After I finished a bowl today, with Triple-EEE and Shellawax Cream, I noticed that there were rings on the surface somewhat like sanding rings. Am I doing something wrong with the finishing? I did sand to 800 before the Triple-EEE, and I applied both the polish and the finish with the lathe stopped, and then rubbed both out with the lathe at 1900. It was a twelve-inch bowl. The rings are too faint to show up in a photo.
-
Beware of Counterfeit Woodturning Tools (click here for details) -
Johnathan Silwones is starting a new AAW chapter, Southern Alleghenies Woodturners, in Johnstown, PA. (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Jim Hills for "Journey II" being selected as Turning of the Week for May 6th, 2024 (click here for details) -
Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.
Finishing Problem
- Thread starter Michael Kuehl
- Start date
If I understand your description, you used a rotary instrument (orbital sander?) through the 800 phase then changed sanding techniques for the final finish. If that's accurate, I suspect your problem developed because subsequent grades of finishing which run in directions which are inconsistent with the direction of earlier abrasives, relative to the grain of the wood, don't remove the earlier scratches - regardless of how indistinct they might be.
Last edited by a moderator:
Sanding Rings
Grey,
I used to have a lot more of those sanding rings until someone told me to hand sand with the grain between grit changes. You just sand in the direction of the grain with the lathe off, and you don't need to sand alot. Hope this helps!
KurtB
Grey,
I used to have a lot more of those sanding rings until someone told me to hand sand with the grain between grit changes. You just sand in the direction of the grain with the lathe off, and you don't need to sand alot. Hope this helps!
KurtB
Gray,
The Shellawax will leave rings on a large turning. Although it should only be used on small stuff, I often use it on larger pieces and rub the rings out with #0000 steel wool. I than buff with the Beal system.
Norm
The Shellawax will leave rings on a large turning. Although it should only be used on small stuff, I often use it on larger pieces and rub the rings out with #0000 steel wool. I than buff with the Beal system.
Norm
Nuturner-I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't clear; I sanded all the way through with the lathe running at 650, and, Kurt, I did hand sand with the grain between grits. So, Norm, I'll try your recommendation and see if that solves it.
Thanks to all of you.
Thanks to all of you.
- Joined
- May 16, 2005
- Messages
- 3,540
- Likes
- 15
So the rings run round-and-round? Ridges? If so, I'll agree the first place to look is to the friction polish application. If they're of the type that run across the grain in arcs that mirror the orbit of orbital or diameter of disk, then it's lack of sanding and cleaning. I'd do a clean between grits, wait until the last one for straight ahead. Air would do, but once you're below 220, I'd use a wet rag to help break any case-hardening I might have done by pressing. Burnishing makes even tiny scratches stand out against the darker background, and it's double tough to sand through the case-hardening without dampening.
Grey Hackle,
Am curious, are the rings on the inside or outside of the bowl?
If they are on the inside is there any chance they were caused during turning by the back of edge of your gouge? Basically areas of compression caused by the heel of the gouge? You could avoid those by changing your cut, using a gouge with a shorter steeper bevel to it, and/or grinding the heel down so it is not so pronounced.
Just a thought.
Dave
Am curious, are the rings on the inside or outside of the bowl?
If they are on the inside is there any chance they were caused during turning by the back of edge of your gouge? Basically areas of compression caused by the heel of the gouge? You could avoid those by changing your cut, using a gouge with a shorter steeper bevel to it, and/or grinding the heel down so it is not so pronounced.
Just a thought.
Dave
MM- It is rings, not orbital or pad marks. And I do wipe down between grits; I remember learning that somewhere a long time ago, I'm not sure where.
David- The rings are both inside and out, so it isn't compression.
Thanks
David- The rings are both inside and out, so it isn't compression.
Thanks
- Joined
- May 16, 2005
- Messages
- 3,540
- Likes
- 15
I don't use friction polishes much, but when I was playing with them I found it didn't pay to run out of lube, nor did it pay to wad the rag. Both produced ridges of resin. If that's your problem, it can be levelled back and re-polished.
Try using a stern-surface cloth like linen so you don't get mini-folds and streaking. I wadded muslin up inside and wet it like the French polishers of old, then asked myself why I was even bothering to shellac on the lathe. Now I work in my lap or on the table while watching the tube. Polishes up pretty fast.
Try using a stern-surface cloth like linen so you don't get mini-folds and streaking. I wadded muslin up inside and wet it like the French polishers of old, then asked myself why I was even bothering to shellac on the lathe. Now I work in my lap or on the table while watching the tube. Polishes up pretty fast.
MM- That does sound like what I'm experiencing. Thanks.
Wax with 0000 steel wool ??
