# Hampshire Sheen



## woodpig (5 Jan 2017)

Only just seen this stuff, is it new?

https://youtu.be/iFods6KXBSo

Anyone use it.

Edit:

This looks good as well.

https://youtu.be/N8h3tu4GtyE


----------



## steadyeddie (5 Jan 2017)

Mike Waldt uses this on a lot of his work. Check him out on YouTube. 

Dave


----------



## selectortone (5 Jan 2017)

OK... speaking as a newbie here:

I've seen the Hampshire Sheen range on youtube too. It sounds interesting and I might give the High Gloss a go. 

When I started out I used a paste wax/applied on the lathe method, as this guy does. It was OK, and quite impressed me as a beginner. My tutor introduced me to the three-stage buffing process (triple-E/Diamond white/wax stick) and for me at least it gives a far superior finish. My 'customers' (relatives, friends and neighbours) definitely noticed a step-change when I went from paste waxing to buffing. But it does add a significant extra stage to the turning process, so if I could go back to applying a finish on the lathe that gets me somewhere near a buffed finish that is of interest. 

Having said that, I'm in no hurry - I'm a hobbyist, not a production turner, so the extra half an hour or so with the buffing wheels is no big deal for me.


----------



## woodpig (5 Jan 2017)

I'm particularly interested in trying the Yorkshire grit on the inside of small turned boxes.


----------



## Honest John (5 Jan 2017)

Hello again Woodpig! I bought the Yorkshire grit product before Christmas after watching the videos. I was especially interested in the potential for simplifying and/or improving the internal finishing of hollow forms. I have found that it needs to be treated with care. I have used it over shellac sanding sealer and found it to be very aggressive at first before the grit size broke down to a smaller grit. Overall I quite like the product, but I am very careful with it to avoide having to refinish. I have been very surprised just how aggressive it is when initially applied.


----------



## woodpig (5 Jan 2017)

Thanks John. :wink:


----------



## Random Orbital Bob (5 Jan 2017)

woodpig":opnj0zqa said:


> Only just seen this stuff, is it new?
> 
> https://youtu.be/iFods6KXBSo
> 
> ...



It is indeed new, as is it's inventer, Martyn Saben Smith who has only been turning for about 3 years. He did the demo at our club in the Autumn, turning a multi coloured/textured bowl. He was promoting it on the night but not heavily and no one at our club has ever tried it. He's one of the new breed of turners that essentially use YT as their primary medium. So I cant say one way or another if its any good, only that it's new. A cynic might say it's pretty easy to blend wax with various carriers and then call it a product, but of course I'm not a cynic so I won't


----------



## woodpig (5 Jan 2017)

Random Orbital Bob":3m941w0y said:


> A cynic might say it's pretty easy to blend wax with various carriers and then call it a product, but of course I'm not a cynic so I won't


It's funny you should say that as I have a Sandblaster so I have several KG of Alox I could blend with some paste wax but I'm not really inclined to try at the moment!


----------



## CHJ (5 Jan 2017)

selectortone":tmzqjtvw said:


> .......Having said that, I'm in no hurry - I'm a hobbyist, not a production turner, so the extra half an hour or so with the buffing wheels is no big deal for me.



I'm very surprised at your "extra half an hour or so with the buffing wheels ", if you are just after a blemish free reasonable shine I would expect you to be spending no more than 3-4 minutes to finish a normal lathe project, if you are into glass mirror perfection as seen on KimG's work then I can see it taking much more time and effort but for normal everyday polished surface it should be a few minutes only.

I personally have not used any of these wax/abrasive blends so can not pass any comments about their effectiveness, I'm intrigued.

Until such times as I have a chance to do so I can only wonder about the leaving of residual abrasive component on or in a finished surface, usually do my best to remove traces before sealing a surface.
I do occasionally use a burnishing cream on hard cured surfaces such as cured melamine enhanced lacquer but as with buffing do attempt to not leave any residual component on before applying a hard wax as a further hand mark resistant coating.
Does the abrasive component come off on the application cloth or just break down to the point it is not visible in the wax coating?


----------



## Phil Pascoe (5 Jan 2017)

Carnauba and m/c wax? Make your own.


----------



## woodpig (5 Jan 2017)

phil.p":idjf0kj7 said:


> Carnauba and m/c wax? Make your own.



I think I read the Hampshire sheen has Danish oil in it as well, whilst the Yorkshire grit contains mineral oil and beeswax amongst other things.

Mylands also make a "cutting wax" with abrasive in it.


----------



## selectortone (5 Jan 2017)

CHJ":745u19xl said:


> I'm very surprised at your "extra half an hour or so with the buffing wheels "



Well, as I said... I'm in no hurry!


