Shopsmith Forums

Tom, use some scrap pieces of wood that you have lying around, we all have them its just like making your first cut using the shopsmith. You won't get it perfect but you will get the hang of it. I haven't even got into mixing stains or colouring so that you can match stains to existing finishes yet. More to come

tomsalwasser wrote: 4) I am experimenting wiith Zinnser's Amber Shellac. I'll keep you posted but so far it seems to pass my number one requirement of being idiot-proof and it is really pretty.

Well I was wrong. Zinnsers Amber Shellac is not idiot-proof. I managed to do some pretty crude finishing on a nice piece of woodworking. I did learn a lot and I'm going to try again. I guess the first thing I will tell you is to make sure you thin your shellac 50-50 with denaturted alcohol. If not it dries almost instantly and makes a big mess as you try too keep a wet edge and blend your strokes. I would like to try spraying the shellac next time too. After I thinned the shellac I applied with a soft pad, which worked well, better than the brush.

I still say Watco Danish Oil is truly idiot-proof and looks great. Have no fear of ruining your work if you use it. The Hiirshfield's Sealer over bare wood is beautiful and simple too.

I must say that oil poly has become my favorite. Now, it's good out of the can but there are things you can do to really get incredible finishes from it. This would apply to both gloss and semi or flat. The key is the buildup of many coats. This gives you plenty to sand down through and polish out just as cars are done. The technique is easy but involved. I have a few gallons of various finishes that give amazing finish. But the key for me was in practicing...and practicing a lot. Now I can get a mirror finish on horizontal surfaces and leave some areas flatter, all through the use of rougher polishes, not the print on the label on the can.

I'll have to try it, thanks holsgo. When I google oil/poly the Sam Maloof brand comes up the most. What do you prefer?

I use minwax oil base polyurethane. I had a bit of a learning curve with it to get proficient. Any oil based poly will do. Apply coats and let dry sanding with 220 between to get a white powder to come off. Do 4 coats for starters. Sand with 220 up to 1000. Switch to rubbing compound, then to a medium polish then to a fine polish. These must be used with a machine like a buffer. I have pads I mount on my drill. Apply pressure and go through the polishes. Final buff with a buffer. Now, if you want less of a gloss, you stop somewhere along the process like after the 1000 grit sandpaper, then hand polish. Just an example. This is very similar to French polishing but with modern materials. This way I avoid having to keep shellac, tung oil etc on hand where they may go bad without continual use.
Poly MUST be cured before polishing out. Apply coats and let dry for a few days. I posted some pics in a thread so I'll dig them up in a minute.

Somewhere along here is the process. Haven't posted any threads in a while so this will have to do.

http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... 164&page=3

Oh my, that's something to which I aspire but I need to add to my fast-easy-looks-good bag of tricks.

You'll get to the point where you can be fast at it. Try variations and see what works. Keep in mind durability and where the piece will be. Most fast and easy finishes degrade as such in certain environments like coffee tables or bathrooms. Then again, pieces from the 1700s finished with nothing more than linseed oil and wax have held up for centuries. You can try this same finish and buff the wax lightly to bring a pretty high sheen after laying down a coat of linseed or tung oil. Give it a try. It's probably the easiest finish to do.
Ps..shoe polish can add a bit of character and color.

Thanks much...will do!