Hey all, I've been lurking a while, finally have a question of my own:
Looking for some advice re thinning General Finish's "Arm-R-Seal" tung/poly
mix.
I've made a smallish box of padauk and shea-oak, intended to hold a set of
dominos, and given it an initial coat of Watco's danish oil. I'd like to
give it a little more protection against dings and scratches than Watco
provides, and am thinking of applying a couple of thinned coats of
Arm-r-seal.
Why thinned, since ArS is already fairly watery? The area where I can apply
finish is pretty cool/wet right now, and I'd like to keep the drying time to
a minimum to cut down on dust. When applied in summer, ArS dries to touch in
15 minutes or so. Now, it's running to 45 minutes.
Also, I'd like to keep the wood as naked looking as possible, so the thinner
the coat the better.
General Finishes recommends mineral spirits for clean up, so I imagine that
one would use it for thinning as well.
1. Has anyone tried applying thinned coats of Arm-r-seal? Did you use
mineral spirits? How were your results?
2. Could you use a thinned coat as a final coat, where it would remove/wet
the light sanding marks and hopefully dry before dust lands?
Needless to say, the box is an xmas present, so time is short. I won't have
time to do tests or apply the number of coats of Watco's that would be
neccessary to build up a protective layer.
Thanks, Paul
On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 12:45:18 -0800, FOW wrote
(in message <[email protected]>):
> I've had a quart can of Arm-R-Seal for 8 years or more. It's never been
> cloudy, yes it can be thinned with paint thinner, but it will slow the dry
> time lot's.
Slow the dry time? Hmm. I would have expected otherwise, since each coat
would be more volatile and go on thinner.
"FOW" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Paint thinner is an oil, it slows the dry time. <Snip>
I think You might be right.
They tell you to thin varnish and poly if its hot out to give the
bubbles a chance to "pop" out.
I kind-of like Formbys "tung Oil" finish.
It's actually a wiping varnish; not an oil/Varnish blend. Seems to
flow out a little nicer than wipe on poly. IMO at least.
I've heard some people will apply a coat of *finish* and then set a
box down over it to keep out the dust.
Thanks, Tony D.
You should have no problem thinning it with mineral spirits. In fact you may
wish to blend the Arm-R-Seal with a danish oil finish like Watco for a
hybrid finish that has more solids than watco alone, but less urethane than
Arm-R-Seal alone. I've done this many times, with good results.
My only complaint about Arm-R-Seal is that it sometimes looks slightly
cloudy to me. Honestly, I much prefer waterlox wiping varnish.
Good luck,
Glenn de Souza
Scottsdale, Arizona
"Paul Hays" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hey all, I've been lurking a while, finally have a question of my own:
>
>
>
> Looking for some advice re thinning General Finish's "Arm-R-Seal"
tung/poly
> mix.
>
> I've made a smallish box of padauk and shea-oak, intended to hold a set of
> dominos, and given it an initial coat of Watco's danish oil. I'd like to
> give it a little more protection against dings and scratches than Watco
> provides, and am thinking of applying a couple of thinned coats of
> Arm-r-seal.
>
> Why thinned, since ArS is already fairly watery? The area where I can
apply
> finish is pretty cool/wet right now, and I'd like to keep the drying time
to
> a minimum to cut down on dust. When applied in summer, ArS dries to touch
in
> 15 minutes or so. Now, it's running to 45 minutes.
>
> Also, I'd like to keep the wood as naked looking as possible, so the
thinner
> the coat the better.
>
> General Finishes recommends mineral spirits for clean up, so I imagine
that
> one would use it for thinning as well.
>
> 1. Has anyone tried applying thinned coats of Arm-r-seal? Did you use
> mineral spirits? How were your results?
>
> 2. Could you use a thinned coat as a final coat, where it would
remove/wet
> the light sanding marks and hopefully dry before dust lands?
>
>
> Needless to say, the box is an xmas present, so time is short. I won't
have
> time to do tests or apply the number of coats of Watco's that would be
> neccessary to build up a protective layer.
>
> Thanks, Paul
>
Paint thinner is an oil, it slows the dry time. I sometimes use a heatgun
after an hour of putting on the arm R seal to help speed things up. Try not
to get it much over 85 degrees though. Scuff between coats with gray scotch
brite. I like at least 3 coats.
