Lacquer Stabilizing

Hi Jim and Friends,

Would the UV and solvents still be an issue with this sophisticated thinned poly coating? Seems like water wouldn't be. One of the usual criticism of the polyurethane finished knife handle is its glossy slickness. Satin-izing it with steel wool would knock off the gloss would it give the handle more grip too?

One other question. I used to do a bit of snowshoeing as a kid (ha, not in Hawaii, but NH). I often wondered what the rawhide laces were coated with. It kept the leather dry and flexible. Anyone know?

Thanks for sharing your efforts. It never ceases to inspire me to be a part of this community of folk.

All the best, Phil
 
Phil, neatsfoot oil works well on rawhide laces to keep them flexible.
- Mitch
 
This stuff was a thick thick coating on the rawhide lacing of the snowshoes, like built up varnish or shellac. It was considerably thick, didn't crack and kept the lace dry. The web didn't stretch like oiled lace would have, yet it did have give to it.
 
I guess there could have been pitch in it, as it seems resin was an ingredient. I just did a search on traditional snowshoes. Seems it was spar varnish, commonly used for water resistant marine applications. Here's a bit of background info on it, and other sealers, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varnish. Sounds like it's not that unlike what Jim's using, not sure though.
 
Farmer Phil said:
Hi Jim and Friends,

Would the UV and solvents still be an issue with this sophisticated thinned poly coating? Seems like water wouldn't be. One of the usual criticism of the polyurethane finished knife handle is its glossy slickness. Satin-izing it with steel wool would knock off the gloss would it give the handle more grip too?
Click to expand...

Don't worry about hte UV issue; get an exterior rated poly and you are set, it will work fine.

By getting the gloss polyurethane instead of the satin or semi gloss, you do two things:

- You don't have to worry about the integrity of the final finish due to the desegregation of the liquid and the flattners. Flattners that make a gloss finish into satin are additives to the finish, and are usually some kind of ground silica. Over thinning makes these fall out of solution and give you an uneven finish. Gloss has no flattners, so no problems with the polyurethan mix coming apart when you thin it

- You can keep the grain appearance easier with gloss. With the inclusion of the flattners into the finish, each coat brings in a tiny bit of cloudiness that will obscure the grain of your wood, making it a bit less dynamic in appearance. Several coats to achieve the desired final thickness only compounds this. That's why I suggested in an early post to apply the gloss, then hit it with 0000 steel wool a week or so after your final coat (if you get on it sooner, the finish will be too soft)

I have turned wood for several years and I made my own handles for my homemade tools. After trying various woods and various finishes for the wood handles, I came back to plain old gloss polyurethane.

Woodturning is messy and grimy. After years of using some of my homemade tools in dirty, sweaty hands for hours at a pop, the handles still look great.

Robert
 
Hey, Guys! I've been at work a lot (thank God! Some overtime!) this week, so haven't had a lot of time to play in the shop. I sure have an itch, though.

Thanks for the input.. I'll keep y'all posted!!

Jim L.
 
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Well, I just took the second batch out of the soak after being under ambient pressure for about a week (that's a little over three weeks drying for the first batch).

I couldn't believe the amount of water in the bottom of the jar! There was about an inch in the bottom of the gallon pickle jar (not to mention sap and other organic material that had leached out :confused:! :barf:). I'm glad I put a grid in there to keep the wood off the bottom.

No cracks or checking that I didn't know about yet; we'll know in about a week or so. I'll keep y'all posted!

Jim L.
 
I'll be watching, Jim!

I am rounding up some materials to make a small vacuum chamber, and this may just be what I need to get off my butt. I was thinking about it (OK... for about 3 yrs now) a while back when I was wanting to stabilize bits of wood for my woodturnings I sell at Christmas.

Little bits of this and that make great wine bottle stopper handles, tips of Christmas ornaments, etc. Just about all woodturners mess around with stabilizing at one time or another, and a few of us have different vacuum systems. We just never seem to get to some of the projects.

I have a LOT of mesquite I could stabilize, as well as spalted pecan and some other goodies.

I would really like to hear how many inches of mercury you pulled and how much penetration you got when you cut into your blanks.

Good work!

Robert
 
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