Putting a Finish on Certain Jigs/Fixtures

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:52 pm

I would like to put some sort of sealer or finish on some of my shop made fixtures. Fixtures like a rip fence, an outfeed table and the sliding cross cut table.

These are all made with quality baltic birch plywood.

What can I do with these that will leave the fixtures smooth so that projects materials don't tend to grip to them?

frank81 · Post by **frank81** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 1:13 pm

dusty wrote:I would like to put some sort of sealer or finish on some of my shop made fixtures. Fixtures like a rip fence, an outfeed table and the sliding cross cut table.

These are all made with quality baltic birch plywood.

What can I do with these that will leave the fixtures smooth so that projects materials don't tend to grip to them?

Epoxy resin, and sand with automotive grade sandpaper or extra fine steel wool. Not standard epoxy as in adhesive, get the stuff they repair boats with.

terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 1:55 pm

BLO,
Just about any polyurethane (sanded and polished)
Sanding Sealer (shellac)
JPW

or combinations of the above.
I have used both BLO and Sanding Sealer with finishing wax to good effect. I say Finish way as I use the Minwax finishing wax rather than the JPW (It's what I have on hand and I'm too cheap to buy the JPW when I have a nearly full can of minwax).

curiousgeorge · Post by **curiousgeorge** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:35 pm

Dusty, my suggestion would be wipe on poly. With two or three coats and buff with 0000 steel wool after each coat. After the last coat use the steel wool to apply Johnson's Paste Wax and buff with a soft rag. This will give you a super smooth, satiny, poly finish. I use this on most of my projects because I hate finishing and this is the easiest, most fool proof and best looking finish I have found yet. Your mileage may vary.

anmius · Post by **anmius** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:20 pm

Shellac with a coat of Johnson's Paste wax. Fast and easy.

forrestb · Post by **forrestb** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:11 pm

Non-silicone paste wax, like Johnson's, is all you need IMHO. You reapply it periodically and your wood will glide over it. The difference with and without is stunning. With ply other than Finnish BB I would use a base coat but you made the right choice.
Forrest

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:42 pm

KISS - Finishing wax or JPW period!

Gene Howe · Post by **Gene Howe** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:11 am

While all my jigs are works of art,

I've never put a finish on any of them. Most of mine are to hold the wood for an operation. I do wax the bottoms if they slide on the table and/or against the fence.
JPW is good, but I reserve it for final finish on projects. I buy cheap toilet wax rings made from bee's wax for general lubrication of jigs, screws and such.

reible · Post by **reible** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 3:46 pm

Gene Howe wrote:While all my jigs are works of art, I've never put a finish on any of them. Most of mine are to hold the wood for an operation. I do wax the bottoms if they slide on the table and/or against the fence.
JPW is good, but I reserve it for final finish on projects. I buy cheap toilet wax rings made from bee's wax for general lubrication of jigs, screws and such.

A man after my own heart!

Ed

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 4:14 pm

reible wrote:A man after my own heart!

Ed

At least he is using 'new' ones!:D