Finishing up a hollow form (seagrape) and just applied Danish oil. I would like to complete the finish with carnuba wax. Am I asking for trouble using the beall buff? Don't want to spend the rest of my life picking out fibers with tweezers !
I use “danish” oil a lot and have used the Beall buffing wheels on a few pieces.
A couple of points: - I find the oil works better the more coats I use since each one adds a bit to the film. The advice I got years ago was after sanding to at least 600 grit, use at least 6 coats of oil - after the initial coat is slathered on heavily, as much as the wood will take (some people even immerse (in a plastic bag for economy), wipe off and let dry overnight. The next day add another coat, wait at least 20 minutes, wipe off and let that dry overnight. Repeat at least 6 times. Then let it dry for a week or more before buffing.
I usually apply 8-10 coats over as many days, whether I’m going to buff or not. And I usually don’t buff since I usually prefer the soft sheen look rather than shiny. I’ve done this many, many times. But when I do buff, I use a light touch and usually a fairly low speed. However, the higher the speed, the “harder” the wheel gets and might reduce the likelihood of getting a bunch of fibers in the rougher areas. (I bought extra 2MT mandrels and mount each wheel on its own mandrel. I do not like the long rod with all three wheels since it limits access, especially for platters and such.)
For a glossy finish some people use lacquer or something else; I don’t. However, I have used TruOil gunstock finish to good effect, which can give a high shine and a durable finish without buffing. I’ve used it on small spindle work that sometimes had significant texturing - apply and rub it on the surface with a finger. (For gunstocks, the TruOil finish is usually followed by rubbing out with Pumice and Rottenstone padding for a durable, satiny, non-glossy finish. At least that is how I learned to do it.)
For no extra charge:
One thing about TruOil - it’s often sold in small containers, I theorize that’s for one main reason - once opened the stuff will set up to a useless gel VERY quickly! What I do to prevent this is before closing the cap, replace the air with either pure nitrogen or argon gas. As an example of how effective this is, II have one bottle of TruOil, half used, which is still good after sitting on my finish shelf for at least 8 years! (I have big cylinders of compressed gasses for welding, etc, so it’s handy. What also works is Bloxygen, but it is WAY expensive compared to the nitrogen or even the argon. Note: Bloxygen sold these days is simply argon in a pressurized can.)
Since I have tanks of argon and nitrogen, I also use it to replace the air of every container of finish I use, including “danish” oil. (You can make your own “danish” oil too, with no harm to any Danes!)
JKJ