Satin/gloss clear finish to veneered boxes

[chris watford]

This is my second attempt at finishing a couple of veneered boxes.

On the first attempts I brush applied acrylic sanding sealer, and then a spray can acrylic satin lacquer.
finally I polished with some clear wax as spray finish not great!

I would prefer to apply a brush finish on the next ones, so suggestions please for a ***** proof
brush applied finish, thanks

Chris

 

[sunnybob]

Why not try wipe on poly?
oil based stain of your choice, clear, coloured, gloss satin, whatever.

dilute with almost the same amount of white spirit, and wipe on with a tiny piece of rag. Wipe off excess before it starts to go off and allow to dry, 2 or 3 coats makes a really good finish.
I use 4 teaspoons of poly to 3 teaspoons of white spirit.
Almost all of the boxes shown in my sig pic link are wipe on poly.

 

[chris watford]

Thanks SunnyBob, will try this method.

Chris

 

[profchris]

If you want a high gloss finish, then you can leave the finish to harden for at least a week, wet sand level, and then sand through increasingly fine grits to at least P100, followed by some polishing compound like T Cut or Autosol.

The properly flat finish is what is most important.

For satin the final coat is sprayed, but over a fully flat surface.

Easy to describe, takes lots of practice to do really well! But works with brushed finish too.

Note that when sanding flat, the edges are at risk. Sand the centre first, then work the edges very cautiously.

 

[CHJ]

This is my second attempt at finishing a couple of veneered boxes.

On the first attempts I brush applied acrylic sanding sealer, and then a spray can acrylic satin lacquer.
finally I polished with some clear wax as spray finish not great!

You may get better results if you cut back the acrylic with wet sanding 600 or higher grit once the acrylic has cured.

Possibly way over the top for what you are trying to achieve or wish to attain but the comments and results in this pamphlet by Kim may be of interest. (formatted for double sided printing, but pages are numbered so read in order if you don't have the facility)

 

[sunnybob]

Depending on the wood you are coating.... I work mainly with walnut, bubinga padauk, very strong colours, and I have just started putting 2 coats of shellac on the wood before the wipe on poly, as a sealer. Its a very nice finish, but might change the colour of white woods more than you want.

 

[fezman]

I've just tried some Osmo PolyX clear glossy (3011) for the first time. applied 3 very thin coats, wiped on, followed by some fiddes clear wax and buffed. First impressions are it's a bit similar to shellac blonde i used a few months back. This was a test for a forthcoming project I'm planning where I too want an easy and consistent finish.

Peter Parfitt on youtube used this on the walnut pedestal desk he made if you want to have a look.

 

[CHJ]

If you are putting multiple coats of a lacquer on to attain a depth of gloss be careful if you use a sanding sealer beforehand, resist the temptation to put multiple coats of sealer on unless cutting it right back.

There is a risk that at some time in the future the bond between the harder lacquer and the softer sanding sealer may fail, leading to a crazed or poorly bonded surface.

For those that have not seen it, Chestnuts have a useful product Compatibility Chart which should have a similar relationship for other brands if mixing products.

 

[chris watford]

Thanks everyone.

I will stick with the wipe methods for these projects, probably as per sunnyBob procedure.

I like OSMO products. I used their O.B wood stains a few years ago, excellent results, maybe the next one.

I will have a try at Lacquer sometime in the future. My son has made some coasters from this material and they are most attractive.


Chris