(for those who prefer two or three line postings
- skip this one)
I'm a moderate shellac / bug spit freak - I'll admit it.
Platina will make a nice piece of wood look better,
garnet will give it a rich, deep, warm look - without
hiding the grain. Ten or fifteen coats, brushed on,
sprayed on or french polished on will give a depth
to the finish that can turn a nice piece into a real
eye grabber. Shellac is amazing.
The riitual of weighing and grinding the shellac (OK,
so I use a power coffee grinder - a Braum to be exact
- with green, orange and red LEDs to indicate the
grind), the mason jars with their two part lids, the
measuring of the alcohol, the liquid changing color
as the finely powdered shellac is carefully poured
into the alcohol, the stirring and waiting and stirring
some more - all put me in a calm frame of mind. It
is very much like preparing to do Japanese Sumie -
laying out the cloth, the brushes, the ink grinding/
well, the ink stick, the porcelin mixing and cleaning
trays and bowl - and of course the paper.
The process of woodworking is better than half
the fun of it and preparing a batch of shellac is
the beginning of the "home stretch" of a project.
The shellac ritual is the calm before the potential
storm, for it's the finishing that is frought (sp?)
with possible calamities, especially with shellac,
for every flaw and ding will soon become apparent.
And even though there are "test pieces", the
wood of the actual piece may contain hidden
disasters - or very pleasant surprises - the
BLOTCHIES may be hiding somewhere on the
most visible part of the piece. Or - a beautiful,
hidden grain pattern may appear from nowhere.
A slip of the brush, an errant drop of shellac, a run
or sag - all lurk - waiting.
But when things go "just so" - well, the results
can be stunning - a sow's ear into a silk purse!
A glass like surface a mile deep - yet still
clearly showing the wonders of the wood's
grain and/or figure - that my friend is a FINISH,
or so I thought.
And then I found The Loss of Gloss.
The coopered doors, which took over my
"quick and dirty" router bit cabinet, had
8-10 coats of hand rubbed garnet shellac.
The finish was almost perfect - almost.
I'd brushed on a thin last "final" coat to
get rid of the fine swirl marks.
There was a brush stroke on each of the
doors, a lapse in technique late at night.
But some carefull 400 grit sanding would
make it right. Got carried away with the
feathering around the sanded flaw and
soon both doors had a flat look.
Rather than apply a final thinned shellac
coat, with the possibility of again leaving
a brush stroke, I went out and got some
steel wool, actually some 00 copper wool
and, for good measure some 0000 steel
wool.
That's how I found enlightenment - The
Loss of Gloss. The resulting finish looks
soft and very pleasing, and, unlike a high
gloss finish, begs to be touched. The
surface doesn't feel like glass, but rather
it feel like wood. Who'd of thunk it -
a piece that feels like it's real honest to
god wood. It's amazing how sensitive
your finger tips are and how good this
finish feels. One of the neighborhood
kids, after running her fingers over the
finish actually picked up a door and
rubbed her cheek on it, with a smile like
kids get when rubbing their blanky against
their face.
So, if you've always thought that a glassy
high gloss finish for your work is perfection,
get some 0000 or 00000 steel wool and
discover The Loss of Gloss.
Off to the woodworking show. Taking
the MIata because a) it's fun to drive,
b) it's a nice sunny day in NorCal and
c) its size will prevent me from buying
anything big (which often means
expensive). Tooling along at 80 mph,
with the top down, the wind through
were my hair use to be - on the way
to a woodworking show - it's going to
be a great day!
charlie b
On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:16:46 -0800, charlie b <[email protected]>
wrote:
>(for those who prefer two or three line postings
> - skip this one)
<reverently and regretfully snipped>
Damned nice, charlie b.
I began looking into knocked down glosses after one customer said
about my gloss nitro lacquer (gittar finish, o'deen) job:
"I can't believe you did this in your little shop! It looks just like
it came right out of a factory!"
(sizzle...burn...pftttt...)
Regards,
Tom.
"People funny. Life a funny thing." Sonny Liston
Thomas J.Watson - Cabinetmaker (ret.)
tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)
http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1
> So, if you've always thought that a glassy
> high gloss finish for your work is perfection,
> get some 0000 or 00000 steel wool and
> discover The Loss of Gloss
I love that look, and do the same thing with the lacquer finish on antique
radios I restore.
>
> Off to the woodworking show. Taking
> the MIata because a) it's fun to drive,
> b) it's a nice sunny day in NorCal and
> c) its size will prevent me from buying
> anything big
That's funny! I use the same idea when my wife wants to go antiquing.
"OK!," I'll say. "Let's take the miata because it's so nice out" all the
while thinking about how much money I just saved!
On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 11:16:46 -0800, charlie b <[email protected]>
calmly ranted:
-snip-
>But when things go "just so" - well, the results
>can be stunning - a sow's ear into a silk purse!
>A glass like surface a mile deep - yet still
>clearly showing the wonders of the wood's
>grain and/or figure - that my friend is a FINISH,
>or so I thought.
Butcha gotta wear shades...
>And then I found The Loss of Gloss.
-snip-
>Rather than apply a final thinned shellac
>coat, with the possibility of again leaving
>a brush stroke, I went out and got some
>steel wool, actually some 00 copper wool
>and, for good measure some 0000 steel
>wool.
>
>That's how I found enlightenment - The
>Loss of Gloss. The resulting finish looks
>soft and very pleasing, and, unlike a high
>gloss finish, begs to be touched. The
>surface doesn't feel like glass, but rather
>it feel like wood. Who'd of thunk it -
>a piece that feels like it's real honest to
>god wood. It's amazing how sensitive
>your finger tips are and how good this
>finish feels. One of the neighborhood
>kids, after running her fingers over the
>finish actually picked up a door and
>rubbed her cheek on it, with a smile like
>kids get when rubbing their blanky against
>their face.
