I Really Dislike Finishing

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dusty
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I Really Dislike Finishing

Post by dusty »

Putting a finish on any wood working project is defineately my least favorite part. I dislike it so much that the TV stand and skate case that I posted a while back is yet to be finished.

My wife made that point a couple days ago; in fact, the same day that I finished the income taxes she let it be known that I had a new priority list and that eating was third after finished the wood working projects that have been "in work" for three months or more.

I am doing it but I don't have to like it.

I am seriously thinking that I need a spary booth and a whole bunch of new equipment. I don't think my Wagner Electric Spray Gun will do the job.

BTW I am not spraying the TV case and skate case. These are brush on jobs.

Am I the only one who dislikes painting?
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Gene Howe
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Post by Gene Howe »

I definitely dislike painting! Hate it, in fact.
I don't mind finishing with stain and poly or BLO, Watco....etc.
Can't paint with a rag, though.:D
Gene

'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton
bffulgham
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Me too, neither......

Post by bffulgham »

The finish process is definitely my least favorite part as well. I've never been happy with a finish I brushed on. If I can be called a 'fan' of any process, it's the "Homemade Wipe-on Finish for a Clear Topcoat" described here. The tools to apply are simple and disposable. I use the Scott Rags in a Box from the local big box store. Be VERY careful disposing of rags soaked in any oil finish.....spontaneous combustion is a real possibility if they are not handled correctly.

A 'spray booth' is something I'm toying with....a knock-down version that I can set up and collapse for storage. Now, if I can only steal the high-end Apollo HVLP system a friend of mine just bought........but wait, he shoots pretty well though......:o :(

Hope you can make it to the 'eat' part of the list soon......it's only a couple of hours till lunch time!
Bud F.
1998 Mark V 510 bought used 2006, Jointer, 2 Bandsaws, ca 1960 Yuba SawSmith RAS
Projects and "stuff": http://www.bfulgham.com/JAlbum/Woodworking_Index/
Gene Howe
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Post by Gene Howe »

Bud,
I tried a formula for wipe on finish that I found somewhere. The only difference was mineral spirits instead of turpentine. Mine worked out well. I am going to give turpentine a shot, though.
And, thanks for the link to the article. There's a whale of a lot of good info there, besides the formula.
Gene

'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton
brad_nalor
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Post by brad_nalor »

I can understand your viewpoint for the occasional finishing but if you do more, the products and equipment today are superior and easy. You might have to invest a little more, but it actually becomes enjoyable. I look at as if why should I bother making anything if its poorly finished? Home construction or fine trim, cabinets and furniture.

Oil based and varnish is a big topic and will skip that chapter. But here's my experience with a few easy tips for spray and or other hand methods, both for stain and painting.

For hand applied, I don't spend money for the fancy brands. Minwax is great. Prepwork is key but doesn't have to be hard. A $40 6" variable speed random orbital is fast with sandpaper grade graduated from course to fine (mostly 320). Easy on the air gun as you don't need to blow out between the grain. Tack cloth is a must. Time of day / humidity should be considered. If your'e in the stinkin' hot and humid, find a way to get in the air conditioned or get a temp shelter with a portable AC unit. Warmer air is OK but avoid the hunidity. Stay out of the sun if outdoors.

Most of the time I use a pre-conditioner just 15 minutes prior to the applying stain. It's crucial to not just pre-condition and leave the staining for another day, otherwise you might as well start all over, including sanding.

Wipe the stain on. Tailor to your liking and number of coats. Perhaps you might want to balance the tone on any sap wood areas, etc. Let it sit for a day.

Following day the polyurethane is brushed on. Leave it sit for a day.

Second day, scuff or light sand by hand with the grain using a 320 grit or scuff pad. Clean with a tack cloth. Apply a second coat of polyurethane. Let it flow and settle smooth. Leave it sit for another day and you shoud have some nice results. You can take it as far as one likes for depth by additional coats and effort but it should by now look smooth and presentable. Done.

Spraying - The best for details and speed. Prepwork is the same as above. I love the HVLP (high volume low pressure) spray guns. Harbor F. sells them for dirt and actually the better ones from them are made in the same plant as ITW (Devilbiss) brand. I learned of this bonafide from a former factory rep. For HVLP you need a compressor with sufficient CFM (cubic feet min.). Larger diameter air line helps too.

Material brand I really like is from Gemini Products. The two part urethane paints are incredible how fast they cure. Hand touch in 15 to 20 minutes.... meaning minimal floating debris avoids flaws. Even if your atomized spray is laying it down orange peely, the material levels out in minutes and is smooth. For stain grade, its the same and then later the same day, I'll spray the clearcoat. Its a very fast dry and in approx. one hour, I scuff sand and then apply another sprayed clearcoat.

Lastly - Some of the goofy trends today are from others specifying new cabinets for a new / old homes and want hand painting by brush and must see the brush strokes! These are in million dollar plus homes.
pennview
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Post by pennview »

Just a word of caution, turpentine has a pungent odor and it stays with whatever you finish for some time, especially if you finish the inside of something that is closed and doesn't allow the smell to dissipate. Paint thinner and especially odorless paint thinner doesn't take nearly as long for the smell to go away. Also, turpentine may add a bit of orange color to the wood.

