More experimenting

[Woodchipper]

Yesterday, I turned a piece of wood which I think is poplar. Anyway, I turned off the WOP and applied two coats of Shellawax. Turned out good with a nice finish. I wouldn't call it gloss or sating but somewhere in between. The wood has fine grain and the Shellawax allows the grain to jump out. Plus, the wife liked it so it passes inspection. Will post a photo. This was taken with a flash so there is a bit of glare on one end. I noticed the lines; used a skew but not the quality I want. Suggestions?

 

[jrista]

This is pretty standard in my experience with friction polishes. I've never really found a way around it.

I used to use frictions polishes a lot. I stopped, and only used Pens Plus (which has an extra ingredient in the form of Cosmolloid 80H synthetic wax) which can produce a glasslike shine. I have noticed, though, as Pens Plus starts to go bad (it does have shellac after all), it gets harder to apply, and can still show streaks like this.

I've since moved on to mainly poly or spar urethane for most things, and GluBoost for smaller items and pens. I really like oil based poly...it penetrates, brings out the chatoyance, and is pretty easy to apply (just need to make sure its properly mixed for proper drying and curing). I can get a nice satin finish, or super glossy finish, with poly or spar urethane, so its a pretty flexible finish.

 

[Woodchipper]

My streaks are from the skew. They weren't as noticeable until I added the photo. Trying to figure out how to avoid them.

 

[jrista]

My streaks are from the skew. They weren't as noticeable until I added the photo. Trying to figure out how to avoid them.

Are you sure they are from the skew? They look like they are in the finish to me...which is not unusual with friction polishes.

 

[Woodchipper]

jrista, I can turn off a bit of the finish and see. I also found that I need, per an experienced woodturner, that I should round off the corners of some of my tools as skews. Prevents grabbing when running across the tool rest. Will let you know what I find. Thanks for the reply.

 

[jrista]

jrista, I can turn off a bit of the finish and see. I also found that I need, per an experienced woodturner, that I should round off the corners of some of my tools as skews. Prevents grabbing when running across the tool rest. Will let you know what I find. Thanks for the reply.

A radiused skew could certainly help. Are you aiming to turn without the need to sand? I know there are a few hard core proponents of skews on these forums. I've been working on my skew skills myself, and I have found that a radiused skew at the right angle does help get clean cuts that don't necessarily need to be sanded. Its still something I'm working on tough. I also still find it is so much easier to catch with a skew.

I have also found that with a sheer angle, a spindle gouge can also be used to clean up a blank's surface and get some really nice cuts. You can get these very fine curles of wood shavings and smooth the surface very nicely.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

This is pretty standard in my experience with friction polishes. I've never really found a way around it.

I used to use frictions polishes a lot. I stopped, and only used Pens Plus (which has an extra ingredient in the form of Cosmolloid 80H synthetic wax) which can produce a glasslike shine. I have noticed, though, as Pens Plus starts to go bad (it does have shellac after all), it gets harder to apply, and can still show streaks like this.

I've since moved on to mainly poly or spar urethane for most things, and GluBoost for smaller items and pens. I really like oil based poly...it penetrates, brings out the chatoyance, and is pretty easy to apply (just need to make sure its properly mixed for proper drying and curing). I can get a nice satin finish, or super glossy finish, with poly or spar urethane, so its a pretty flexible finish.

i use mainly pens plus as a finish and after some experimenting i found that a few horizontal streaks with a little PP (with the lathe turned off)at the end, eliminate such marks. I try to use it immediately after the last coat when the polish is still warm. cheers

 

[Woodchipper]

Thanks for the skew ideas. I'm acquainted with a fellow who has some good YT videos on woodturning. One deals with the skew; John Lucas is his name, if interested.