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I’m using Analine dyes on Baltic Birch furniture. The last piece I did I added brushed-on lacquer, 3 coats. I wanted a gloss finish that would darken the dye the least. I didn’t use a water-based sealer thinking that this would re-dissolve the dye and maybe make splotches. Anyway, 3 coats of lacquer didn’t seem to be enough. It seems barely sealed and could probably use 2 more coats. I just can’t stand the smell of the stuff anymore and am putting it off till spring when I can do it outdoors. The lacquer (Deft) recently got wet and that left white stains on the surface. Ugh! How to repair?
Next question, how to seal the current piece? I have talked of two strategies: 1) Rub the surface with alcohol to remove and crystals of dye remaining there, then seal with one coat of shellac, then build up coats of water-based urethane. 2) Seal with 4 or 5 coats of lacquer and then put wax on top of that to protect the lacquer. Sounds wierd, lacquer to protect the wood, then wax to protect the lacquer, ugh!
Whaddya think?
Gary
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You should have used Shellac (super blonde). Strip the finish and start over. Brush three to four coats of shellac (one to one and a half pound cut) on the piece. You should be able to do the coats in one day since it dries so fast. Wait one day and apply two coats of Myland's wax to the project with a very thorough buffing after each coat.
Another alternative would be to use pure tung oil with Japan drier (two tablespoons per pint of oil) added for eight or so coats. The tung oil will not darken over time (like linseed oil), but it might "amber" the piece to an unacceptable degree, so try it first.
FWIW, all finishing routines should be tested on a decent sized piece of the project scrap before proceeding with the application on the actual project, especially if the procedure and finishing materials are new to you or you are using them differently than you have before.
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