I may have made a mistake, and I'm looking for suggestions on how to
recover. I made a humidor out of spanish cedar with a Pau Ferro (I think
it's also known as Bolivian Rosewood) veneer.
I mis-read Sal Marino's article on finishing oily woods. He said to first
put on a couple of thin coats of shellac to seal in the wood's oils, then he
likes to top it with Behlen's Rockhard Varnish.
I thought he was saying you could either coat with Shellac OR Behlen's, so I
went straight to the varnish.
It has been less than a week, but the varnish is still tacky. How long
should I wait before assuming that the varnish will never dry? And if I
come to the conclusion that the oils in the Pau Ferro are preventing the
varnish from properly curing, how can I recover?
From other postings I am considering washing the surface with naptha or
mineral spirits, possibly with some Japan Drier added. After that, should I
put on some Shellac, followed by more varnish?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Todd Graves
"Todd Graves" <tvgraves@verizon.net> wrote in
news:6K5_d.6227$qN3.1695@trndny01:
> I may have made a mistake, and I'm looking for suggestions on how to
> recover. I made a humidor out of spanish cedar with a Pau Ferro (I
> think it's also known as Bolivian Rosewood) veneer.
>
> I mis-read Sal Marino's article on finishing oily woods. He said to
> first put on a couple of thin coats of shellac to seal in the wood's
> oils, then he likes to top it with Behlen's Rockhard Varnish.
>
> I thought he was saying you could either coat with Shellac OR
> Behlen's, so I went straight to the varnish.
>
> It has been less than a week, but the varnish is still tacky. How
> long should I wait before assuming that the varnish will never dry?
> And if I come to the conclusion that the oils in the Pau Ferro are
> preventing the varnish from properly curing, how can I recover?
>
> From other postings I am considering washing the surface with naptha
> or mineral spirits, possibly with some Japan Drier added. After that,
> should I put on some Shellac, followed by more varnish?
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Todd Graves
>
It is likely the spanish cedar which is preventing the drying of the
varnish. Now, as to how to fix it, I suggest you see what
www.homesteadfinishing.com has to offer on their finishing forum.
Read first, before doing anything else.
Patriarch