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Finishes.


Dave Monk

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For my colored puzzles (colored with food coloring) I will use a lacquer. A lacquer provides a good sealer so the food colors won't "run" when wet.

 

For my natural wood puzzles I use a 50-50 mixture of Watco Danish oil and Min WaxTung Oil finish. By themselves I have found the tung oil is a little too thick and accumulates in the kerf where a puzzle piece is cut for some reason, like a dog's mouth. And the Danish oil is a little too thin. So 50-50 works best for me. Usually only one coat because time is money. More coats however would give it more shine.

 

When I made wall clock cases I would alternate coats of danish and tung for a really good finish with depth.

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There are a lot of ways to finish wood projects and I have tried all of them over the years. This is what I have settled on. Every project I cut except jigsaw puzzles are finished this way.

I use a 50/50 mixture of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits. The oil brings out the natural color and grain of thr wood, and the mineral spirits thins the oil allowing it to flow around the project easily. But most importantly, allows the oil to dry in 24-36 hours depending on humidity.

Once the oil is dry, I top coat with a semi gloss spray lacquer. I use Deft spray lacquer in a spray can.

Edited by dgman
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John, How many coats of Danish Oil? Larry, what is BLO mix? Thanks, dave

BLO mix is Boiled Linseed Oil mixed 1/2 & 1/2  with lacquer thinner. 

If I have this right:    * BLO  by itself takes ages to dry, mixed with lacquer thinner speeds the drying.

                                * BLO mix is a mixture that is similiar to Danish oil.

I put two coats of Blo and when dry I coat with Lacquer.

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BLO mix is Boiled Linseed Oil mixed 1/2 & 1/2  with lacquer thinner. 

If I have this right:    * BLO  by itself takes ages to dry, mixed with lacquer thinner speeds the drying.

                                * BLO mix is a mixture that is similiar to Danish oil.

I put two coats of Blo and when dry I coat with Lacquer.

A mix similar to Danish oil would be equal parts of BLO,mineral spirits,and an oil based vanish.

I say equal parts but it can be modified to personal likes,and some people us Naptha or Turpentine as the thinner but I always just used Mineral spirits.

You can also just thin down a varnish for a wipe on finish.

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For me,  I am still searching for the right finish. I have be scrolling and intarsia for quite a few years and I still have not found the finish that I 'know' is going to turn out the way I want it to, every time. Some times I think, "that worked great" but the next time I do the same thing, it does not. So I try this and that and I am still ignorant as all get out. Gluing up intarsia and putting on the finish have always been difficult to for me. Not sure I will ever catch on to either of those things..

 

Dick

heppnergy

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I use water based clear poly from Lowes on all my projects. It does raise the grain slightly but a quick sanding with 220 grit on my orbital between coats and i'm ready for the next coat. What i like most besides the smooth finish is the cost and cleanup WATER !!!! I spray,brush and roll it on, and have even dipped the smaller pieces .

 

sully

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I also use a variety of finishes but one I use quite often is an aerosol clear acrylic finish made by Krylon.   I like the satin the best but it is available in gloss as well,   The best feature is it dries super fast,10 minutes or less providing the humidity isn't to high.   I generally apply several thin coats lightly sanding between coats as necessary.   What this all means is you can have a project completely finished in much less time than some of the other available finishes.   It works great for me every time I use it.       

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