I went to a (slightly unusual*) Woodcraft store on Saturday and bought,
among other things, a can of Waterlox. I made a few quick test pieces
and applied some of the Waterlox without any attempt to read up on how
to do it.

The three test pieces were bits of scrap I had been using to practice
using a plane. All had been brown and wrinkled with age, but were now
clean and pretty smooth. Two were pine (or something like pine), the
first a pretty nice piece of 2x2 with straight grain, the other a short
length of common 2x4 with knots in it. The third piece was oak.

I applied the Waterlox fairly liberally with a foam brush and didn't
fuss over it too much. I put the pieces outside while I worked on other
things. ("outside" would probably be too dusty for a real project)

I came back to the pieces the next day. The Waterlox appeared to have
absorbed unevenly, which I imagine is to be expected. It tended to sit
on top of the darker parts of the grain and sink in more in the lighter
areas. This was especially true of the oak piece.

The fellow at the store* had said that there is no need to steel wool
in-between coats, so I decided to put on a couple more and see what
happened.

I'm up to three coats now, and I'm wondering what the next step might
be. I think it's likely that it will be to "take three steps back and do
it the right way", but I'd be interested to hear what the good folks
here think. The variable "height" and gloss of the finish on the grain
is less pronounced now, but still there. Maybe I let it cure awhile and
steel wool it?

Greg Guarino

* The "store" is the Woodworkers' Club of Norwalk Connecticut, which
apparently rents out time in their shop for very reasonable rates. It's
an hour from home, but I may just avail myself of their (larger) tools
for some future project. The salespeople all seem to be woodworkers, so
I took the minor bit of "advice" I got to be reliable.

On Nov 7, 8:51*am, Greg Guarino wrote:
I went to a (slightly unusual*) Woodcraft store on Saturday and bought,
among other things, a can of Waterlox. I made a few quick test pieces
and applied some of the Waterlox without any attempt to read up on how
to do it.

The three test pieces were bits of scrap I had been using to practice
using a plane. All had been brown and wrinkled with age, but were now
clean and pretty smooth. Two were pine (or something like pine), the
first a pretty nice piece of 2x2 with straight grain, the other a short
length of common 2x4 with knots in it. The third piece was oak.

I applied the Waterlox fairly liberally with a foam brush and didn't
fuss over it too much. I put the pieces outside while I worked on other
things. ("outside" would probably be too dusty for a real project)

I came back to the pieces the next day. The Waterlox appeared to have
absorbed unevenly, which I imagine is to be expected. It tended to sit
on top of the darker parts of the grain and sink in more in the lighter
areas. This was especially true of the oak piece.

The fellow at the store* had said that there is no need to steel wool
in-between coats, so I decided to put on a couple more and see what
happened.

I'm up to three coats now, and I'm wondering what the next step might
be. I think it's likely that it will be to "take three steps back and do
it the right way", but I'd be interested to hear what the good folks
here think. The variable "height" and gloss of the finish on the grain
is less pronounced now, but still there. Maybe I let it cure *awhile and
steel wool it?

Greg Guarino

* The "store" is the Woodworkers' Club of Norwalk Connecticut, which
apparently rents out time in their shop for very reasonable rates. It's
an hour from home, but I may just avail myself of their (larger) tools
for some future project. The salespeople all seem to be woodworkers, so
I took the minor bit of "advice" I got to be reliable.

The growth rings in wood absorb finishes at different rates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendroc...y#Growth_rings

Your oak was probably red oak and it is a ring porous wood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood#Ea...g-porous_woods

R

On Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:51:28 -0500, Greg Guarino
wrote:

I went to a (slightly unusual*) Woodcraft store on Saturday and bought,
among other things, a can of Waterlox. I made a few quick test pieces
and applied some of the Waterlox without any attempt to read up on how
to do it.

The three test pieces were bits of scrap I had been using to practice
using a plane. All had been brown and wrinkled with age, but were now
clean and pretty smooth. Two were pine (or something like pine), the
first a pretty nice piece of 2x2 with straight grain, the other a short
length of common 2x4 with knots in it. The third piece was oak.

I applied the Waterlox fairly liberally with a foam brush and didn't
fuss over it too much. I put the pieces outside while I worked on other
things. ("outside" would probably be too dusty for a real project)

I use it as a _wipe-on_ finish, so that surprises me.