Hello everyone, I'm new to finishing woodurnings with anything other than Beeswax. From reading this thread I think this might be the place to ask - why do you apply paste wax with 0000 steel wool?
I have a Maple platter I'm trying to finish with generals Salad Bowl Finish and I am following an article I got from the web. The platter is not made to be used with food. I sanded the platter to 400 grit, then used paper from a paper bag ( somewhere I heard it's about 1200 grit ) wiped the platter with water to raise the grain and then buffed with 0000 steel wool. The Maple was the smoothest I've ever done, it was shiny! Now I have the Salad Bowl Finish on and I read to apply past wax with 0000 steel wool. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of this process.
I feel like a fish out of water
Also, are their any good books out there on applying finishes to woodturnings?
Thanks for your time
Hello everyone, I'm new to finishing woodurnings with anything other than Beeswax. From reading this thread I think this might be the place to ask - why do you apply paste wax with 0000 steel wool?
I have a Maple platter I'm trying to finish with generals Salad Bowl Finish and I am following an article I got from the web. The platter is not made to be used with food. I sanded the platter to 400 grit, then used paper from a paper bag ( somewhere I heard it's about 1200 grit ) wiped the platter with water to raise the grain and then buffed with 0000 steel wool. The Maple was the smoothest I've ever done, it was shiny! Now I have the Salad Bowl Finish on and I read to apply past wax with 0000 steel wool. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of this process.
I feel like a fish out of water
Also, are their any good books out there on applying finishes to woodturnings?
Thanks for your time
Last edited by a moderator:
Finishing Secrets
Eric:
I can't answer your first question, but there is a video our club is considering buying on finishing: Russ Fairfield's Finishing Secrets. Rather expensive at $75 but is six hours of video.
Think he has a book by the same name.
But much (or at least some) of the info is online:
http://www.woodcentral.com/russ/russindex.shtml
T-Bird
Eric:
I can't answer your first question, but there is a video our club is considering buying on finishing: Russ Fairfield's Finishing Secrets. Rather expensive at $75 but is six hours of video.
Think he has a book by the same name.
But much (or at least some) of the info is online:
http://www.woodcentral.com/russ/russindex.shtml
T-Bird
- Joined
- May 16, 2005
- Messages
- 3,540
- Likes
- 15
The gloss finish you get from the varnish can be left alone, waxed to cut back the gloss a bit, or given a scratched surface (steel wool) to cut it back still more. Depends on what you're after. Some people buff with rouge to get the glossiest, so there are definitely two schools. With the wool the scratch pattern should be randomized by rubbing in a circular fashion. That way you get the most even reflection over the whole surface after you're done.
Lots of people will sell you some version of their way of doing things, even finishing, or you can hit the library or the search engine and gadfly a bit for free.
http://www.woodturningonline.com/Turning/Turning_articles.html
http://www.turnwood.net/projects_techniques.html
Et cetera et cetera et cetera.
Yeah, folks have already hit it. Using friction polish on anything bigger than about 5" diameter is iffy. The whole point of it is that you get it nice and heated up so that it melts and smooths as the solvent boils off. On bigger stuff, there's too much time for it to cool as it rotates and you start to build thicker spots. These quickly turn into ridges and are just about impossible to avoid.
You can steel wool the whole piece clean and then buff out with the Beal. The polish that soaked in will act as a filler and it will finish nicely. I'll use friction like this for a sanding sealer on bigger pieces if I'm in a hurry and don't have time for multiple coats of poly.
dk.
You can steel wool the whole piece clean and then buff out with the Beal. The polish that soaked in will act as a filler and it will finish nicely. I'll use friction like this for a sanding sealer on bigger pieces if I'm in a hurry and don't have time for multiple coats of poly.
dk.
I found a line of products at our local Ace hardware that seems to clean up a lot of problems without starting over. Its Restore-a-shine polishing compound and restore-a-shine burnishing compound. Made by Howard, the Feed-N-Wax people. Put it on with a paper towel to polish at about 600 RPM and then use a 5" lambs wool buffing bonnet (2.98 and Lowes) slipped over a 3in H&L sanding pad and use it to polish and remove any remaining counpound between applications. Seems to work great and not very expensive. They also do a great job on lacquer finishes without having to worry about burning with a buff.
I agree that the friction polish is the wrong choice, but so is EEE paste. It contains an abrasive which can leave the rings of which you speak. It is good for small stuff that isn't sanded to the higher grits,
Steve Worcester
Admin Emeritus
EEE has an abrasive embedded in a wax. Not real good on bare wood, but i do use it on some of the larger square pieces I do. I apply it to the wood ad then use a 4000 Abralon pad on a power sander. It is an easy finish, but looses it's luster fast if it is on bare wood.