clear lacquer

[Charlie Knighton]

two questions:

1) i am finishing a box elder piece with watco clear lacquer and in directions it says

"If applying over white or pastel points or stains, test in an inconspicuous area as yellowing may occur."

well i used it on the box elder and it has turned slightly yellow, how in the future do i keep the white or lack of color??????? or do i want to keep it white?????????😱 Petri"s gel poly finish does the same thing on box elder

2) how long after finishing with the lacquer is it ok to beal buffs with the first two steps or is that a no no😕

yes this is my first time using lacquer😀

 

[Steve Worcester]

almost all solvent based lacquers are going to yellow the wood. If you want water clear, most likely have to go to the water based finishes.

 

[Rob Wallace]

two questions:

1) i am finishing a box elder piece with watco clear lacquer and in directions it says well i used it on the box elder and it has turned slightly yellow, how in the future do i keep the white or lack of color??????? or do i want to keep it white?????????😱 Petri"s gel poly finish does the same thing on box elder

I have had good success using General Finishes water-based gloss polyurethane (over an ultra-blonde shellac sanding sealer coat) on Box elder which still appears as absolutely clear.....I have not noticed any yellowing in approx.3 years

2) how long after finishing with the lacquer is it ok to beal buffs with the first two steps or is that a no no😕

yes this is my first time using lacquer😀

My usual sprayed lacquer is Behlen's Pre-cat Lacquer - I usually wait at least two days or more before going to the Beall buff system - I do use the rouge, white diamond, and carnauba on the lacquer finish after at least 2 days of drying/curing. In a pinch, I have polished a bowl the next day after spraying (less than 24 hours), but the curing was done in summertime (warm) temperatures of over 85 degrees F. Most of the time I wait at least 2-3 days...

Hope this helps!

Rob Wallace

 

[john lucas]

I agree with all of the above. However on Box Elder what you can do is bleach the wood one or two shades lighter. Then when you put Lacquer on it won't be yellow. I would strongly suggest testing the piece with any finish you plan to use. You can bleach Box Elder to almost pearl white with 5 or 6 bleachings. it doesn't bleach the Red and brown that surrounds the red. I'll post a photo of a box I just did if I have that image on this computer. This box has a screw on lid. It's my second screw lid box ever.

 

[Richard Baker]

Geewhizgosh (can't use my regular vocabulary here) John! That's way pretty. Have some B.E. in progress and in small logs. Please share your bleaching process with us if you don't have to kill us afterward. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

Texian

i did a search and look who i found

10-24-2006, 07:06 AM
john lucas
Postmaster Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Cookeville TN USA
Posts: 992



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I buy my 2 part bleach from the local hardware. It depends on the wood on how well it bleaches and how many cycles are needed. Some woods really change. Osage Orange for example goes gray. Consequently I urge you to test the wood before you commit a serious piece to bleach.
Usually they just lighten but some do unusual things. On some woods only the lighter portion of the wood bleaches. On box elder the red doesn't bleach on the white which is great. There's an african wood that escapes my memory right now. It's chocolate brown with dark brown sections. Only the lighter chocolate bleaches which is really nice because it ends up looking like really exotic zebra wood.


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#5 10-24-2006, 10:37 AM
Steve Worcester
Steve - a moderator Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Plano Texas
Posts: 2,073



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I have used the Kleenstrip for some time, but recently got some two part from Hood Finishing that works way better (maybe just less applications). It is a 2 part as well, but you don't dare mix part A and B. You brush on "A", let it sit for 5 minutes to open up the pores. Then you brush on part B. If you put on B early, things get pretty warm.

With bleaching solutions it is pretty critical that you wear good gloves and eye protection. It burns skin real well too. And will bleach out your toes if you "happen" to get some on your feet.
__________________
Steve Worcester
www.turningwood.com

i will probably wait to buff out my yellow box elder to my next day off of wednesday and post:cool2:

10-30-2006, 08:14 AM
Joe Greiner
Professor Emeritus Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Tallahassee FL
Posts: 105



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More potent chlorine bleach (10.5 percent vs. about 6 percent for Clorox) is available from pool supply shops. The empty jug costs more than the bleach, but from then on, you just swap empty jugs for filled jugs. My last purchase was early September, at about $4 for 2.5 gallon refill from Pinch-A-Penny. Might be cheaper when/if gasoline prices drop. YMMV.

JG

found some more

 

[Steve Worcester]

From a recent discussion on wood central.

If yo live in the DFW area, I have some Kleen Strip 2 part wood bleach I will give you.

 

[Richard Baker]

Yeahbut - - -

Yeahbut-- What is the procedure using, say, ordinary household bleach? Soak it a week? Paint on, wait 5 minutes and wash off? And how does it work on spalted hackberry?

 

[john lucas]

Regular household bleach doesn't work worth a darn. At least not when I used it. The two part bleach I use says to mix both A and B in equal parts. I've also used some that requires that you use part A and then a final wash of Part B. Simply follow the instructions of the Bleach you buy.
It all looks whiter after bleaching than it will be when you finish. You can wipe on a little water and it will give you some idea of how much the finish will darken.

 

[Richard Baker]

Thanks John.

 

[MichaelMouse]

Two things happen with a finish. First it cuts down on scatter from the surface, which can be significant even if you've burnished. With less scatter you get to see the wood itself, and BE is sorta yellow around here anyway. Shellac leaves it pretty much as found for me, though it's been a while since I got a BE tree. Expect lacquer might be the same, save where it would react with something in the wood.

Second thing that happens is the finish brings its own color with it. Linseed is my favorite for deepening and warming a piece. Not sure if it's natural or cultural, but people seem to like warm colors better, and linseed looks more like what wood should look like. Combination of the unavoidable first and possible second is something you can play to your advantage as well as something that jumps up and bites you.

There are other possibilities. You can use one of the water-based acrylic finishes. They tend to be colder in temperature, and if you use a satin, they'll give you some internal scatter to overcome that first fact of finishing as well.

I suppose you know that pulp is bleached with lye/peroxide, so that would seem a possibility. The "Chlorine-free" bleaches tend to be peroxides, and in a high pH solution they'll be pretty effective. If you like risking your skin and eyes for a brighter white, that is.