Source
r/turning•
Helpful_Response

Wood turners of 5+ years, which finish do you use? (How to avoid yellowing)

I've been turning for a couple of years and am very displeased with how some of my older pieces have become quite yellow. The finish I was using is "Shine juice", or 1/3 Zinser Shellac, 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil and 1/3 Denatured Alcohol. Some of the bowls now after 3 years look like they were dipped in honey mustard.

Now I make my own shellac using the lightest blond flakes I can find, Tried and True Danish Oil Finish (Polymerized Linseed Oil, no heavy metal hardeners) and 90% ethanol Denatured Alcohol.

The new recipe doesn't smell like cancer, and it does look lighter in color, but I'm still afraid of yellowing as time goes on.

So, wizened masters of the lathe, what finish do you use so that the heirlooms you make still look good after 5 years?

Posted Dec 19, 2020, 10:34 PM UTC

921
tigermaple•

"Shine juice" is crap and now you know why- it's a gimmick to entertain new turners with something that is easy to apply and looks phenomenal right after but it doesn't age well. (I seldom say so because people on the internet love it and act like you just suggested they drop their puppy off at the shelter when you say something bad about it).

The best I've found is just the Tried and True Danish oil by itself. Very little to no yellowing on some of my 4 or 5 year old maple and ash bowls. (I've been turning for almost 15 years but I don't think I found out about Tried and True until 5 years ago or so).

10
PoliticalLavagetgudwood•

Plain old polyurethane. Hadn't yellowed to the eye on my 15 year old bowls. They did darken a bit though.

3
jayscottphoto•

I'm about 18 months into my turning journey. I do love my OB Juice (85% 1lb cut of ultra blonde shellac, 15% mineral oil) but cannot attest to it's look, in the long term.

Just finished my first live edge winged bowl, which took 8 hours of hand sanding (my hands are paralyzed so don't be shocked by that). I had to choose something other than OBJ, since there was no way friction was possible on that spinning log. Went with mineral oil, 4 coats of sanding sealer, then 8 of wipe on poly. I'm hoping that'll last for my wife's 40th birthday gift, since we'll have it a long time.

Anyone have better choices for me to consider next time? Finishing is still a bit of a struggle, at times.

3
StringFoodWoodcraft Employee•

For long lasting and fairly high gloss, I have after years of experimenting have done this forumla:

2 parts black tar heroin

1 part shellac (Zinser is fine)

1/2 part tung oil

1/2 part laquer thinner

1/2 part denatured alcohol

1 part Sunnyside Boiled Linseed Oil

Apply with friction with a dry towel and allow 5 minutes between coats to cure!

1
Helpful_ResponseOP•

Umm, one of those things is not like the other.

5
DaDa462•

Thanks for the warning about OB. Maybe I won't waste time trying it

1
Helpful_ResponseOP•

I really do wonder if it was the Zinser shellac and the Klean Strip "Boiled" Linseed Oil. I changed to the Tried and True Danish Polymerized Linseed and Wellermart Platina Blonde Shellac Flakes. I really do wonder if that is the difference. My newer pieces have less yellowing, but some of the earliest ones from my earliest shine juice do look pretty yellow.

Also the Denatured alcohol that I use appears to have much more ethanol than the standard rubbing alcohol mix.

1
badwhiskey63•

Blonde shellac or lacquer for the least amber color. Have tried leaving out the linseed oil?

1
NinjaMoreLikeANonja•

For decorative stuff, I use mineral oil. For functional stuff that has to be food safe, I use General Finishes Salad Bowl Finish.

If I’m really really really feeling fancy, I use a CA glue finish sanded to 10,000 grit but that finish is a mother to apply. It is quite a messy process.

None of the above ever yellow.

1
Halcyon3k•

You sand CA glue finish to 10,000 grit? I just started using CA finish and it'd dawning on me that I'm going to need more sandpaper...

3
NinjaMoreLikeANonja•

Yup! Although past 1200 grit, I use micromesh. It’s not sandpaper at that point, it’s more a magic rubbing pad that seems to make things smooth.

Also, learn from my mistakes: keep it lubricated and keep the RPM medium low. Those micromesh pads last basically forever if they are used lovingly but as soon as they are pushed beyond their mechanical limits, they die a rapid death.

3
Halcyon3k•

Good to know, thanks for the tips! Lubricating with mineral oil or water?

1
NinjaMoreLikeANonja•

I’ve never used mineral oil. Water works really well.

It really helps to go slowly-ish with application of the CA and do it in layers. Thick application works but it means a tremendous amount of sanding later and CA is nasty when dustified plus it’s pretty hard so it burns through paper and, because it’s so hard and requires a lot of paper, thick layers get hot from sanding friction. CA really doesn’t like being hot; it tends to break up and chip off if it doesn’t gum up from being sanded so quickly after application.

Also: do not use cotton rags when applying CA. The fiber structure (long, microscopic, and spindly) dramatically increases the surface area over which the glue is distributed in the rag to the point where the glue catalyzes REALLY fast and hot. So hot in fact that it can auto ignite. I use a piece of bendable single ply cardboard and just schmear the CA on.

Ask me how I know about cotton and CA glue.

2
zerj•

I've often wondered if the final grit in the micro-mesh sanding pads people use for CA finishes, is just a perfectly smooth piece of rubber just so you can claim to have finished at 10K+ grit. I certainly can't feel the difference between the last few pads, and not sure I'd be able to tell any wear on them.

1
NinjaMoreLikeANonja•

It’s really hard to tell but it’s definitely real. Mirror shine isn’t possible with 6000 grit but it is with 10,000. Likewise, skipping a couple pads and jumping from 3000 to 10,000 just makes a weirdly smooth scratched surface.

1
pryered•

For boxes etc. Sanding sealer - Yorkshire grit - Embellishing wax - Paste wax.

Spindle work = boiled linseed or danish oil depending on the species or use.

1
herbviking666•

I use a mix of beeswax and carnauba wax make my own mixes with different amounts of each, I've been using this for about 2 years and they still look good get plenty of positive comments for people about my finish

1
FriskyTurtle16•

Most of my stuff i use Danish Oil, I apply the first coat and then I dont let sit long before I'm applying a second and rubbing it with 2k grit sandpaper to do kind of a wet sanding, then I'll wipe any v excess off (there usually isn't while sanding) then ill let that dry for an hour or 2 and add a third very light coat, ive had good results with that technique

Or if I need a really durable finish CA glue is my go to

1