Holly

[John Terefenko]

For those that use Holly in their turnings, how do you keep that pure white look?? What do you use to finish your piece with?? Do you seal it beforehand and if so with what??? Thanks.

 

[gary rock]

John

So far the only thing I know, that doesn't yellow a piece is water base finishes.

Gary:cool2:

 

[Barbara Gill]

Velvit AquaShield.

 

[John Terefenko]

Velvit AquaShield.

Will give it a try. Thanks. Hope I can find it.

 

[Alejandro Gay]

I did a Duchess pen in Holly and after a while it turned like cream tone, actually is gives a retro look, I used BLO/CA, for pens the yellowish I found is a nice tone

 

[Thomas Stegall]

Most of the turners that I know that are looking for the ivory white look, use a two part wood bleach to even out the white of the holly, and it works well with other darker wood species brining them to a pure white with a second treatment of the two part bleach. Even if the wood is naturally as nearly white as you want it, most pros use the bleach anyway, because the wood can darken with time and exposure to light if not bleached, which is not good if you sold an expensive work to someone and it later turns an undesirable color on them.

 

[Joe Wiener]

Thomas, Jason brought a finished segmented holly and ebony piece in to show at a meeting. Do you remember how he sanded it and finished it? The holly was pure white. I remember he had been told it could not be done, so he did it. Joe

 

[Thomas Stegall]

Yes,

I do remember us talking about it, but I can't remember what he did. I suspect it involved sanding and then blowing out the dust with compressed air frequently. I would think it would also involve non-aggressive sanding to avoid heating up and transfering the resin and its color in the ebony to the holly?

 

[John Terefenko]

Yes,

I do remember us talking about it, but I can't remember what he did. I suspect it involved sanding and then blowing out the dust with compressed air frequently. I would think it would also involve non-aggressive sanding to avoid heating up and transfering the resin and its color in the ebony to the holly?

Thomas

Thanks for the tip on the holly and bleaching. I just made a segmented pen with ebony and holly and that is what brought my concerns on. I did not use the bleach method so not sure how it will look over time. What my method was and you alluded to it., is I actually did not need to sand my small blank. I went to a finish right after I used my skew to do the shaping. I then sealed it with Deft lacquer. I tried many products including waterbased lacquer but saw no difference. I then top coated with 10 coats of CA and the MM and polished to a high shine. When I get the top section done this week I will post a photo. Yes there is a slight tinge but I will be very happy if it stays that color for its life. I will try using bleach the next time.

I do as you mentioned when using woods that can cross contaminate. I try to keep sanding to a minimum and also use compressed air to clean the blanks when done. I have also at times hit the woods with CA to seal the fibers abit as I sand. I keep doing this as I progress through the grits.