WTF via airbrush

[Jim Burr]

No pic's because it seemed pointless, but! My airbrush is a HF, perhaps an oxymoron, but it's the best they have and works great!! Also used a compressor and to hold the WTF, a cup.

The blank was a piece of spalted, curly, stabilized Mango, kit was the Ultra Cigar from Berea. I bought the WTF from Woodcraft in Dublin, Ca last Wednesday. Turned the pen to bushing dimensions and sanded to 600. Having been stabilized, it was hard as a rock. Some voids were present so CA was used to seal those. Skew down to bushing depth and a little steel wool to clean up. Loaded the airbrush cup (following can directions) and hit the switch. Did a combination of spraying at 500rpm and then turning the wheel by hand. The first coat raised the grain. Dried for 10 minutes and hit with 600 paper. Total of 6 coats with the AB. Finish was satin, smooth...not especially deep.
Thoughts are; in temps over 60*...coats every 2-3 minutes should be possible, 10-12 coats seem correct, depending on gloss desired, a polish of some kind could obtain the desired results.
In the case of a pen, given the surface area, a wipe-on finish using WTF may be easier.
May have left tons of stuff out so questions are encouraged!!

 

[StephenM]

If you don't want to mess with an airbrush, you could also try a Preval

 

[NotURMailman]

Thanks for sharing! I've been wanting to try the same thing.

 

[reiddog1]

Sounds like a great alternative to CA. Took me a minute to figure out the acronym. We use WTF frequently at work. Means something totally different though.

Dave

 

[Ulises Victoria]

WTF is WTF? :biggrin:

 

[Jim Burr]

If you don't want to mess with an airbrush, you could also try a Preval

It was just something I wanted to try Stephen. WTF is applied by others means, but for larger items, bowls, platters, stoppers, mills and so on, I wanted to see how it worked. I have a weirdo project in the works that WTF via air brush maybe a better idea...find out Monday!! I do not think, based on the cost, that WTF is a good fit for pens and airbrushes.

 

[Jim Burr]

WTF is WTF? :biggrin:

WoodTurners Finish. A very popualr finish that dries very fast and has a great sheen. Made by General Finishes.

 

[paintspill]

i sell and have used the prevals and am pretty impressed with them, the material you are spraying needs to be quite a bit thinner than normal spray equipment, i am not familiar with wtf (at least the kind you guys are talking about) but i've used them with acrylics, metalics and lacquers and was impressed.

 

[Ulises Victoria]

WTF is WTF? :biggrin:

WoodTurners Finish. A very popualr finish that dries very fast and has a great sheen. Made by General Finishes.

Oh Thanks! I have that product but I am not very satisfied with it. Maybe I am doing something wrong?
I apply it with the lathe turning at very low speed. I then speed up to max and use a clean part of the rag to polish, but all I get is a dull look. No shine at all.
Any advise, please?

 

[Glen Schumann]

I started using WTF recently. At first I did it on the lathe wiping on per the directions on the bottle and then waiting for it to dry. This shut down the shop until the finishing process was complete; not at all efficient. My solution was to build the rack pictured using scrap plywood, all thread, nuts and washers. The rack is down the hall from my basement shop on a bathroom counter. I apply at least 6 coats of WTF with paper toweling sanding with Abranet 600 after the first two coats and then using MM 4000 between each of the remaining coats. I like the results to date and get much more done in the shop. Also shown is a Cigar pen in Cocobolo finished using this method.

 

[Jim Burr]

I apply it with the lathe turning at very low speed. I then speed up to max and use a clean part of the rag to polish, but all I get is a dull look. No shine at all.
Any advise, please?

I think it didn't shine up because I didn't use any polish on it. I'm notorious for favoring a satin finish over gloss, but a little more shine wouldn't hurt. I'm going to do the next one with the AB then Hutts and see what happens.

Don, I really like that finish you got on the cocobolo Cigar...perfect in my opinion!!