roughsawn Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 I've used it before, but gonna try some new things. I'm wiping on 50/50 poly/mineral spirits, over 2 coats of stain on white oak. How many coats (not real thin) do you think I should build up, so that I have enough to barely sand smooth at the end? Today I knocked off the dust specs by BARELY dragging some 400 grit over the 3rd coat. What grit should my final sanding be with, and suggestions to clean up the white powder? Has anyone tried 1/3 poly, 1/3 mineral spirits, and 1/3 boiled linseed oil? Would there be a specific application for that, or just general furniture? Seems interesting to me, and I'm going to try it on my next project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 Rather than trying these things on an actual project, why not cut a few boards to test out the results first? You can quickly try several different mixes and compare dry time, ease of application, feel/look, and durability. If it doesn’t meet your expectations, you can throw it in the trash and move on to something else. If you use it on a project and it doesn’t meet your expectations, you either have to strip and refinish or scrap and rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 I have tried 50/50 poly and spirits, and the poly / spirits / oil blend as well. I've reverted to using commercial wiping poly, as consistency seems better, and it saves a lot of time. I find that sheen appears at coat#3, most of the time. My current favorite is Minwax 'Tung oil finish'. IMO, 400 is a bit coarse for final sanding of the finish. I usually hit coat 1 or 2 with 600, and just rub coat 3 and above with brown paper or a white abrasive pad, depending on the gloss required. Tack cloth works well for the sanding powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughsawn Posted February 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 600 grit, and brown paper sounds good. I like using a microfiber towel for sanding powder. Sucks it up pretty good. I know tack cloth is better, tho. What did you like/dislike about the poly/spirits/oil blend? I'm thinking for the cartridge holders, that will be handled alot, it might be a good fit. I made some several years ago, and just rubbed them down with boiled linseed oil, and still love the way they feel...years later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 Aside from the time spent mixing a blend, my only issue was that it didn't keep well, but that may be unique to the brand of poly used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 Yes on the test boards; always, always, always. Be sure to do the full surface prep on your test board just like your actual piece to get a valid read on what your finish is going to do. That being said, I use a lot of 1:1:1 BLO:MS:varnish with all sorts of variations. The BLO adds some warmth and pops the figure. If you are not going to use stain this will give you a good color on many things. BLO:MS:Modified Phenolic varnish on black walnut: BLO:MS:Oil-based Polyurethane on cherry: 1:1:1 with a satin poly and a dash of dye to make a new piece match a previous piece in walnut: When I do this type of finish I use a blend that is heavy on MS for the first coat to get penetration and a good seal. I follow this with however many coats I deem required of a balanced mix to build a film. I end with a final coat or two (applied very thin) of a blend that is heavy on the varnish for a consistent gloss of the level I'm after. When in doubt I always go for 'gloss' since I can always adjust the sheen during the "finish the finish" steps. P.s. I add a bit of Japan Drier to give the BLO a boost towards curing. I learned this on the pedestal table shown in the first pic. It took weeks to cure. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 On 2/2/2022 at 8:39 AM, gee-dub said: Please, please tell me there are more pics or a build journal for this somewhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 On 2/2/2022 at 5:46 AM, JohnG said: Please, please tell me there are more pics or a build journal for this somewhere! Ummm . . . ah-ha! Here it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Askland09 Posted February 2, 2022 Report Share Posted February 2, 2022 On 2/1/2022 at 9:40 PM, wtnhighlander said: rub coat 3 and above with brown paper or a white abrasive pad This has become my go to for for final coats as well. Who knew all those sack lunch bags would become useful....and I just threw a majority of them in the garbage lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughsawn Posted February 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2022 Very nice, gee-dub. Good tips on the mixing ratio. Gonna have to look up Japan Drier, tho. Never heard of it. 4th coat of 50/50 poly-min spirits really came around. I think I'll just brown bag them, and call it good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted February 3, 2022 Report Share Posted February 3, 2022 You might want to check out Bob Flexner's book Understanding Wood Finishes (3rd ed). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughsawn Posted February 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 So, this project that I am now working on, I would like to give a light, one coat application of a lighter stain before I go 1:1:1 poly/ms/blo. Can I put a dash of stain in my mix, or should I apply the stain first, then finish as usual? Kinda sounds like a dumb question, but I see gee-dub said he added a bit to his project above. I guess I've never tried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 In my experience, products labeled as 'stain' tend to have coarser pigment particles, and may look a little grainy or streaky if mixed into the finish. Dyes seem to look better when using that method. But that is a limited experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughsawn Posted February 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 Thanks. It will be so easy to just quickly wipe on a single coat of stain, I'll just do that first. I really was trying to learn a new technique...if it is, in fact, a technique...loI I get set in my ways when I find something that works, and it's hard to try something new. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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