"Paul Hays" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 12:45:18 -0800, FOW wrote
> (in message <[email protected]>):
>
> > I've had a quart can of Arm-R-Seal for 8 years or more. It's never been
> > cloudy, yes it can be thinned with paint thinner, but it will slow the
dry
> > time lot's.
>
> Slow the dry time? Hmm. I would have expected otherwise, since each coat
> would be more volatile and go on thinner.
>
>
Hi Paul, I don't think that you should do it. There would be little gained
and may even cause problems with the Arm-r-seal drying properly. The best
bet would be to allow the Watco to cure a minimum of 72 hours, then topcoat
with wipe on poly.
gene
"Paul Hays" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hey all, I've been lurking a while, finally have a question of my own:
>
>
>
> Looking for some advice re thinning General Finish's "Arm-R-Seal"
tung/poly
> mix.
>
> I've made a smallish box of padauk and shea-oak, intended to hold a set of
> dominos, and given it an initial coat of Watco's danish oil. I'd like to
> give it a little more protection against dings and scratches than Watco
> provides, and am thinking of applying a couple of thinned coats of
> Arm-r-seal.
>
> Why thinned, since ArS is already fairly watery? The area where I can
apply
> finish is pretty cool/wet right now, and I'd like to keep the drying time
to
> a minimum to cut down on dust. When applied in summer, ArS dries to touch
in
> 15 minutes or so. Now, it's running to 45 minutes.
>
> Also, I'd like to keep the wood as naked looking as possible, so the
thinner
> the coat the better.
>
> General Finishes recommends mineral spirits for clean up, so I imagine
that
> one would use it for thinning as well.
>
> 1. Has anyone tried applying thinned coats of Arm-r-seal? Did you use
> mineral spirits? How were your results?
>
> 2. Could you use a thinned coat as a final coat, where it would
remove/wet
> the light sanding marks and hopefully dry before dust lands?
>
>
> Needless to say, the box is an xmas present, so time is short. I won't
have
> time to do tests or apply the number of coats of Watco's that would be
> neccessary to build up a protective layer.
>
> Thanks, Paul
>
"FOW" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I sometimes use a heatgun
Yes Dave, sometimes I just put a match to it. Amazing how fast it dries.
I've had a quart can of Arm-R-Seal for 8 years or more.
It's never been cloudy, yes it can be thinned with paint thinner, but it
will slow the dry time lot's. It dries slow anyway.
"Glenn de Souza" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:4CiFb.21323$J77.10111@fed1read07...
> You should have no problem thinning it with mineral spirits. In fact you
may
> wish to blend the Arm-R-Seal with a danish oil finish like Watco for a
> hybrid finish that has more solids than watco alone, but less urethane
than
> Arm-R-Seal alone. I've done this many times, with good results.
>
> My only complaint about Arm-R-Seal is that it sometimes looks slightly
> cloudy to me. Honestly, I much prefer waterlox wiping varnish.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Glenn de Souza
> Scottsdale, Arizona
>
>
> "Paul Hays" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hey all, I've been lurking a while, finally have a question of my own:
> >
> >
> >
> > Looking for some advice re thinning General Finish's "Arm-R-Seal"
> tung/poly
> > mix.
> >
> > I've made a smallish box of padauk and shea-oak, intended to hold a set
of
> > dominos, and given it an initial coat of Watco's danish oil. I'd like
to
> > give it a little more protection against dings and scratches than Watco
> > provides, and am thinking of applying a couple of thinned coats of
> > Arm-r-seal.
> >
> > Why thinned, since ArS is already fairly watery? The area where I can
> apply
> > finish is pretty cool/wet right now, and I'd like to keep the drying
time
> to
> > a minimum to cut down on dust. When applied in summer, ArS dries to
touch
> in
> > 15 minutes or so. Now, it's running to 45 minutes.
> >
> > Also, I'd like to keep the wood as naked looking as possible, so the
> thinner
> > the coat the better.
> >
> > General Finishes recommends mineral spirits for clean up, so I imagine
> that
> > one would use it for thinning as well.
> >
> > 1. Has anyone tried applying thinned coats of Arm-r-seal? Did you use
> > mineral spirits? How were your results?
> >
> > 2. Could you use a thinned coat as a final coat, where it would
> remove/wet
> > the light sanding marks and hopefully dry before dust lands?
> >
> >
> > Needless to say, the box is an xmas present, so time is short. I won't
> have
> > time to do tests or apply the number of coats of Watco's that would be
> > neccessary to build up a protective layer.
> >
> > Thanks, Paul
> >
>
>