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Finishing with Mylands Sanding Sealer and Lacquer
by Don Evans
I've used nothing but Mylands for 5 years now. It beats any other material that I can find. The Myland's Melamine Lacquer is the most durable finish I've seen. I have pens that are 5 years old and used daily in shop conditions that still show no signs of wear with the lacquer finish. It's pretty tough. For gloss, I use the Mylands high friction, which I guess would be about same as the Hut you used. I like to stick with one name brand as I then know the products are compatible and will not cause problems down the road.
Sanding:
Sand the bare wood through all the micro meshes as you are now doing. I use denatured alcohol cleaning every time I switch paper grits.
Finishes:
Mylands has the best finishing system available. I like it because it comes in lacquer and shellac with the cellulose sanding sealer usable under either finish.
·Lacquer is the most durable and can give a nice shine when done correctly, the shellac will of course give a much deeper looking higher gloss if you want that.
·Shellac is a durable finish except when exposed the alcohol, so don't use it for a drink stir.
·Sanding sealer has two purposes, to seal the wood from the final finish (stop bleeding of wood sap, color etc into the finish) and other purpose is to smooth out a layer to put final finish on that is flat (fill the pores even with the top). |
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Sealing
No matter which reason you are using it, you do it the same way. First, thin the sealer (Mylands cellulose sealer) with lacquer thinner. A 50/50 percent blend is a good starting point. The more dense the wood the thinner you need it. The 50/50 works good on just about any exotic. First coat goes on then dry for couple of minutes, sand lightly with 600 grit JUST until you see wood dust. This should have the pores filled and they should now be even with the highest points. It should feel smooth, do another coat, this time try to sand it smooth without any wood dust (wood color on the paper), if you get wood dust do another coat, keep adding coats until you reach one that is smooth with no wood dust. You now have a flat coat on the wood with all pores filled. What you want is a thin layer of sealer on the wood and it is level, no ridges. I think you may be surprised at how syrupy the 50 percent cut still is. Note that you must keep it in an air tight container or the thinner will evaporate quickly, I'm sure you know that. I use the plastic squeeze bottles for all my finish / sealers. They give me better control putting the liquid on the folded paper towel when doing small items.
Finishing
Then add your final finish, either lacquer or high friction polish (shellac). Use only paper towels to do the applications and it is best to use Bounty (it does work better). The applicators you make are important also, cut the paper towel 3" wide x 4" long. You will fold over 1/2" and keep folding 1/2" over and over until you have a 3" x 1/2" applicator. But go back and start the folding process again, after folding over twice, add the sealer to 1/2" of the end (or lacquer or shellac) on the inside and then continue to fold over. You'll have to learn from experience how much to put on the towel. The liquid will come through the towel to the outside, this works better than folding all the way first then putting liquid on the outside cause if you do it will glob on the liquid on the first part of the wood and you'll have to work fast to smooth it out. With the liquid folding inside the towel, it will meter it out more evenly. I apply the sealer with the lathe off, rubbing with the grain and turning by hand. I apply the lacquer the same way with very light sanding between coats, I use no less that 4 coats of lacquer. The final coat of lacquer is left to dry then with the lathe on apply paper towel (dry) to it to polish. Shellac is applied with the lathe running but very light pressure when first applying the liquid you'll feel when it is dry with no drag then and only then apply more pressure to polish it to a high sheen.
Oh, if you decide to try the Mylands lacquer, when you apply it, do not use the same method as the friction polish. If you try to heat it with friction it will stick. Instead, apply it once to cover and level out, do this quickly, then get off of it and let it dry which will be quick. It will feel dry to the touch is just 5 seconds or so, but don't keep dragging the paper on it. If you're set up with the bottles the towels etc, it's quick to do. I let both lacquer and friction polish sit over night before any assembly. Even when they feel dry to the touch, they are not hard yet. It really takes about 24 hours for them to cure.
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