Something else to consider is that boiled linseed oil will darken the wood a bit. I think it looks good on walnut, but it may darken a light wood like maple more than you'd want. Tung oil not so much, so you can substitute it for the linseed oil. Some recipes call for both linseed oil and tung oil, together with a varnish (polyurethane, spar, whatever), and a thinner. Either oil will make figured grain "pop" and the varnish adds durability. I've tried using one oil or both, but didn't notice much of a difference in the final finish except for the greater darkening with boiled linseed oil. For my formula, I use 1/3 oil, 1/3 varnish, and 1/3 paint thinner. You can add a bit more thinner if the mixture is drying too fast.

You simply apply the mixture to your item, let it set for 5-10 minutes (temperature and humidity affect how long), add more if it becomes fully absorbed in spots, and wipe away the excess with clean rags (I use Bounty paper towels or Scott's Rags-in-a-Box). If it gets sticky while you're wiping away the excess, simply add a bit more finish and wipe off the excess immediately. The next day, do it all again and the following day, do it again. Three coats should be sufficient. You may want to use a fine scotch pad or steel wool between coats.

You need to treat the oil soaked rags or paper towels with caution because of the possibility of spontaneous combustion while the oil is drying.
Art in Western Pennsylvania
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heathicus
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Post by heathicus »

Finishing is my least favorite part as well. But (I think) only because I'm so ignorant about it. A good finish just seems so complicated and difficult to me. The videos I've watched with people mixing different liquids and flakes... I try to understand it, but it's just magic and alchemy to me.
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terrydowning
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Post by terrydowning »

Best temporary/knockdown spray booth I ever used.

Materials required
1 car Part of my 3 car garage.
20" box fan or some other kind of fan(s) to keep the air moving preventing dust from settling.
Enough poly sheeting to cover walls, garage door, and whatever else you don't want over spray on.

Tape poly sheeting to the walls and/or hang from the ceiling, garage door, and anything else you don't want over spray landing on. For me this also partitions off the area of the garage where the rest of my shop is so dust does not migrate in.
Open the garage door and wet down the garage floor with the garden hose to keep any existing dust down. If the floor is very dirty or dusty, you may want to mop or give it a thorough cleaning first.

close the garage door so it's open about a foot or so.

place the box fan on the end of the garage opposite the garage door and turn it to its lowest setting. You don't want a wind tunnel, you just want to keep the air moving so dust does not settle.

place your project to be sprayed up off the floor, remember the floor is wet.

Do your spraying and let everything dry.

Keep in place and possibly re-wet floor (you can damp mop rather than running in the garden hose)

When finished with your spray booth, put away the fan, take down the poly and store it away for future use.

Clever positioning of the poly can alter the size of your booth as well.

I don't put poly sheeting on the floor as I don't like the walking on ice feeling.
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bffulgham
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Post by bffulgham »

Gene Howe wrote:Bud,
I tried a formula for wipe on finish that I found somewhere. The only difference was mineral spirits instead of turpentine. Mine worked out well. I am going to give turpentine a shot, though.
And, thanks for the link to the article. There's a whale of a lot of good info there, besides the formula.
Gene,
My Barrister Bookcaseproject was the first time I used turp instead of mineral spirits. (BTW, Bob Flexner talks about using spirits in his book Flexner on Finishing) I've used spirits in the mix for several projects since I got back into woodworking about 6 years ago and have had good luck with it too. Art (PennView) mentioned the turp odor......I was concerned about it too, but tried the turp for this last project. I discovered on the bookcase that the general finish smell has dissipated faster than the mix I've used with m spirits. The turp mix seemed to pop the grain a tad bit better as well. I really don't know if the differences are a coincidence, different brands of components, environmental differences, or luck of the draw.

Art also mentioned that boiled linseed oil will darken the wood as well. That is very true. On the stuff I've done, my goal was to get a warmer tone to the wood and 'pop' the grain as well. The 3-part mix does very well at both goals. I'm not an expert , but if I wanted to preserve the color of the natural wood, I'd probably try a clear spray lacquer or the clear shellac spray....maybe one of the water-based clear finishes. A good friend of mine uses the General Finishes brand water-base products with good results for preserving color as well as minimizing the stink. Experimentation using different finishes or proportions of components on scraps from a project will tell the tale.

There are various pics of projects I've done in my Woodworking pages on my web site. You can get some idea of how much color change happens with a few different woods with the 3-part brew. It did some very interesting things to the ribbon grain in African mahogany on the lazy Susan....... But, again, I was after the warmer tones and popping the grain on all of those projects.

YMMV

BTW.....did anyone mention that you need to be extremely cautious in handling any oil soaked rags, towels, etc? :D
Bud F.
1998 Mark V 510 bought used 2006, Jointer, 2 Bandsaws, ca 1960 Yuba SawSmith RAS
Projects and "stuff": http://www.bfulgham.com/JAlbum/Woodworking_Index/
scollins
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Post by scollins »

I agree. I try to use wood that matches the color I want and top coat it and be done, but people that I do custom work for usually require staining and color matching.

Set up a cardboard spray booth. Get a small gravity feed spray gun and if at all possible use a water based finish and you will be done in no time. Forget the paint brush!

The water based products are really good now. I have one customer that I have to use a gel stain and a regular oil stain to get the combo that he likes and I use a water based top coat on it. Dries to touch in 10-30 minutes so hardly any dust nibs or worse. Just make sure that the solvents have evaporated from the oil based products. Usually about 72 hours.
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