Good result

[Chippygeoff]

I had the opportunity to use the buffing machine again today. I had several customer orders to polish. I was very pleased with the way all the items came out. I used cellulose sander sealer on the wood first and then using 3 different compounds on the three seperate buffing wheels. I took pictures of each item but it is the one included here that really does highlight the shine.

 

[Bryan Bennett]

HI Geoff
Looks very good,I think that it was a good investment to the buy the package.I am sure that your customers will appreciate the finish that you can now supply.I am sure that in time that it will pay for itself.

Bryan

 

[beganasatree]

Hi Geoff,
Your new toy will be a great asset to your finished products,it is money well spent.I was going to buy one last year but went for the CHESTNUT system instead and it has saved me money by not buying other finishing products.Tonight I used it on a few turnings (yew)I did not seal them I just used the three mops and the finish is outstanding,why not give it a try on a spare bit of wood and see what you think.When I use the system I put a carpet tile below it to protect work if I get a catch and it is snatched out of my hands.

I must try to make something on my scroll saw.

Peter.

 

[Alexam]

Nice work Geoff, looks really good.

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Thank you beganasatree for your post for Geoff to try the mops on a spare bit of wood.I have bought the same as Geoff,and just tried it out without the cellulose sealer and I think that there is little difference.Also you do not get the fumes off the sealer.

Bryan

 

[kfenelon]

Did the compounds get stuck in the lettering during burnishing? And if so how did you remove it?

 

[Bryan Bennett]

Hi kfenelon I am fortunate to have the same set up has Geoff,I make first names up upper case the first letter,yhe rest lower case.I experimented yesterday,I had sprayed the names with the beeswax spray from Wilkos them I buffed the names with the three wheels.I found out that with last polishing buff,a little fluff was left which was not a problem.

Bryan

 

[CHJ]

If you are not sanding sealing the wood before applying wax or buffing in general then I suspect that the pieces will not have a long un marred life and will discolour with collected dirt if they are subjected to significant handling.

The whole point of sealing the wood first is to:-

• 1. prevent ingrained dirt from building up in the pores of the wood
  2. provide a harder protective shell finish that takes a polish without the polish/solvents penetrating unevenly into the wood
  3. in the case of buffing provides the hard shell for the fine abrasives to work on to get the burnished gloss finish in depth.

There is a reason that for hundreds if not thousands of years folks have been painting, varnishing, lacquering wood, if you want it to maintain an artificial finish long term it must be sealed from the elements.

Not sealing wood for use in a domestic environment is like producing fine bone china for everyday use and not bothering to glaze it.

If you are relying on a Beeswax polish alone to do the sealing then any significant handling is going to dull and dirty it as Beeswax melts at hand temperatures.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

"2. provide a harder protective shell finish that takes a polish without the polish/solvents penetrating unevenly into the wood"
That's an interesting comment - I avoid s/s if at all possible after badly finishing a piece (a lot of work) because it caused extremely uneven absorption. It was something that couldn't be refinished.

 

[CHJ]

"2. provide a harder protective shell finish that takes a polish without the polish/solvents penetrating unevenly into the wood"

That's an interesting comment - I avoid s/s if at all possible after badly finishing a piece (a lot of work) because it caused extremely uneven absorption. It was something that couldn't be refinished.

That sounds as though you tried to apply an oil or soft paste wax finish to a (poorly) sealed piece and the oil/wax solvents have only penetrated where the sealant was not complete, thus changing the appearance of the underlying wood in patches.

Wood intended for oil finish should in 90% of instances not be sealed, you need the oil to penetrate as deeply and evenly as possible.

If you wish to Buff Oiled finishes to a Gloss then you need to use a polymerising oil that will form a hard skin or shell for the buffing system to burnish, (Hard Wax Oil for instance) a process that can take days or weeks.
Non polymerising oils such as Lemon Oil or Food safe Oils will not form a hard skin, they may dry out in time but they will not form much of a protective shell, just go some way to preventing moisture penetration, other oil blends behave differently with differing timescales dependant upon the metallic dryers etc. incorporated..