Hi all,
I’m building a contemporary clock for a nephew for his wedding . I want to keep it light , but would like to make the figure pop in the curly maple. I would like to keep it warm in color but faithfull to contemporary theme . I have no experiance with the dyes and the whole process needs to be fairly fast , wedding is next weekend!!!I tried oils , tung, danish , linseed ,all to yellow, thinking about good old poly but it doesnt do the figure justice.
Thanks Tim
Replies
Have you tried conversion varnish? I like Sherwin-Williams used over their vinly sealer. Use the medium rubbed for a slight gloss and the figure will show its chatoyence. Use a flat and you will see the figure without the bright spots.....depending on the wood I use one of these. Anegre I like in flat..... Curly maple or koa likes a "medium rubbed" application
Tim,
Have you tried orange shellac?
Reagrds,
Ray
De-waxed, super blonde shellac is exactly what you need. Also get some "shellac-wet" from Jeff Jewitt to go along with it and go to town and finsh that clock on time.
Shellac dries very fast (if it not too humid in your area) and when you thin the first two coats so it is absorbed deeply, it pops maple tiger figure very well. Make it almost water thin when you cut it.
It also sands very nicely and best of all, you get a lustrous finish when you finish it w/ OOOO steel wool and wax.
Mike
Please post pictures of your completed clock, and tell us how you finally decided to finish it.
-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
Well, you asked for it. Here's a couple pictures of the finished clock. Not quite contemporary, but I think I got the figure to pop.
I used a medium brown dye, sanded it off, and about 5 coats of Zinsser's premixed superblond shellac. Then, I wet-sanded and waxed with 0000 steel wool.
It's hard to beat the feel of a waxed finish. And my nephew loves it. Mission accomplished!
PS, oh by the way, Ronnell Clockworks is the place to get all your clock parts. Their customer service is excellent.
Edited 6/28/2005 7:34 pm ET by Tim
oops -missed the attachments last time -here they are!
Beautiful!
What are the dimensions?
Are the inititials and date carved in?
Thanks for the compliment,the clock is about 32" tall by about 12" wide at the case and aprox 6" front to back. Yes ,the initials and date are carved in , that way they can't sell it ,LOL.
Tim
Now that's POP! Wonderfully done!Brian
Tim,
Nicely done!
-Jazzdogg-
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." Bertrand Russell
Thanks everybody for the suggestions, I'll try both,the varnish and the superblond shelac on some scrap . Do you think if I added a dye it would make the figure more pronouced? How long does it take to dissolve the superblond ?
How long does it take to dissolve the superblond ?
Tim,
If you start with flakes and denatured alcohol, stirring constantly for about half-an-hour in a glass or stainless steel container should do the trick. If you fail to stir the flakes until they are in solution, they can clump and stick to the container.
However, you might want to try Zinsser's new Bulls Eye Seal Coat. It's two-pound-cut, dewaxed, superblond with a three year shelf life - 2-1/2 years longer than home brewed, with no muss or fuss.
-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
Tim,
Try using the dye and then scraping, or sanding the surface. The dye will be absorbed by the curly end grain and you can scrape or sand it off of the face grain.
I always liked oil and shellac for popping the grain.
However, shellac will give excellent depth and you can rub it out to whatever sheen you desire and finish with a coat of wax.
J.P.
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