# How would you finish this ???



## bruce119 (Apr 26, 2008)

I am doing bottle stoppers and usually don't mess with natural edges. BUT I got this piece of oak that turn out really cool. I am very efficient at CA blo finish and the friction polishes I prefer CA just 100 % of the time.

But this piece as you can or maybe not see has a very uneven surface. There are crevices that are impossible to sand. I thought maybe a spray lacquer but I really never had much luck with them they always scratch easy. Then there are cracks that need to be filled. I thought maybe dipping mite be the answer. Maybe dipping in epoxy or something. 

I am looking for suggestions how some of you would go about it. Remember you will not be able to polish it afterwards. At least on the top in the crevices.

I posted in finishing & here looking for more you guys with experience.







Thanks
Bruce


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## alamocdc (Apr 26, 2008)

Bruce, I'd dip it in lacquer. And I'd do it at least 4 times with each dip 30 minutes apart. Then let it cure for a good 7 days. After that you should be able to buff it out with a buffing wheel and some fine scratch remover (Meguires or Novus should do just fin). And if you don't have a buffer, you can get a cotton buffing wheel for you drill from Ace Hardware cheap.


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## bruce119 (Apr 26, 2008)

Sounds good but the 7 days I have a show next friday night. A wine tasting event I am trying to get ready for. I was thinking of dipping in epoxy.

Keep theideas comming thanks
Bruce


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## rlharding (Apr 27, 2008)

Have you considered filling the cracks with ground used coffee?  It would keep the cracks looking black but give you a better surface for finishing. I think you could probably do your regular CA/BLO and then do the recesses just with the CA/BLO mixed together and apply with a Q tip.


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## alamocdc (Apr 27, 2008)

Bruce, epoxy would work, but it has a tendency to yellow. Lacquer doesn't. If you choose to use epoxy, I'd go with Marine epoxy. I bought my Bondo brand at Lowe's. It should cure nicely in 24 hours.


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## RussFairfield (Apr 27, 2008)

Why do you have to put something on it??  Sometimes wood just looks better being itself. It looks good to me just the way it is. If you must, polish it up and give it a coat of beeswax.


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## Dan_F (Apr 27, 2008)

> _Originally posted by alamocdc_
> 
> Bruce, epoxy would work, but it has a tendency to yellow. Lacquer doesn't.



I beg to differ about lacquer not yellowing. Ever see an acoustic guitar over a year or two old? 

Dan


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## Rmartin (Apr 27, 2008)

> I beg to differ about lacquer not yellowing. Ever see an acoustic guitar over a year or two old?



Lacquer will not yellow. Polyurethane will, but not lacquer. But then lacquer is not as hard a finish as poly, however, the water based poly is not supposed to yellow.

Lacquer like any finish has to be allowed to cure. If time is an issure, I would agree with Russ, leave it natural.


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## DCBluesman (Apr 27, 2008)

Nitrocellulose lacquers are notorious for yellowing. You may want to consider using a cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) acrylic blend. These types of lacquers have been used in the automotive paint industry for many, many years with minimal color change and also provide great protection against the vagaries of being used near staining liquids such as wine.  The newer water-borne lacquers also claim not to yellow (Enduro, Unaxol, etc.).


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## broitblat (Apr 28, 2008)

How about a wipe-on poly finish?  You could quite a few coats between now and Friday 

Nice looking stopper by the way.

  -Barry


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## pianomanpj (Apr 28, 2008)

What if you were to cast it like some of the beautiful "worthless wood" we see here on the IAP? Turn it back down to this profile, round the top, and polish. Just my two shekels worth...


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## Rudy Vey (Apr 28, 2008)

I wouldn't do anything to this piece, just keep the beauty of the wood natural or use some wax on it.


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## airrat (Apr 29, 2008)

If you want to put a finish on it and need it by Friday, I would use a sanding sealer then spray on.  You do not have to put on very many coats of it if you do not want a think finish.  A couple will do good to seal it and give it some protection.   If you want to leave some texture on it do not buff it out or sand it.


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## dbriski (Apr 30, 2008)

Not a cheap solution, but what if you dipped it in thin Ca? It may use up a lot of CA but should get a nice even coat. (never tried just guessing)


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## bruce119 (Apr 30, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the advise a lot good info. there. I wound up brushing on epoxy. I used a fishing rod epoxy from my rod building days. It turned out real nice they have epoxy with UV prohibitors in them made for fishing rods. I think the dipping in varnish would be the way to go when I have more time. 



> _Originally posted by dbriski_
> 
> Not a cheap solution, but what if you dipped it in thin Ca? It may use up a lot of CA but should get a nice even coat. (never tried just guessing)



As for dipping in CA I had bad experience with using it that way. I use CA almost 100% but dipping the problem is I found when you have creavious and it puddles or adsorbs two things can happen it can dry dull and or leave a white crystal like powder and in cravious and open grain were you can't get to it to polished it out.

Thanks everyone
Bruce


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