finnish on wood handles

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gaspassah

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Feb 13, 2009
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i have some black ash burl that i've cut into scales.. the block was stabilized.. my question is,, how do i finnish the wood for a good look? i'm not sure what tung oil would do to the color etc, not sure how to accomplish the "superglue" finnish or even if that is appropriate.. with some sanding its turning out nice but the colors fade, i dab a little water on them to see the grain good but fades away again...
thanks for any help
david
 
I recently started using Tru Oil and I'm very impressed with it. I saw some stabilized koa finished with 15 coats of the stuff and it just glowed.
 
From what I read, if it's stabilized you can finish with high grit (lik3 1200-2000 or higher) and hit it with the buffer. The resins used in the process shine up nicely.

Or, like Phil said, try Tru Oil. I've only used in on surfaces that can absorb it. Never tried it on a sealed surface like stabilized wood.
 
If you sand and polish as normal and then follow up with oil as Phillip mentioned the colors will become more vibrant and the figure more 3 dimensional. Some of the stabilizers will say that if the stabilizing is done right you don't need to apply any finish. I disagree. A little extra time with oil will take the wood from flat and 2 dimensional to vibrant and 3 dimensional.
 
I'm no expert, but a few coats of CA allowed to dry then smoothed with some 0000 steel wool followed by a good buffing seems to provide a pretty decent finish.
 
Carnuba wax and other wood finish waxes (I LOVE Birchwood Casey's gunstock wax) tend to do an awesome job of bringing out true colors while still protecting the wood. They also don't buff off like most oils do. Just apply an even coat with a cotton ball, terrycloth rag, etc and rub it in. You'll instantly notice the difference. Buffing wheels work superbly.
 
I started with Danish Oil, then Tung Oil, now I'm on to Tru Oil. I like the Tru Oil the best.
 
gaspassah said:
i have some black ash burl that i've cut into scales.. the block was stabilized.. my question is,, how do i finnish the wood for a good look? i'm not sure what tung oil would do to the color etc, not sure how to accomplish the "superglue" finnish or even if that is appropriate.. with some sanding its turning out nice but the colors fade, i dab a little water on them to see the grain good but fades away again...
thanks for any help
david
Click to expand...

David,
Who stabilized the black ash? -Larry
 
Phillip Dobson said:
I recently started using Tru Oil and I'm very impressed with it. I saw some stabilized koa finished with 15 coats of the stuff and it just glowed.
Click to expand...

That is what I have started using also, works great on both stabilized and not stabilized wood. How do you put yours on? I put it on and rub it in with my hand until it gets to hot to rub anymore, seems to work really well.
 
When I use Tru Oil I put a drop on my finger and spread it till it's soaked in, then get another drop. Once I've got a good coating, I let it set for a bit (depending on temperature) and then wipe off the excess. Then I let it sit again for a bit until lightly dry, lightly hit it with a fine scotch bright pad (I don't use steel wool on wood, the micro pieces that break off can get in the wood and stain it later), then I put on my next coat.

Once the wood won't old anymore of the tru oil, I lightly apply the final finish coat with my finger making sure it's as smooth as possible. The Tru Oil has a self-leveling property to it, but you have to be as close to smooth as you can. Once this final coat has setup, I inspect it for runs and knock those down with sand paper and do a light pass over those areas with the oil, I usually don't do the whole piece again, just the areas that I reworked to take care of drips/runs/sags.
 
GrizzlyBear said:
When I use Tru Oil I put a drop on my finger and spread it till it's soaked in, then get another drop. Once I've got a good coating, I let it set for a bit (depending on temperature) and then wipe off the excess. Then I let it sit again for a bit until lightly dry, lightly hit it with a fine scotch bright pad (I don't use steel wool on wood, the micro pieces that break off can get in the wood and stain it later), then I put on my next coat.

Once the wood won't old anymore of the tru oil, I lightly apply the final finish coat with my finger making sure it's as smooth as possible. The Tru Oil has a self-leveling property to it, but you have to be as close to smooth as you can. Once this final coat has setup, I inspect it for runs and knock those down with sand paper and do a light pass over those areas with the oil, I usually don't do the whole piece again, just the areas that I reworked to take care of drips/runs/sags.
Click to expand...

Great idea about using a scotch-brite pad instead of steel wool; steel wool always leaves some kind of crap in there. I've definitely got to try the scotch-brite!
- Thanks
 
No problem! I am by no means an expert on Tru Oil, but that was one of the bits of info I picked up on using it. The steel wool can leave microscopic fibers embedded in the wood grain that can, over time, rust and discolor the wood. I just completed the refinishing of a 50+ year old CVA Mountain Rifle of mine with Tru Oil and picked up that bit of knowledge during my learning search.

These are 3 old Forgecraft butcher knives of my mom's that I recently refinished using Tru Oil and BC's Walnut stain:
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This is the muzzleloader stock finished with the same Walnut Stain and Tru Oil:
DSCN1840.jpg

DSCN1842.jpg

DSCN1843.jpg

DSCN1846.jpg


The stock was a disaster when I started, now it's beautiful!

The only thing I would be concerned about using the Tru Oil on is any very light wood. Since it has a golden hue to it, I would be afraid that it would darken very light woods a bit too much. I may be wrong though :)
 
Thanks! I wish I had taken before pics of the stock, it was a mess.

So, out of my experiences thus far, I stand by Birchwood Casey's Tru Oil. :)
 
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