Arm-R-Seal

[Sawdustd]

What's the drying, e.i., the wait time between applying coats?

[jteneyck]

Depends upon which coat, temp. and air flow. The first coat or two takes longer to dry because you are still filling the pores. It often takes at least 12 hours for the first coat or two to dry for me. At around 70F, 50% RH and some moving air, subsequent coats are dry to the touch in 3 or 4 hours and you can recoat in around 8 - 12 hours.

John

[Sawdustd]

Thanks John. Reason I asked was that I'm in the beginning stages of make a Hope Chest for my Grand Daughter. Found some beautiful cherry, grade 1, all heart wood, at $7.50/BF and jumped on it like a bee on honey. Given it already reddish color, I'll not stain/dye it and use a natural/clear color finish.

Considerations are Arm-R-Seal and GF High Performance. I suspected that Arm-R-Seal would take a "long time" to dry and you confirmed that. I'm very spoiled in terms of drying time cause GF High Performance is my go to finish, no bubbles and self levels and drys so quickly.

The deciding factor will be which one best pops the grain. Only test strips will determine that. I plan to use either shellac as a seal coat or Charles Neil's pre-conditioner to prevent blotching.

In terms of time, I hopping that High Performance wins. If not, its going to be a LONG process.

Dave

[jteneyck]

I guess "a long process" is relative. You'll spend many days building the chest so, in my mind, another 2 or 3 extra for the finish doesn't seem like much. If Arm-R-Seal turns out to look better, that's what I'd use.

John

[JR1]

Another factor is that high performance tends to diminish the figure. Some folks like that. I star with a coat of shellac to pop the gran a bit—not necessary with Arm-R-Seal. I like Thai seed, Ruby or Garnet on cherry. One consideration is that if your Grand Daughter is in her mid teens you really don't need to topcoat the shellac; it's very easy to repair.

[Sawdustd]

John- You are so right in saying that "the extra time" in finishing is worth it. If its not purdy in the end, all the previous hard work is all for naught.

JR1 - I'm thinking I might experiment with the Thai seed shellac to add just a touch more color. What cut would you recommend? 1lb or 1/2 lb.

[Howard Acheson]

When I was teaching wood finishing, a favorate slogan was:

It's the finish that gets the ohhs and ahhs, not the joinery.

[jteneyck]

Said another way - A fellow wood worker admires your joinery. Customers only care about the finish.

John

[JR1]

I use a 1# cut except for special cases. Try additional coats it will intensify. You can add trans tint directly to shellac to change the color but use a test piece and keep good notes ; you may want to duplicate or repair.

BTW seed lac is not waxy. The wax is formed in the process of making button shellac.

[cputnam]

I've found that with a spit coat ( <= 1# cut) of garnet shellac followed by a sanding back - just enough to sand off the main shellac leaving some in the end grain (the part that blotches) followed by a coat of BLO - wiped off as soon as the panel is coated worked well for me. I was able to coat the the BLO over with another shellac coat as soon as the BLO was dry to the touch. Total process time - a few hours ( 4 - 6 ) at which point you are ready for your final top coat(s) with the grain popped to taste.