wouldwurker Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Looking good. You might as well grill some steaks while finishing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted April 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 No kidding. This is a hurry up and wait type place in in now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 No kidding. This is a hurry up and wait type place in in now. Apply, drink beer, wait for it to dry, drink beer.. when dry, leave it alone, you've had to many beers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted April 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 Apply, drink beer, wait for it to dry, drink beer.. when dry, leave it alone, you've had to many beers! Haha I like your style Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted April 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Did the bottom of the bench top. I switched up application methods and went with a 4" foam brush over a rag. It definitely put a much thicker coat on and more even ... The rag gave it a more textured or worn or uneven look? Not sure what you would call it but I will try and take pics of what I mean tonight. The foam brush gave a solid even color and allowed for more stain to be applied and then I wiped excess off with a rag. I think I like the foam brush method better for applying this thicker and darker stain. A quick shot of the top ... Ok now a couple questions. I have 2 cracks showing in my bench top. Will these get bigger? Will the bench top be ruined by expanding cracks? I assume this is kinda natural but will they keep getting bigger or do you think they have possibly reached max size? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Only time will tell on cracks. Chase some stain down in there. After you finish the top, rub a little dark colored putty or rub one of those furniture wax sticks in to kinda fill it up. If it gets bigger add more putty /wax stick. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted April 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 So is it a build issue or just bad luck? Curious if there's something I can do better next time to avoid this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Are both cracks on the same side; the bottom, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted April 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Are both cracks on the same side; the bottom, right? Yes and yes. I just want to make sure they won't make their way to the top and if this is cracking I'm worried about my table top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgreenb Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Were the cracks there before assembly and finishing? The one that's on the end, is that literally the end of the board as you got it from the supplier? If so generally you want to cut off the last couple inches of the board to avoid checking. Just FYI for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted April 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Were the cracks there before assembly and finishing? The one that's on the end, is that literally the end of the board as you got it from the supplier? If so generally you want to cut off the last couple inches of the board to avoid checking. Just FYI for the future. I did not notice the cracks after assembling. When I flipped it over to finish the bottom and noticed them. No the end crack showed up after assembly as well. I cut off about 4-5" on both ends of the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgreenb Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Yeah probably just bad luck then. At least it's on the bottom. You could always fill the one on the end with epoxy/dye mixture and it would blend right in. On the other one I'd follow Steve's advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 Maybe put a butterfly/Dutchman to hold it tight from spreading. Easily done, and if your first time and it's not perfect it's still on the bottom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted April 10, 2015 Report Share Posted April 10, 2015 When in doubt, go with Steve's advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Started top coat on the bench ... First coat The life it gives compared to the dull stain I am loving this top coat! Easy to apply but just need to figure out how to stop the little runs I am getting when doing horizontal pieces. Going to try and always have it flat so the little pesky lines don't jump out. I feel I go over enough to take all the extra coating off the table and only put enough on to see the film cover the table. It's a learning process lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Only time will tell on cracks. Chase some stain down in there. After you finish the top, rub a little dark colored putty or rub one of those furniture wax sticks in to kinda fill it up. If it gets bigger add more putty /wax stick. A crayon, is mostly wax and will also fill the crack, and be sealed in when you apply the finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Ok I'll take a look at the labels and see. From the quick look I saw it said be case scenario is around 70 degrees to apply it. It's about 55-60 in the garage. The medium stain looks great. However the mohagany stain was weird. It had the consistency of a brownie mix. I stirred it well but it got nowhere near the consistency of the medium brown. Is this normal or did I get a bad can? Bad pic and tough to tell but it's clumpy. I put a stick in it and it clumped up on it and took probably 4-5 seconds before a drop fell off. Late to this thread and not sure if someone else answered the question. I love GF products but their product line is really confusing. GF Water Base Dye Stains are dyes, have consistency of water, and soak into the wood. GF Water Base Stain is a pigment stain, is thick, more like a gel stain, and sits on top of the wood. It is good for glazing and layering. GF Gel Stain has similar consistency as Water Base Stain but is oil base. All 3 products have similar packaging and come in the same colors so it can be easy to grab the wrong one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted May 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 I have not found a good way to brush on the water based top coat without runs unless I only do parts facing up so they can't run. I've tried using very little and all that and by the time it dried it found a way to run somehow. Small shop workarounds. Table saw and crosscut sled become the only way I found to finish the edges of the bench. Raising the grain before my first coat of stain. It's getting closer to being done. A 7 month old and traveling to Asia monthly doesn't leave much shop time to finish it up. But we are getting there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Looking good.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 [ I have not found a good way to brush on the water based top coat without runs unless I only do parts facing up so they can't run. I've tried using very little and all that and by the time it dried it found a way to run somehow. [ ] This method works very well for me: Assuming you're using a high quality full synthetic brush, try brushing as usual, keeping a small foam brush handy. After brushing BOTH connecting sides of any edge edge pass, go back and ever so lightly dab the drips with the foam brush. With an artistic hand, you don't even need to touch the wood with the foam. Generally speaking, use the widest brush you can get away with...which means keeping a few on hand. Avoid having a lot of brush hanging over an edge. Or...drop a few bills on an HVLP and never worry about it ever again 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I am using a foam brush to apply. Seems to work great for me. I do use your technique of the artistic hand of barely touching the surface to get the extra. It doesn't run right away but give it 30 mins to slowly trickle down and it will. For this I am using a 4" brush on the tops and a 2" for the sides. So there is never much brush if any hanging over the sides Yes I wish I could spray it. I am in need of other more important tools before I dive into spraying it sadly. So be its just a really slow process haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 3 pieces in various stages! Just glad to be starting on the table top finally!! First coat. I'll sand and apply one more and should be plenty good then on to finishing it. Hopefully by then I'll be able to finish up the bench and start the base for the tabletop 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 Wow, that dark surface looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 Foam brushes are contrary but essential. Looks like you mastered it. Good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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