----------



## Bodgers (6 Jan 2017)

I saw NZ woodturning on YouTube using this stuff recently. He was talking about it. Maybe worth a look. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## buzzby (6 Jan 2017)

Honest John":3hcbrwcr said:


> Hello again Woodpig! I bought the Yorkshire grit product before Christmas after watching the videos. I was especially interested in the potential for simplifying and/or improving the internal finishing of hollow forms. I have found that it needs to be treated with care. I have used it over shellac sanding sealer and found it to be very aggressive at first before the grit size broke down to a smaller grit. Overall I quite like the product, but I am very careful with it to avoide having to refinish. I have been very surprised just how aggressive it is when initially applied.



Why do you have to be careful with the Yorkshire grit and the finish. The Yorkshire grit is first and then a finish is applied afterward? I will admit I sometimes forget the apply sanding sealer step but I have been very impressed with the grit. Seems to be much better than I can get with sandpaper with the bonus of no dust.

The only think I am not sure of is if the beeswax in the Yorkshire grit will effect any finish that is applied afterward and I am also not sure if you could count an item as food safe if you have used Yorkshire grit.


Back on topic, I have a tin of the Hampshire Sheen and it seems to work ok. I just have the normal one and suspect the high gloss would be better. I think it is only danish oil and microcrystalline wax. I have been wondering if danish oil and then a buffing setup would be better.


----------



## woodpig (6 Jan 2017)

I think what John is saying is that if perhaps you use too much it can remove the coat of sanding sealer?

If anyone has any good YouTube links of this stuff being used please post on here. Ta.


----------



## Paul Hannaby (6 Jan 2017)

You can mix almost any combination of waxes, oils etc. and create a finish. I guess time will tell if these live up to the hype.

Personally, I use Renaissance wax over sanding sealer for a lustre finish. Adding danish oil to it would only slow down the drying process and would add colour, which isn't always desirable but that depends on the wood. For a high gloss, I use either a lacquer finish, cut back and burnished or buffing wheels with neat carnauba over lacquer or sanding sealer. Adding other waxes to carnauba just soften it and reduce the shine.

Cutting waxes have their place but I would shy away from using them on an open grained wood where abrasive particles would fill the pores in the wood and could affect any subsequent finish. Someone mentioned the wax/pumice/rotten stone mix enabled sanding without dust. You can do that with any wax just by putting some wax on the wood before sanding with your usual abrasive sheet and this won't impregnate the surface of the wood with abrasive powder. It's not something I do all the time but there are occasions where it is a useful technique.

I'm conscious that many of the things I make may well outlive me so I try to keep my finishes simple and stick to proven products.


----------



## Robbo3 (9 Jan 2017)

Hampshire Sheen has been sold by Martin Saban-Smith for about nine months. He has now expanded sales into a dealership network which includes the USA & Canada.
- http://www.msabansmith.com/

Martin Saban-Smith along with Mike Waldt & Steve Twydell were the organisers of the UK & Ireland Woodturning Symposium held in Coventry last June.

EEE (Triple E) from Australia is another abrasive wax. Light brown in colour, it can on occasion add a tint to light coloured woods. Can't remember if that applies to both bare & sealed timber.
- http://www.ubeaut.com.au/eee.htm

I've not used Hampshire Sheen as I have unused tins of other wax but I have used Yorkshire Grit & found it both convenient & easy to use leaving an acceptable finish. Whether the finish stands up to long term handling only time will tell.

Yorkshire Grit - http://yorkshire-grit.com/Product-Page/

Yorkshire Grit reviews:
John Astrillo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF2ZO3PGxVA
Keith Barrow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPtMLHDVEVw
Mike Waldt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPe6cBtsJjs
Stephen Ogle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZPuJaUOxZQ
Steve Twydell - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cUiqnN-4CY


Chas: Instructions - Sand to 240 grit, apply sanding sealer, rub in Yorkshire Grit by hand, wait for 2 minutes (don't know why on sealed wood). Slow speed buff with kitchen towel until grit can't be felt then use fresh paper until it stays clean. Buff at fast speed until desired shine is achieved. A second coat can be applied!


----------



## keithm (9 Jan 2017)

Not tried Yorkshire Grit, but did try Hampshire Sheen after chatting to Martin S B after a visit to his workshop.
Basically it does what it says on the tin.

Appreciate what people are saying about making your own but I find I have enough distractions from turning without having to mess about mixing waxes, etc.
I tend to use a buffing system for most stuff, but Hampshire Sheen is great for the insides of boxes and other smaller stuff which are difficult to get on the buffing wheels.

Cheers

Keith


----------



## woodpig (9 Jan 2017)

keithm":2f6a1qyw said:


> Hampshire Sheen is great for the insides of boxes and other smaller stuff which are difficult to get on the buffing wheels.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Keith



This is what I was thinking. :wink:


----------



## MSabanSmith (9 Jan 2017)

Hi everyone.
If you have any questions about Hampshire Sheen, please feel free to ask. Happy to help and advise.
Thanks ,

Martin
(Maker of Hampshire Sheen)


----------



## woodpig (10 Jan 2017)

Welcome to the forum Martin.


----------

