Finishes

There are lots of finishes out there for the woodturner and we're adding to it! What makes our finishes different is the fact that we actually use our own finishes with our woodturnings. We don't try to fool you with misleading names or outright false claims of what's in them. We make small batches of each of our finishes in order to give you the freshest, highest quality finish available.

The best part of the finishes that we have is that you can order your own custom finish. That's right! We'll work with you to build your very own custom finish just for you. Sure, there's a minimum order but it's much less than what you might suspect. We know you aren't a big corporation. Neither are we! We just want to provide you with what you want.

Listed below are some simple finishes that you can make yourself. We'll be adding more as time goes along ...

Wipe-on Poly

3 Parts - Polyurethane
2 Parts - Mineral Spirits or other solvent.

Yep, that's all there is to it. A wipe-on finish is just, basically, a thinned version of the "normal" stuff. The advantages of a "wipe-on" is that it tends to soak into the wood better (which is what we recommend for at least the first coat of about any finish going onto bare wood) and is easier to apply. It also dries faster but it does take longer to build up a coat of finish (which is why we don't use it for all coats).

The 3-part finish

Mix equal parts of the following but only as much as you're likely to use within a couple of weeks.

1 Part - Boiled Linseed Oil (or other drying oils like PURE Tung Oil, Walnut oil)
1 Part - Mineral Spirits or other solvent like turpentine, kerosene, etc.
1 Part - Polyurethane (or Varnish) Gloss is fine ... you can get a satin sheen later with very fine steel-wool

Procedure:

1. Wipe the finish on ... flooding the entire piece making sure there is plenty of finish to soak into the wood
2. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to an hour ... depends on temperature and humidity. DON'T let the finish set-up too much before wiping it off! It should be just a little bit difficult to wipe it off.
3. Wipe off the remaining finish with a clean cloth. You're not wanting to scrub it all off, just get most of it off
4. Let it sit for at least 24 hours. Reapply as many times as needed.

Normally, a minimum of 3 applications is required but more will get you a shinier, thicker, more durable finish. The great part about this finish is that you get to determine the shine and thickness of the finish just by applying more. And, for a thick coat, but a satin sheen, you just buff with fine #0000 steel wool just before you re-apply the last couple of coats. Another advantage of this finish is that it's a fairly flexible one ... meaning it is good for applications where the wood is going to be moving or flexing.

Beeswax Paste

This finish can either be used as the only one or as the last part after another finish has already been applied and is dry.

1 Part -Beeswax
1 Part (or less) - compatible solvent to whatever you used as a main finish (if one was used)

Procedure:

1. Mix ingredients together in a jar with a tight sealing lid. Best to use good quality (blonde, super blonde or white) beeswax. Break apart the beeswax as much as possible or make shavings of it so it'll dissolve quicker.
2. Let the beeswax dissolve ... gentle heat will help speed this along.

Wipe on, wait a few minutes and then wipe off .. buffing helps to build a shine.

1. Just mix together. The beeswax won't dissolve like it will in a solvent but just mixing it in will do.
2. Used very sparingly, buff this mixture onto a film-finish like polyurethane, varnish or lacquer.

Finishes & Dyes