Finishes

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We use materials that at first glance seem common, but we use them in a not-so-common way.

I use McCloskey's No. 931 Tung Seal a tung oil based phenolic resin varnish. This is a premier varnish, highly respected by people familiar with oil varnishes. It used to be available in hardware stores, but is getting increasingly hard to find. (After speaking to technicians at McCloskey's, I've begun experimenting with No. 9931, their next generation tung-oil varnish. So far it looks very good, but will be a little longer in drying, and more susceptible to humidity and temperature. No. 9931 contains less mineral oil, and has slightly higher modified phenolic resin content than No. 931.) Tung Oil varnish yields a very thin, hard finish which is easy to spot-repair.

• Tung Oil varnishes "kick" quickly in air.If you open a can, use a little and seal it, you will find it has become a gelatinous mess in a week. To avoid that here are a couple of tips:

1. Divide the can into small jars. I find that a 2-oz. jar that pickled pimento peppers come in is just the right size.
2. After each use, squirt a little propane into the jar to exclude the air. I keep a small bottle of propane that I've taken the nozzle off the end of the burner, and attached a small length of 1/4" neoprene tubing with a football filler needle at the end. I place the cap loosely on the varnish jar, tipping the cap off the jar just enough to let me get the football needle in, and squirt a good bit of propane in while excluding the air. Works like a charm.

For brushwork, I like to use a beautiful soft brush made of the ear hair of Asian oxen (!). It holds a lot of varnish and releases it slowly, giving a glass-like, very thin coat. These brushes are fifty bucks apiece and I have two and wouldn't trade anything for them. (Two, so I can use one while the other dries.) For shellacking, I use a couple of badger brushes. Clean these brushes carefully:

• Get a brush spinner. This is a device you attach to a brush that enables you to spin it rapidly. They cost about $25.00, and are a great tool for cleaning brushes.
• Get three gallon jars half full of mineral spirits for the first cleaning. Designate them (1) Dirty; (2) Medium; (3) Clean. Run the varnish brush through each jar, swishing it around good. After the (2) jar, run the brush with the brush spinner (hold it in a trash can so you don't spray the whole shop). And again after the (3) jar.
• Wash the brush in warm water with lots of dish detergent. Rinse and re-soap until the brush suds up with little effort, indicating you've got all the oils out. Then rinse it till no suds can be evoked. Then spin it again and wrap it in lintless paper. Don't use paper towels--too much lint.

Final rub out is with #0000 steel wool. All steel wool is not created equal. Some will have strands of other grades mixed in, and will cause tears and screaming. Basically, all brands of steel wool are turned out by two companies (in the United States, at least). Only one company makes the good stuff. Any brand which displays an elephant's head logo is made by the good company.

The final treatment is a very high-carnuba wax. Currently, I prefer a floor wax called TreWax. It is available in a reddish-brown formulation which goes particularly well with the woods used.

For tack rags, I keep a supply of clean dish towels. One gets stored in a can, and I sprinkle in mineral spirits from time to time, to keep it just a little moist. This makes a great dust grabber.

And finally, keep a supply of small flannel cloths for wax rub out.

Dwain Wilder

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