I have been experimenting with Roland Johnson’s “Hot Rod” wipe on finish. I like the finish, it is hard and clear but my problem is lint. He suggests using Bounty paper towel but I find it leave lint. I have also tried cotton cloth (t-shirt) with the same results. I suppose one could use microfiber towels but that seems and expensive way to wipe on a varnish. Any suggestions?
Replies
I don't use the hot rad
I don't use the hot rad finish, but have wiped on varnish for decades, using cotton t shirts and paper towels at any one time. If you are getting lint you may be wiping too much after it has begun to dry and it is "dragging".
Not a expert on finishing but I usually use wipe-on oil finish. No rag or towels for me. I use a grey/gray 3M pad. Sometimes I will use a no lint rag as a backer pad.
Ya gotta wash the sawdust out of the old t-shirt before using it for a finish.
Seriously, I've been using a t-shirt sort of rag for a long time and don't have any lint problems. Sure the occasional nit will show up, but that just as likely fell out of my beard as fell off the rag. Oh... I like to fold the edges into the middle of my pad with the reasoning that if any stray fiber is going to leave the rag, it most likely will jump ship at the edge.
>>> He suggests using Bounty paper towel but I find it leave lint
If you are applying a thinned wiping varnish try a non-embossed blue paper shop towel. Been using them for years and rarely have any lint problems.
Washing as sapwood mentions will help.
Run the cloth through the washing machine first -
SA
Thank you all for considered replies. I think that most of my problem with lint is that I was laying the varnish on too thick. After stripping and starting again, I learned that lint and bubbles do not occur in very thin coats.
Thanks all
Steve
Hmmmm. What mixture are you using!! Wipe on varnish is usually 50/50 mix of varnish and mineral spirits. It is very thin and you wipe on repeated coats to build your film finish.
I've been biting my tongue on
I've been biting my tongue on the Hot Rod finish. To my mind, this might be fine used almost as a oil/varnish mix, which it is. But when you start thinking in terms of leaving coats on the surface, this isn't the finish you want. It will be a small amount harder than most oil/varnish finishes, but there are Zero advantages of this over a straight wiping varnish, wither purchased as a wiping varnish, or made your self by thinning a varnish about 50-50 with mineral spirits. Then wiping on in this coats, that remain on the surface to build a film finish makes sense.
This has really been a learning experience for me. I have never used a wiping varnish before, purchased or homemade. It started out as some experimentation with tung oil, which I learned does not polymerize in the time frame the instructions on the bottle say it will. Doing some research for I came across the "Hot Rod" finish which uses the tung oil. So I tried it. I have no comparison to other wipe on's because I haven't tried them yet - I will in the future. I'm not sure what this mix offers over straight varnish but Roland Johnson claims more water resistance because of the oil. I think at this point, a thinned varnish or brushed on varnish would do exactly what I wanted for this particular project - a humidor by the way. Although I think I should have stuck with lacquer for this project, I was looking for a finish that might fill the walnut pores a little faster then lacquer. I found when sanding between coats, that the varnish mix is quite hard - good for table tops - not needed for my project and only adds to the work load.
Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Steve
I hope you aren't sanding a
I hope you aren't sanding a lot between coats. You really only need to sand between every third coat, and VERY lightly to just smooth any nibs.
And yes, a different finish would have been better for a humidor probably, and a lot easier, although there isn't anything that is much easier and foolproof than wipe on. BUT you do have to have 4-5 applications of wipe on for the finish to begin to look good, so don't stop too soon.
The tung oil will actually make the mix less water resistant. Tung oil used as an ingredient in manufacturing varnish makes for a particularly water water resistant varnish, but it's not the same thing to use it either by itself or as a mixture (without the chemical reaction of the varnish manufacturing process.)
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