I just built a display case from ash and will be applying a light coat of Minwax Golden Pecan. Does ask require a coat of pre stain conditioner? After this I will be applying Amber shellac, followed by a few coats of clear shellac for more protection.
From what I hear, its not possible to use wipe on poly on top of this shellac. I assume this regualr Zinsser is not the dewaxed type.
Any more suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
Ed
Replies
Ash is an open grained wood which shhould hav e filler applied before putting on any finish. A natural filler will minimize the grain pattern; a colored filler will accentuate the grain. Put the finish right over the filler after it is dry without the shellac.
Thanks, I will give it a try
Ed, please reassure me your "try" will be on scraps, not on the piece you just built :-) Sorry, I've just seen soooo many people (including myself) make this mistake.
If you don't need the "mirror finish" provided by using a grain filler, you might consider wet-sanding. Works well with Watco, not sure about Minwax. I made a large shadow-box style display awhile back out of red oak. The wet-sanding technique worked great.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Yes but if i test first, how will I make the massive mistake that I will never forget??Sure I have done some tests. Actually I went without the grain filler and it looks decent. I will try filler another time, for now I didn't have any nor the time to order any. Just put on my first coat of Amber shellac and will wait for it to dry a few hours before te clear ones will follow. Then wait 2 days and steel wool it and wax. I just tried this and seems to work ok. I'm just not the greatest at applying shellac. Thanks for the advice. When you talk about wet sanding, did you mean after you stained the piece?
Ed,
Organoil is the best known product in Australia for this technique.
http://www.organoil.com.au/woodcraft/printable.html is a set of instructions for their product that might be relevant. I am in the middle of doing a red gum tabletop - dont shortcut, it doesn't pay.
Dave
Thanks Dave, I'm not sure if this is available in US but I will have to try this process with some Boiled LInseed Oil in the future.
Ed,
The Organoil is Tung based. Not sure what else (made on the north coast of NSW where they still have an annual marijuanna festival in one of the towns). It cleary has some driers because it hardens on the cloth in about a day.
"...how will I make the massive mistake that I will never forget??" Too funny!
Wetsanding: As I said, I've only tried this with Watco which, of course, stains and finishes at the same time. I made a jersey display case for a friend, using red oak. I had two goals with the WS technique: To blunt the effect of the big pores, and to prevent the bleeding that can drive you nuts when using a Danish oil on that type of wood. IIRC, I started with 180# paper (I had sanded the bare wood to 150#), lay the Watco down (narrow profile, like a shadowbox) on one side, and sanded. When the paper started to drag, I'd dip it in Watco. Got a nice, but thin, slurry, wiped it down with a rag, and went on to the next side. After the first application had dried and I knew there would be no bleeding, I went on to the second one. Don't remember the details of how I moved up the grits.
This piece had a fairly light stain. If I were going to use a darker one, walnut for instance, on red oak, ash, etc., I'd probably use neutral for the first application and then go to the darker stain (if I wanted to mute the stain in the pores).
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Edited 2/10/2005 11:47 am ET by forestgirl
I think I will have to try Watco in the future, I've gotten to the point where I really do not want to use stain unless absolutely necessary. this sounds like will be much easier to deal with. I"m in the process of applying shellac now, doing the parts I can assemble first, because I have to plug some holes and also a wiring channel once it is all wired. So I had to plan on working around these areas until that is done and I can repeat the stain/ shellac process. thanks for the help, I will be sure to pos pics once it is done
Ed
Grain fillers are used when you really need (or want) a mirror finish, like a tabletop. I can see where once a person gets the technique down, it might be worth it to do it most times when finishing an big-pored piece (red oak and ash are the biggies). Because of the microscopic shallow spots presented by the pores, a regular finish isn't perfectly flat on these woods. I have yet to be successful with paste filler, LOL, so wet-sanding is my fall-back.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
My opinion: I absolutely do not use grain fillers on ash (one of my favorite woods). I accept the wood for what it is, what it looks like. If you want a closed surface use another wood that gives you that. Try some analine dye on ash and topcoat with lacquer. It gives wonderful results.
I did end up not filling the pores and it does not bother me, I have also not filled the pores on walnut jewelry boxes I have made. Kind of makes a person recognize that this is a natural substance and not manufactured. Thanks
I did end up not filling the pores and it does not bother me...........
I LOVE ASH! I use it all the time. I never use a filler except the finish..
But then again I don't make museum quality stuff!Just nice to look at and I like the look anyway... Just me
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