>
>So, if you've always thought that a glassy
>high gloss finish for your work is perfection,
>get some 0000 or 00000 steel wool and
>discover The Loss of Gloss.
I beat you by about 15 years, charlieb. I've always
deglossed my finishes and used mostly Watco or other
oil finishes because I love the "hand" they give, with
the feel of the wood coming through.
I just finished the carving bench legs with 3 coats of
rubbed Waterlox, then a 0000 buffing with Johnson's wax.
They're smoother than the provervial baby's butt.
The benchtop got one coat of Waterlox today after I got the
links made and installed, and I'll smooth that and leave it.
I have the curves coming along on the top of the legfronts so
it'll pivot on the front, and I'll finish attaching it tomorrow.
I still haven't decided what type of tilt mechanism to use to
lock the back at different heights.
It's my first large-scale "furniture", so it has been a fun #$%^&
learning experience. All M&T.
>Off to the woodworking show. Taking
>the MIata because a) it's fun to drive,
>b) it's a nice sunny day in NorCal and
>c) its size will prevent me from buying
>anything big (which often means
>expensive). Tooling along at 80 mph,
>with the top down, the wind through
>were my hair use to be - on the way
>to a woodworking show - it's going to
>be a great day!
Hey, sounds like another use of Johnson's Wax, eh?
It'll increase your gas mileage.
WARNING: Do not degloss the bald head. The red juice
tends to leak out once you do.
--
"Given the low level of competence among politicians,
every American should become a Libertarian."
-- Charley Reese, Alameda Times-Star (California), June 17, 2003
I think that made Paul smile down on you from Heaven.....
"charlie b" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> (for those who prefer two or three line postings
> - skip this one)
>
> I'm a moderate shellac / bug spit freak - I'll admit it.
>
> Platina will make a nice piece of wood look better,
> garnet will give it a rich, deep, warm look - without
> hiding the grain. Ten or fifteen coats, brushed on,
> sprayed on or french polished on will give a depth
> to the finish that can turn a nice piece into a real
> eye grabber. Shellac is amazing.
>
> The riitual of weighing and grinding the shellac (OK,
> so I use a power coffee grinder - a Braum to be exact
> - with green, orange and red LEDs to indicate the
> grind), the mason jars with their two part lids, the
> measuring of the alcohol, the liquid changing color
> as the finely powdered shellac is carefully poured
> into the alcohol, the stirring and waiting and stirring
> some more - all put me in a calm frame of mind. It
> is very much like preparing to do Japanese Sumie -
> laying out the cloth, the brushes, the ink grinding/
> well, the ink stick, the porcelin mixing and cleaning
> trays and bowl - and of course the paper.
>
> The process of woodworking is better than half
> the fun of it and preparing a batch of shellac is
> the beginning of the "home stretch" of a project.
> The shellac ritual is the calm before the potential
> storm, for it's the finishing that is frought (sp?)
> with possible calamities, especially with shellac,
> for every flaw and ding will soon become apparent.
> And even though there are "test pieces", the
> wood of the actual piece may contain hidden
> disasters - or very pleasant surprises - the
> BLOTCHIES may be hiding somewhere on the
> most visible part of the piece. Or - a beautiful,
> hidden grain pattern may appear from nowhere.
> A slip of the brush, an errant drop of shellac, a run
> or sag - all lurk - waiting.
>
> But when things go "just so" - well, the results
> can be stunning - a sow's ear into a silk purse!
> A glass like surface a mile deep - yet still
> clearly showing the wonders of the wood's
> grain and/or figure - that my friend is a FINISH,
> or so I thought.
>
> And then I found The Loss of Gloss.
>
> The coopered doors, which took over my
> "quick and dirty" router bit cabinet, had
> 8-10 coats of hand rubbed garnet shellac.
> The finish was almost perfect - almost.
> I'd brushed on a thin last "final" coat to
> get rid of the fine swirl marks.
>
> There was a brush stroke on each of the
> doors, a lapse in technique late at night.
> But some carefull 400 grit sanding would
> make it right. Got carried away with the
> feathering around the sanded flaw and
> soon both doors had a flat look.
>
> Rather than apply a final thinned shellac
> coat, with the possibility of again leaving
> a brush stroke, I went out and got some
> steel wool, actually some 00 copper wool
> and, for good measure some 0000 steel
> wool.
>
> That's how I found enlightenment - The
> Loss of Gloss. The resulting finish looks
> soft and very pleasing, and, unlike a high
> gloss finish, begs to be touched. The
> surface doesn't feel like glass, but rather
> it feel like wood. Who'd of thunk it -
> a piece that feels like it's real honest to
> god wood. It's amazing how sensitive
> your finger tips are and how good this
> finish feels. One of the neighborhood
> kids, after running her fingers over the
> finish actually picked up a door and
> rubbed her cheek on it, with a smile like
> kids get when rubbing their blanky against
> their face.
>
> So, if you've always thought that a glassy
> high gloss finish for your work is perfection,
> get some 0000 or 00000 steel wool and
> discover The Loss of Gloss.
>
> Off to the woodworking show. Taking
> the MIata because a) it's fun to drive,
> b) it's a nice sunny day in NorCal and
> c) its size will prevent me from buying
> anything big (which often means
> expensive). Tooling along at 80 mph,
> with the top down, the wind through
> were my hair use to be - on the way
> to a woodworking show - it's going to
> be a great day!
>
> charlie b