Finishing First tassie Oak Box

[warmtone]

After spending a couple of days making my first box I want to make sure the finishing stage goes to plan. I am trying to achieve a bit more richness in the fairly bland grain of the tassie oak with a an appealing tactile lustre. Next time I will use more exotic timber!

Yep I've read quite a few threads on this but want to try the following:

1. Minwax Wipe on poly (satin) (2 coats) - to darken the wood slightly
light sanding

2. UBeaut Whie Shellac (2 coats) - I believe some magic occurs!
light sanding

3. UBeaut trad wax - applied as per Neil's instructions

I confess I'm a complete novice having not previously used Shellac or anything other than Minwax- will this combination work OK??:o

[m2c1Iw]

I vote 2. after sanding to 1200 and as many coats as you think to get the depth you like and then some trad wax. m2cw
Cheers Mike

[sCORCH]

Gidday,

I might be wrong, but isn't miniwax pretty much designed to be an all-in-one? I'm not sure how adding 2 coats of shellac and a wax on top would help.

Why not skip (1) and just do (2) and (3)? (which, having re-read it, is pretty much what Mike suggested as well).

Your best bet is probably to grab an offcut and do a test run from go to woe with your plan, and see if you like the finished product.

Good luck!

Cheerio,
sCORCH

[Carry Pine]

I'm with sCORCH. Forget doing no. 1. Timber will darken with age. I prefer the lighter colour and you are getting that with no. 2 and 3.

Carry Pine

[astrid]

we have concensus dont use polly!
shellac and wax is the way to go,
if you want to deepen the tone without radically changing the colour, try wiping on a solution of plain water and washing soda although im not sure how much tannin there is in tassie oak to activate this
dont forget to wash it off again

astrid

[MacS]

Poly, is a much more durable and chemical resistant coating then Shellac.

Will the pieces be handled and used a lot, or will they remain on a shelf, judge the coatings by the differences of how much or how little the pieces will be used.

[Don K]

Now correct me if I am wrong but what yous is sayin Mac is that my 19th century, French polished, Australian Cedar credenza which is in impeccable condition, has never been restored and has outlasted 7 generations of Kanoly's would have been better off had been coated with polyurethane than with the shellac that has protected it since 1862.

I think not pizano. Yous is talkin through your hat. Polyurethane hasn't been around for very long in the scheme of tings and I can not recall seeing a good piece of furniture finished with it that has not crazed, blistered, discolored, pealed, chipped flaked or in some other way failed over a period of time. Especially in Australia. I can not recall seeing it used as an archive finish or on really fine furniture and had it been I am sure the owner would at some time regret their decision to use it.

Shellac is easy to repair. Polyurethane is God awful hard to repair. Shellac looks beautiful, polyurethane looks ordinary even when done extremely well.

Everyone in my family was taught to respect furniture, amongst other things and not to treat it like rubbish so why would it need to have a high chemical resistance. Even if it was used for storing your Mary Jane and chemical substances a box finished with shellac should be more than adequate so long as it is not cleaned with paint stripper or something equally ridiculous.

Mr Warmtone if yous want a good finish do what your peers suggest and use the shellac followed by wax and if you want to darken the wood a little use ordinary brown shellac to start with this will give it a rich honey tone.

Don K

[astrid]

:U:U:U
astrid

[MacS]

Let me start by saying, don't compare the 2 coatings in time, Polyurethane is less then 75 years old.

If shellac is the greatest finish in the world, then why don't most furniture manufacturers use it?

Yes, Shellac is very easy coating to repair, that's because it so soft and so easy to damage, Shellac also has the lowest pencil hardness rating. it also has the lowest heat and alcoho resistancel, it is a good thing that its an" easy coating to repair."

If you thought out my answer to the posters question, and did not run your salty mouth like you did, the guy was making a "box" not a Louie from London the 14th.

