goodmorning all:
I have been using a finish advocated by Garrett Hack (are you out there) in an earlier copy of FW. Essentially several coats of a mixture of varnish, oil, and turpentine, finished by wax. Works fine. The question is how does one bring it to a high gloss. Certainly can “rub it out” but how long should I wait for the finish to cure. Thanks for help.
PMM
Replies
The finish you describe isn't meant to be rubbed to a gloss sheen. Check out David Sorg's article - http://www.taunton.com/FWN/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2893 - in issue #168 for a varnish finish that can be rubbed to a gloss.
To produce a gloss sheen, you need a finish that is hard/brittle once it cures. Lacquer, shellac, and some varnishes are a good choice as well as some of the 'pro' finishes. Drying oil (e.g., linseed or tung oil) cures to form a relatively soft film. When you add a drying oil to varnish, it makes the final finish less hard.
http://www.finishwiz.com
It's pretty difficult to answer your question since it sounds like you used a homemade concoction. I've never figured out why so many Knotheads want to mix their own or use so many incompatible steps in finishing. Folks use terms like oil and varnish as if all oil and all varnish were the same. Oils can take a long time to dry, if at all, depending on what you mean by oil. They are very poor for building up a hard film finish. Adding them to a varnish could alter everything about the varnish, particularly drying time. Several coats doesn't tell us much either, brushed, sprayed, wiped, how long between coats are all factors as well as environmental conditions, humidity, temperature.
The first step in polishing a surface will tell you if it is hard and dry. I try to use the finest sandpaper possible to remove dust nibs and irregularities. The paper will load quickly if the finish is not hard. I try to start with very light sanding, 400-600. Use extra caution around edges and other places where you could sand through the varnish. I try to keep this step to a minimum.
After the sanding, I use Liberon 0000 steel wool with a drop or two of mineral spirits. Liberon is worth looking for, much finer and no manufacturing oils. If you want a nice satin finish, stop after the Liberon. Putting a light coat of paste wax on afterwards and buffing will give you a great looking finish.
If you want to take it to the next step in shine, use a polishing compound. Be forewarned that a high shine surface will accentuate the slightest boo boo in the work. I use 3M Finesse It II. This can be done by hand with a clean terry cloth towel. You will immediately see a shine develop like no other. You may not want to use a paste wax after this because the wax will muddy the surface and the wax will show, it will be as glossy as it gets.
If it's a high gloss, mirror finish you want, lacquer would be a much better choice for the top coat. High gloss finishes aren't for everybody. You can't work a finish that is labeled satin on the can, to a high gloss. These finishes have silica added to absorb light.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Too funny. My problem with the homemade varnish/oil/MSorNaptha finish was that it was too glossy. Seems to totally depend on the ratio. So, if you want a glossy finish, try this ratio (it works for me, LOL):
Trust me, it'll be glossy. But experiment first, as always.
The "rubbing out" is done to soften the appearance, IIRC. You can vary the proportions of the oil to varnish anywhere in a large range to get the appearance that you want. When I used to refinish garage sale finds using oil/varnish, I'd start with more oil, and increase the varnish each coat.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
There is little in your mixture that would make it not glossy. If you don't want gloss, use satin varnish. By adding the oil you have made a longer oil varnish (sometimes AKA spar--not really, but spar is a long oil varnish).Gretchen
Adding the oil makes it an oil/varnish mix, with properties somewhat between oil and varnish, more or less like Watco. In general I wouldn't want to build a surface film with oil/varnish mix because the film will be relatively soft, though with three parts varnish to one part oil it will be more "varnish" like than many such mixes.
What makes a long oil varnish long is not oil added after the varnish has been manufactured "cooked if you will", it is that the varnish ingredients included relatively large proportion of oil to resin. The resin become "modified" with the oil to become varnish, a somewhat different process. A new molecule is created, as opposed to a mix of two different molecules.
I don't disagree--it is a Watco type mixture--, but my real point was that there is nothing in FG's finish that should surprise her about it turning out glossy.Gretchen
Absolutely right, particularly with as much varnish in the mix.
I was not "surprised." You guys are really missing the whole reason I made that post.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I think so, but you said it so "finally". I would not have replied to it if you hadn't said so emphatically, "it will be glossy". And where can you not get satin varnish?Gretchen
"If you don't want gloss, use satin varnish. " I'm perfectly aware of that, Gretchen. I was joking around with the OP, and making a point that (a) you can get glossy or not-glossy with an O/V mixture and (b) the ratios aren't written in stone. And, of course the glossiness will partially depend on what type of varnish you use. It can also be modified by the ration of oil to varnish.
There is no satin or semi-gloss oil-based varnish available here locally, and I wasn't in a situation of being able to wait for an order to come.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 3/13/2006 5:03 pm by forestgirl
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/rubbingout.htm
Jeff has a very concise writeup on the rubout process.
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