than their competitors.
Chuck
WOP. It's durable, and resists both water and alcohol.
I normally used Minwax solvent-based WOP - glossy. I've tried satin - it's OK with the right wood, but I prefer the gloss. I apply 6-8 coats, about an hour apart. Then I buff it down with steel wool until its very smooth (trying to avoid buffing through the poly), and then apply a couple more coats.
I've also used water-based poly floor finish, both gloss and satin. This material is a much more neutral color, and in fact appears bluish on some woods. It dries faster than the solvent-based poly, so you can build coats faster. It can produce a very glossy finish, but its sometimes tricky to use. It tends to raise the grain, and applying a coat of sanding sealer first helps. And if you choose to buff it off with steel wool, make sure its thoroughly cured - at least overnight, and several days if possible - before buffing
Oh, and put a few applications on the bottom of the stopper as a sealer. The user will likely rinse off a stopper after use, and you want to prevent that water from penetrating the raw wood on the bottom.