Finishing a job

[Corunetes]

I am finding that I can build a project be it a piece of (small) furniture, a box or various items for general use I can be reasonably satisfied with the job until it comes time to finish the job. I have used stains, waxes, french polish (in a bottle) and a number of other unguents and goos but I have not yet been happy with a completed finish I have wound up with.......Can anyone suggest to me a decent book that I will be use as a guide?.......Of course the book absolutely HAS TO BE AUSTRALIAN....I seem to have a knack of picking up american and british books which are fine as far as they go but the timbers are all wrong and the products suggested are just not available here........ I'm not (too) worried about the price as long as I can wind up with a finish that I'm pleased with.

Thanx in advance.

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Catch ya later,
Peter B.
(Corunetes)

[ubeaut]

Strewth!!! http://www.ubeaut.com.au/book.html

What's a person gotta do?????

Neil

[Shane Watson]

I dunno Neil, maybe your book isn't Australian enough...heheheh...

[Tim the Timber Turner]

Neil Ive got a great idea.

Why don't you write a book on the subject.

With your knowledge and great sense of humor you could produce the ultimate book on the subject.

Even throw in the odd joke or two.

Hows that for a great idea?

Cheers.

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Some days I turns thisaway, somedays I turns thataway and other days I don't turn at all.

[JackG]

As an amateur woodworker I also found out that finishing is the hardest part, mainly because you generally only have one go at it and you cant really do it slowly or in steps, when you stain you stain and if you f#@k up, well, recovery cant be very painful if possible at all.
About 2 3 years ago I started to use NC lacquer and that for me, has been a major breakthrough and increase in quality as well as time and money saving. I was buying Pu at $25 or more per litre now I get NC lacquer at about $45 for 4 liters. There is a certain investment in buying a spray gun and compressor but I believe it is well worth and only regret I did not buy a better gun in the 1st go. Also NC lacquers are generally a product for professionals and the manufacturer has a real support for it and they know what they are talking about, I get my PU from the factory that is 2 streets down from where I live and they probably know me as the guy with that strong French accent
NC lacquer insta dries and you can put many coats (all ?) in one day, last but not least it is imho the easiest finish to repair or recover if you did mistakes or had disasters during application.

I have been trying too many different techniques finishes and products, I finally realised that you need a learning period for each finish so now, all I do is NC and I take notes about the conditions and results so I can obtain more consistent and better results. I found out that NC is very sensitive to Temperature and humidity and depending what you want to do there is better conditions than others.

I also whish I put my hand on Neil's book earlier, it contains all that information that takes so long to learn by yourself plus much more AND the advanced techniques I did not even try, no kitchen sink tho. (No need for a free copy Neil I already got one )

Hope that helps.

Jack

[Corunetes]

I think that a couple of you are confusing irony with sarcasm.....

Thanx for the info.

[Shane Watson]

hey Jack, just to confuse you, not all NC lacquers are affected in the ways you mention I spray my NC anytime any condition using the same mix and get the same results. The trade off though is only one coat a day (though any self respecting trademan only applies one coat a day anyway, buts economically it don't work that way)

[JackG]

Shane,
It sort of reinforce my point that changing products and techniques too often does not help for good and consistent results, I'll try to stick to what worked best so far for me for the next 2 or 300 years
Regarding coats y'll probably scream when you find out that I can put 5 coats in a day, but again I found out that I get better results with many thin applications rather than fewer fat.

Jack

[Eastie]

As I said to Neil last week at the Melbourne ww show I once I thought finishing was the work of the devil. You put a bucket load of money into equipment and time into perfect joints, planing edges, selecting the ‘best glue’, squaring carcases and finally sanding and then it hits you – oh , now comes the crap part. Shane, with you passion for finishing and seemingly uncanny ability –aka skill - to get it right you deserve to be recognised as a master polisher.

Anyhow enough of the grovelling, I ended up with only one product I could apply with good results, sometimes even great results - wattyl estapol tung oil.

Not wanting all my eggs in one basket nor wanting to coat everything I ever make in a blend of tung oil and poly I purchased Neils book.

Within hours I’d picked up on a couple of flaws in what I’d been doing and in a couple of weeks I’d tried a vitriol finish with better than expected results. I’d even given french polishing a go. Next I purchased some eee and shellawax cream and gave them a go – all with better results than I’ve ever achieved with wax before (not quite the shine doorstop manages to achieve though).

I picked up a bottle of hard shellac and I’ve already spread a bit of it around and the short term results are great – no doubt it’ll cross link and be a perfect surface for my workbench.

In short I’ve gone from hating finishing to respecting both it and those who’ve got the time and energy not only for their own work but for sharing their grey matter with others with similar interests.