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Problems with EEE Ultra Shine and Shellawax

J

justaccord

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I recently turned a small bowl which I tried to finish beginning with Mylands cellulose sanding sealer then moving to EEE ultra shine and then to shellawax cream. The finish got thick and sludgy toward the end of the process. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

Dave
 
First, what type of wood are you working with. Second, EEE is meant to be put on bare wood. The Sellawax products don't work well on open grain wood. I use all three of the Shellawax products primarilly on small objects and very dense wood like cocobolo.
 
I have used EEE on yellowheart with no problems. The only thought I have is that you aren't using a high enough speed or a significant amount of pressure when applying the product. Have you used the Shellawax products before with the results you desired?
 
Take this with a grain of salt - I'm not that familiar with Shellawax, but based on your statement that the finish got "thick and sludgy" towards the end, I might guess that you are trying to apply too thick of a coat at once.
 
Keith Krebs said:
Have you used the Shellawax products before with the results you desired?
Click to expand...

Yes. No problems with small turnings (and this was a small bowl).

I am wondering whether the cellulose sanding sealer is not a good fit for EEE and Shellawax -- whether there is a chemical reaction or something.
 
KEW said:
I might guess that you are trying to apply too thick of a coat at once.
Click to expand...

I guess that is a possibility, but before I drew that conclusion I wanted to hear from some who are expert on the shellawax products about other possible explanations.
 
I'm surprised you haven't received more responses by now. That is part of the reason I chimed in with my less-than-expert opinion. Perhaps Shellawax is not that popular of a finish?!
I can recommend "Learn to Turn" by Barry Gross:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Learn-to-Turn/Barry-Gross/e/9781565232730

It is a good general introductory turning book, but what makes it exceptional is that he covers 4 different finishing techniques, including discussion on which he prefers for which situation. Finishing is mostly ignored in other turning books I've seen. I know one of his methods involves EEE and friction polish.

I have used EEE on top of (Mylands) Cellulose Sanding Sealer with no problem.
I have also seen a demonstration where CA was used on top of EEE. This did NOT work. Presumably, the wax in the EEE kept the CA from bonding to the wood properly - it came out cloudy.

HTH!
 
Shellawax specifically says not to put anything underneath its products other than its own finishes. I would sand off the sealer and try again.
 
EEE is a fine grit polishing compound meant to basically finish the job on bare wood where regular sandpaper leave off. If you apply it to a finish such as shellac or varnish, it is sort of like sanding the finish with an extremely fine grit so it is not surprising that a sludge was created. Shellac is soft and the heat generated during friction polishing can easily make a gummy mess especially since the fine particles of the EEE compound will become embedded in the softened shellac. You can probably get away with hand applying a polishing compound to shellac since not much heat is generated and you can more easily control the amount of pressure being applied. I have had much better success hand polishing using Micromesh with water as a lubricant. It is slow but can create a glass finish for special pieces. Personally, I would not go to a finer grit polish on the finish than what I used on the bare wood.

BTW, I have EEE, white diamond, and all that mess and essentially do not use them any more.
 
Last edited:
Couple of thoughts. Many finishes, after the container is opened, age. It's a good idea to test them on a piece of scrap wood before using them.

Manufacturers are a good source of information as they want their products to work well. This doesn't at all cover the use of combinations of finishes which can lead to very unsatisfactory results which are only visible after a period of time. Caution is called for.

Malcolm Smith.
 
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