Shellac, has it place in the scheme of coating, I personally would rather spray a Nitrocelluse Lacquer that is chemical restistant, and it is much more durable then Shellac. Nitrocellulose has been the workhouse coating since the 30's, it pushed out Shellac and Varnish, which then was use mainly for wooden coaches.

I hear that Shellac is a "labor of love" it would have to be with all the time and work involve in getting a very fine finish. As I said, it has its place in finishing, but so does many other coatings.

Is your automobile finished in Shellac, No its not, there are other coatings that have bether strengths, you should select the coating that is best for each type of work, not because your a lover of SHELLAC !

[Big Shed]

Funny how seemingly every thread about finishing these days seems to turn in to a clash of egos:((

This forum is supposed to be about giving (and receiving) advice, not to parade your ego, can we play nice please?:~

[zenwood]

(2) followed by (3), perhaps with an intermediate step of:

(2.5) buff with Ubeaut EEE.

[Ian Wells]

Warm tone, I think you're going to have to make another three boxes and finish one in minwax, one in shellac, one in wax and the other in nitro just to keep us all feeling happy, warm, comfortable and loved (joking) :D

The problem is that everyone here is right, given how they imagine how the finished item should look and what its final use is.
They are all good finishes for particular purposes, I'd say Scorch is on the money with his advice to do some test pieces and YOU decide what suits you based on the look, feel and final use.

ps make it four extra boxes, my old high school wood working teacher used to love to wire brush & flame scorch a finished piece and then varnish it (yuk!), he might be reading this forum

Ian

[MacS]

This was my suggestion, I never knocked Shellac, I only made a comparision.

"Poly, is a much more durable and chemical resistant coating then Shellac.

Will the pieces be handled and used a lot, or will they remain on a shelf, judge the coatings by the differences of how much or how little the pieces will be used."

[martrix]

I vote #1 MacS.:smokeing:

[Ian Wells]

Me too! because we should all keep our friends close but our faux's even closer.:D:D:D

[warmtone]

Warm tone, I think you're going to have to make another three boxes and finish one in minwax, one in shellac, one in wax and the other in nitro just to keep us all feeling happy, warm, comfortable and loved (joking) :D

The problem is that everyone here is right, given how they imagine how the finished item should look and what its final use is.
They are all good finishes for particular purposes, I'd say Scorch is on the money with his advice to do some test pieces and YOU decide what suits you based on the look, feel and final use.

ps make it four extra boxes, my old high school wood working teacher used to love to wire brush & flame scorch a finished piece and then varnish it (yuk!), he might be reading this forum

Ian

First of all thanks to everyone for taking the time to provide "active encouragement" I do appreciate getting different points of view.

I WILL take a traditional path on this box and use White shellac and traditional wax to learn the ropes. My experience with Minwax (originally recommended by Lignum who I highly respect) is that it is an good convenient finish - but not wonderful. Durability unknown at this stage.

I guess I simply wanted to reveal a bit more excitement in the grain without too much darkening...........

And yes THERE will be many more boxes to come and after the fourth I may be able to answer my own question!:2tsup:

I have purchased Neil's excellent book on Polishing to provide the basics.

Does any body run polishing courses in Melbourne ??

[Pusser]

Funny how seemingly every thread about finishing these days seems to turn in to a clash of egos:((

This forum is supposed to be about giving (and receiving) advice, not to parade your ego, can we play nice please?:~

Only if you talk Sharpening, English, Finishing, recommendations on Tools and a few other minor topics.:C

Pusser

[Shedhand]

If you want something truly cathartic have a go at french polishing. A box is ideal for a beginner. Follow Neils instructions and you'll be very happy with the result. I do it often on all sorts of things and when I take my time and do it properly its a finish that is hard to beat. I wouldn't use it on things which will be in daily use as it is a bit soft. HINT: DON"T use ordinary metho when you make your polish (it contains too much water) - use IMS (100% pure spirits).
Cheers

PS: I also use most of the other "modern" methods mentioned here. Horses for courses I say. :2tsup: If anyone flames me you can go to b.u.g.g.e.r.y. :roll: