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Natural wood finishes

Joined
Feb 8, 2021
Messages
500
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353

Location
Victoria Australia
I have been lazy as a finisher to date sometimes using spirit stain for a colour when needed then coating with flat matt clear. It is a veryt durable and satisfactory finish but not inspiring...can someone recommend or at least tell me about tung oil or other rub-on timber finishes..? I want to upgrade my approach before I start on the Caldercraft Mary Rose later this year.
 
I have used Tung Oil on furniture, but on models I have used Danish Oil and Minwax Wipe-On Poly. Without knowing the proportion of "oil" in Danish Oil, I have a concern of glue adhesion to it, as I most often finish smaller parts before mounting. I feel better about the Wipe-On Poly as it is more of a varnish, and super-glue, especially, works well with it. Recently I have switched to a MinWax water-based Wipe-On Poly, as it saves a lot of time and smell when cleaning brushes, and I no longer hesitate to coat a single part at a time. So far, it works well. Not as warm as oil-based, but that's okay. I'm not sure I'd use the water-based on furniture, but for smaller areas at least it works fine.

I use a clear satin for these finishes, but as adding stain and differing number of coats, as well as super-glue, results in differing gloss, I am considering a coat of matte spray when I am done, on the outer wood portions of the model, to help blend the finishes together.
 
I have used Tung Oil on furniture, but on models I have used Danish Oil and Minwax Wipe-On Poly. Without knowing the proportion of "oil" in Danish Oil, I have a concern of glue adhesion to it, as I most often finish smaller parts before mounting. I feel better about the Wipe-On Poly as it is more of a varnish, and super-glue, especially, works well with it. Recently I have switched to a MinWax water-based Wipe-On Poly, as it saves a lot of time and smell when cleaning brushes, and I no longer hesitate to coat a single part at a time. So far, it works well. Not as warm as oil-based, but that's okay. I'm not sure I'd use the water-based on furniture, but for smaller areas at least it works fine.

I use a clear satin for these finishes, but as adding stain and differing number of coats, as well as super-glue, results in differing gloss, I am considering a coat of matte spray when I am done, on the outer wood portions of the model, to help blend the finishes together.
Test whatever you use on wood samples and you won't be surprised or disappointed.
 
I've never used stain per-say, but for over forty years I've used a product that you used to be able to get from Floquil that they referred to as a glaze. It does an incredible job of bringing out the richness of the wood by slightly darkening it's natural colour. Fortunately I've got a good supply to keep me going for years to come, but I can't seem to source it anymore. I think it got branded as a carcinogen, and ended up discontinued. I'm wondering if anyone else here on the forum has used that product, and if they know of a modern day equivalent or something that performs in a similar manner. If they do, that might be something for you to try out. And I fully agree with the suggestion to try it out of test wood samples before committing to applying it to your model,
 
I've never used stain per-say, but for over forty years I've used a product that you used to be able to get from Floquil that they referred to as a glaze. It does an incredible job of bringing out the richness of the wood by slightly darkening it's natural colour. Fortunately I've got a good supply to keep me going for years to come, but I can't seem to source it anymore. I think it got branded as a carcinogen, and ended up discontinued. I'm wondering if anyone else here on the forum has used that product, and if they know of a modern day equivalent or something that performs in a similar manner. If they do, that might be something for you to try out. And I fully agree with the suggestion to try it out of test wood samples before committing to applying it to your model,
It sounds like Waterlox might give similar results
 
I have defaulted to MinWax polyurethane, clear, matte or semi gloss as a protective finish for my models. This can be the rub on or the brush on. I have not experienced any real difference between water based or oil based but water based is easier to clean brushes and tends to dry faster. I often give parts a coat of this poly as I build the model. There are comparable brand products but what I like about the poly is it covers all surfaces well, dries crystal clear, and protects the model over time. It does not give a finish that looks like you applied a finish if that makes sense. I have used poly for my last dozen models…
 
Working on the Requin 1/48 ZHL. Once i finished the ribs and prior to gluing them to the keel, I used a product which combines a stain and danish oil, called Tried & True, color Java. I did test it but not enough and glues (wood glue, another one i dont recall the name rn and even superglue) do not adhere well. I will not use that product anymore and all new wooden parts will be only stained.
As i am stuck with the ribs in place, do anyone has some other glues which could work on that finish? In the meantime, i am scratching the area to be glued hoping it will help the adherence. Any other tricks?
Thank you
 
Working on the Requin 1/48 ZHL. Once i finished the ribs and prior to gluing them to the keel, I used a product which combines a stain and danish oil, called Tried & True, color Java. I did test it but not enough and glues (wood glue, another one i dont recall the name rn and even superglue) do not adhere well. I will not use that product anymore and all new wooden parts will be only stained.
As i am stuck with the ribs in place, do anyone has some other glues which could work on that finish? In the meantime, i am scratching the area to be glued hoping it will help the adherence. Any other tricks?
Thank you
My speculation is that it's the "oil" aspect of the product you used that's creating the glue bonding problem. If the areas that you're attempting to glue are not visible in the finished model, I would attempt to use Q-tips (cotton swabs) saturated with isoprophyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol like you get from the pharmacy) to scrub the oil/stain from the wood surfaces you're attempting to glue up. You may need to work the same area multiple times to remove the oil from the wood. You will need something that could draw out and dry the oil, as it will have soaked into the wood fibre... and that's why I'm recommending the use of alcohol. Once treated, let it dry thoroughly for a few days, and then you should be able to successfully use cyanoacrylate glue (superglue) to bond the wood together.

If the area you're working with is visible in the finished model, I don't have any other recommendations on how to deal with the situation.
 
My speculation is that it's the "oil" aspect of the product you used that's creating the glue bonding problem. If the areas that you're attempting to glue are not visible in the finished model, I would attempt to use Q-tips (cotton swabs) saturated with isoprophyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol like you get from the pharmacy) to scrub the oil/stain from the wood surfaces you're attempting to glue up. You may need to work the same area multiple times to remove the oil from the wood. You will need something that could draw out and dry the oil, as it will have soaked into the wood fibre... and that's why I'm recommending the use of alcohol. Once treated, let it dry thoroughly for a few days, and then you should be able to successfully use cyanoacrylate glue (superglue) to bond the wood together.

If the area you're working with is visible in the finished model, I don't have any other recommendations on how to deal with the situation.
Thank you.... lesson learned!!!
 
CA glues might work for you on them because they can seep between pieces .
He mentioned that he's already tried, and not having much luck with superglues.... which would be some formulation of CA (but typically very thin versions of it). Unsure if different viscosity variants might yield better results for him. The oil finish seems to be acting as a barrier, so my assumption is that the glue sets up as a skim on the surface, but not actually bonding to the underlying material. I'm wondering if a very light sanding of the parts in the locations where bonding needs to occur might help. That might give the CA something to lock onto. Thoughts?
 
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