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African Blackwood

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bodrighywood:
Joe public i.e. the non turning fraternity aren't that keen on oiled wood. Tried it early on and it tended to get ignored ukless it was a utility piece. Mind they don't like that really heavy lacquered look either. Might be different for coloured work but I find that well polished work sells best at shows.

Pete

John Plater:

--- Quote from: bodrighywood on October 17, 2019, 04:03:44 PM ---Joe public i.e. the non turning fraternity aren't that keen on oiled wood. Tried it early on and it tended to get ignored ukless it was a utility piece. Mind they don't like that really heavy lacquered look either. Might be different for coloured work but I find that well polished work sells best at shows.
Pete

--- End quote ---


IMHO Joe public don't know what a finish is !! ;) Most people are taken by the tactility of a surface. I have never met any resistance to a hard wax oil finish. People with any appreciation of wood, know of hard wax oil or are interested in the story of it. If I have the time, cellulose sealer, wax and then cutting back with 0000 steel wool takes a lot of beating. The problem is that very many of the piecesI do are from less than sound material and wax is a non starter. So the hard wax oil is a more than suitable compromise. I have used it for 10 of my 12 years of selling work.
ATB John

bodrighywood:
Must admit John I am a bit stuck in a rut with finishes. What works for me for years has been pure carnauba wax buffed on. I do use microcrystalline occasionally. What I don't personally like is lacquers and varnishes and that, as someone called it 'plastic' look. Be interesting excercise to put several peces done with different finishes together and see what the difference is exactly. Tactility is important IMHO with wood, differenet woods feel different, look different and eveb smell dfferent and cam all contribute to the attraction (or otherwise) of a piece.

Pete

Twisted Trees:
Sorry Jeff, we have diverted your topic... But since we are on that tangent... I agree on not liking varnishes, I once got into using CA glue as a finish on pens, they were very shiny and no matter how long the essay you would not put a permanent finger print on it, and they actually sold well too, but I didn't like it and stopped making pens completely because they just were not tactile. 

One of my favorite pieces of wood is the banister in Temple Meads, Bristol, railway station. It was probably oiled once with boiled linseed or something similar, and I bet it was perfectly straight 150 years ago. Now it is oiled by millions of greasy hands, softer areas have worn into gentle indented curves, but I am a silly sod who strokes logs! 

Anyway back to the chemical burns on African Blackwood Jeff if you have some off-cuts to play with try washing in acetone then give both the first 2 suggestions a go, and also maybe the Teak reviving oil with wax on top it's what pleases you that matters. and far better to try things out on a piece of flat wood that you have not spent hours on.

hughie:
If its too oily you can try and wash away the oil to get your preferred finish to stick, or perhaps after washing try a Danish Oil with less oil than the other two components ie 40/40 of thinner/Turps etc and varnish 20% BLO.
Sometimes on similar oily piece I have warmed the piece up to bring the oil to the surface, say 35-40C for an hour or so. Then wash with meths a couple of times wiping off the powdery residue you can get from meths. Then go with your friction  Carnauba  polish till you get the shine you want. But I suspect it gonna be a bit of trial and error.

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