Briwax application ?

[Dan Mosley]

I had a friend tell me about how great Briwax works on just about any finish and it can be applied easy with a rag or 0000 steel wool - let dry for 30 min and buff off by hand or with a buffing wheel. So I bought a can of it and thought I would try it on one of my projects that have been sitting out drying.

The bowls that have been sitting were sanded (4 bowls) to 400 then applied home made danish oil mixture to them (1/3 Varathane ployurethane high gloss-1/3 BLO - 1/3 Mineral Spirits). The mixture has always worked well and on these I applied about 6 coats wiping each coat on and using 0000 steelwool after each coat. I let them sit for several weeks.

Typically - I would spray several coats of Lacquer - let dry for 2 weeks and use 0000 lightly buff and apply Ren wax by hand with a paper towel and buff off by hand with a paper towel and call it done - It produces a decently nice finish............Picture #1

Today I took one the dried bowls and applied Briwax to the very bottom of the bowl (not the whole bottom) using 0000 and rubbed it in well - let it dry for 10-15min and wiped off well with a paper towel - after 30min buffed it off by hand - it came out smooth but dull - see pictures 2-3-4 - then applied it again and used my buffing wheel on it and it still looks dull.

Anybody have any other ideas on using Briwax and how to create a better shine ????

Thanks Dan

 

[Bill Boehme]

I would not have used steel wool unless I wanted to have a surface that was basically flat and free of any gloss. Furthermore, I would not use Briwax. It seems to havemostly soft waxes in it and also has too much solvent mixed with the wax. My preference when I use wax is Johnson's Paste Wax. I rarely use polyurethane, but I generally do not feel the need for waxing over any film finish. Before a wax is applied, the surface of the film finish needs to be glass smooth. I use Micromesh all the way to 12?000 grit to achieve the finish that I want. After that, I would use the paste wax applied with a soft cloth. I definitely would not use 0000 steel wool because wax can't mask that amount of scratching. Typically, I use wax over an oil finish.

 

[Dan Mosley]

Thanks ill try the method you mentioned - I was going off the advice of someone else and what your saying makes sense ill try it tomm and post some results - I have some Johnson paste wax

 

[Michael DeWald]

I'm a bit confused. Do the Briwax bowls have lacquer on them? It looks like a wax only finish typically looks. Some like that look much better, it is "closer to the wood" and has a better feel/texture. Others like the the high gloss, and from what I have been told, shiny sells. So I can understand looking for that gloss. I think what you have is perfectly acceptable, however.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Traditionally, steel wool is used to randomize a shiny surface back to a glow. Even if you start building wax on wax enough to fill the scratches, the refractive index of the wax versus the film will not shine, in my experience. Often described as an "eggshell" finish in books, it's pleasing, but not glossy.

Second, some waxes have a large enough molecular structure to scatter light within the finish, so they say. Thus the "micro crystalline" waxes are touted for brightest finish. Seemed brighter when I tried some years back, but I did not randomize the surface with abrasive, just applied them over a cured film. Bill's spot on with the comment on composition. The British love their beeswax, and it never really shines, just glows. Briwax is heavy on beeswax. http://www.briwax-online.com/

The pictures of your "bowels" don't look like the ones from my colonoscopy.

 

[Dan Mosley]

Mike - good catch on the word - took me a min this morning.....LOL
You are right in your comment about the eggshell finish look - I did try multiple coats in the very bottom I mentioned and it does not get any better in terms of gloss or shiney.

See Pictures below - I took one of the projects and followed what Bill was suggesting - I lightly sanded up to 1000 grit then applied Johnson's paste wax by hand and rubbed it in - then buffed it off - much better results