tassie blackwood what finish to put on

[horse123]

Hello All,
I have a block of tassie blackwood that i have made into a note & pen holder.
I was wondering do i need to seal it or can i just put on a clear varnish or is there something else ?.
Also what to finish Hardwood off with, using it for lazy susan.
Please note a am a beginer at this stuff.
Thanks for any help.

[cellist]

Hello All,
I have a block of tassie blackwood that i have made into a note & pen holder.
I was wondering do i need to seal it or can i just put on a clear varnish or is there something else ?.
Also what to finish Hardwood off with, using it for lazy susan.
Please note a am a beginer at this stuff.
Thanks for any help.

Hay, Horse

There would be thousands of posts about finishes on the forums. Simplest way I know is to get some good varnish (I use Feast Watson, but there are many other brands) and dilute it with about 10% mineral turps for all coats. Then get a soft cloth and WIPE it on in thin coats. Surface preparations is the key. I like to sand good pieces down to 400 grit before starting, but others are happy even with 180. Don't skip grits. I would typically use (after dimensioning the piece) 80, 120, 180, 240, 320 and 400. Sounds like a lot, but each one removes the scratches from the previous. Also, you'll find that the first sandings take the longest, and then it's shorter and shorter after that.

After removing dust with a tack cloth (wax impregnated cloth available cheaply at Bunnies) between each sanding and then at the end, as I said, wipe on the varnish thinly. You'll find that it goes off much quicker because of the dilution. You can sand again with 400 or finer grit after only a few hours if it's really dry (I smell it to check) go again. Finally, when you are happy with the build, rub it back with some 0000 steel wool...nothing coarser!) with some oil- I've used Danish Teak oil over the years, but orange oil will do well also) and then, finally, I wax the piece with a hard wax such as Gilly Stephenson's carnauba polish. Perhaps the sponsors of this forum have a carnauba polish as well...

Why carnauba? Because it's the hardest of the waxes. A tip: don't let it dry before polishing! You'll be working very hard if you do. The finish is good with all but the hottest things. Don't put a frying pan on it, but a freshly made cup of tea in a mug doesn't mar the surface. If you see a bit of a ring on it, that's just the wax, and you can easily buff that out....and I do mean easily. Just rub over it lightly a few times and it's back to gorgeous. Hope that helps. But do read other members' posts. There is a lot of good stuff on this forum!
Cheers,
Mike

[AlexS]

Cellists way is probably the easiest way to get a really good finish.
You could also look at trying an oil finish over sanded shellac.
Sand to at least 400 as before, give a coat of thinned shellac, then sand lightly again. Clean with a tack cloth, then give as many coats as you want - probably at least 3, a day apart. The first one should be a flood coat, wipe off any excess after about 15 minutes. subsequent ones should be fairly light. I do the last one with 0000 steel wool, then wipe off and leave to dry.

[horse123]

Hi Again, when you say apply the varnish with a cloth is this any cloth & are you suggesting not to brush it on with a paint brush?

[Rattrap]

I like to use shellac then cannuba wax over blackwood in the methods described above. Boiled linseed brings up the blackwood nicely too. Shellac is my prefered for blackood, it seams to make the wood almost glow highliting the gold tinges in the timber plus its easy as to apply for us beginers. A brush works ok to apply but i've had the best results so far using a piece of flannelet material as the applicator.

AlexS, is it necessary to leave each coat of shellac for a day before applying another coat? I've only left it a few hours between coats so far, mostly cuse i'm always rushing things. lol.