I came back to the pieces the next day. The Waterlox appeared to have
absorbed unevenly, which I imagine is to be expected. It tended to sit
on top of the darker parts of the grain and sink in more in the lighter
areas. This was especially true of the oak piece.

First it seals, then it starts building. Gloss evens out once you've
finished sealing it and it begins to build. That must have been one
dry lot of wood!


The fellow at the store* had said that there is no need to steel wool
in-between coats, so I decided to put on a couple more and see what
happened.

I'm up to three coats now, and I'm wondering what the next step might

That's amazing to me that it hasn't filled in with 3 thick, painted on
coats. Did you have a lot of tearout with the planes?


be. I think it's likely that it will be to "take three steps back and do
it the right way", but I'd be interested to hear what the good folks
here think. The variable "height" and gloss of the finish on the grain
is less pronounced now, but still there. Maybe I let it cure awhile and
steel wool it?

If it feels rough and coarse, with grainy splinters, do let it cure
for awhile and only then use some 320grit sandpaper on it. Steel wool
will just get caught in the splinters, so save that for smoothing
finished wood.


* The "store" is the Woodworkers' Club of Norwalk Connecticut, which
apparently rents out time in their shop for very reasonable rates. It's
an hour from home, but I may just avail myself of their (larger) tools
for some future project. The salespeople all seem to be woodworkers, so
I took the minor bit of "advice" I got to be reliable.

That sounds like a good connection for you, Greg. Enjoy!

--
One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.
-- Sophocles

On 11/7/2011 1:37 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:51:28 -0500, Greg
wrote:

I went to a (slightly unusual*) Woodcraft store on Saturday and bought,
among other things, a can of Waterlox. I made a few quick test pieces
and applied some of the Waterlox without any attempt to read up on how
to do it.

The three test pieces were bits of scrap I had been using to practice
using a plane. All had been brown and wrinkled with age, but were now
clean and pretty smooth. Two were pine (or something like pine), the
first a pretty nice piece of 2x2 with straight grain, the other a short
length of common 2x4 with knots in it. The third piece was oak.

I applied the Waterlox fairly liberally with a foam brush and didn't
fuss over it too much. I put the pieces outside while I worked on other
things. ("outside" would probably be too dusty for a real project)

I use it as a _wipe-on_ finish, so that surprises me.

I applied it in about as casual a fashion as you can imagine. The third
coat may not have been as "liberal". Would applying it with a pad or rag
have made a difference?

I came back to the pieces the next day. The Waterlox appeared to have
absorbed unevenly, which I imagine is to be expected. It tended to sit
on top of the darker parts of the grain and sink in more in the lighter
areas. This was especially true of the oak piece.

First it seals, then it starts building. Gloss evens out once you've
finished sealing it and it begins to build. That must have been one
dry lot of wood!

Does it take more than one coat to "seal" it if the wood is dry? The oak
is of indeterminate age, somewhere between 20 and 40 years. I had picked
a particularly crusty piece to see what a plane might do for it. A few
strokes had it down to some nice looking wood that would have been
difficult to distinguish from new, at least for me.

The fellow at the store* had said that there is no need to steel wool
in-between coats, so I decided to put on a couple more and see what
happened.

I'm up to three coats now, and I'm wondering what the next step might

That's amazing to me that it hasn't filled in with 3 thick, painted on
coats. Did you have a lot of tearout with the planes?

No. The oak piece had nice straight grain, enabling even a novice like
me to do a decent job.

be. I think it's likely that it will be to "take three steps back and do
it the right way", but I'd be interested to hear what the good folks
here think. The variable "height" and gloss of the finish on the grain
is less pronounced now, but still there. Maybe I let it cure awhile and
steel wool it?

If it feels rough and coarse, with grainy splinters, do let it cure
for awhile and only then use some 320grit sandpaper on it. Steel wool
will just get caught in the splinters, so save that for smoothing
finished wood.

How much time is "awhile"?

* The "store" is the Woodworkers' Club of Norwalk Connecticut, which
apparently rents out time in their shop for very reasonable rates. It's
an hour from home, but I may just avail myself of their (larger) tools
for some future project. The salespeople all seem to be woodworkers, so
I took the minor bit of "advice" I got to be reliable.

That sounds like a good connection for you, Greg. Enjoy!

I have to dream up a project large enough to need those tools, but small
enough to allow me to carry the pieces in my car. I do have ideas
though. It looks pretty cool. They have one or more of all the larger
woodworking machines in a 5000 sq. ft. shop, plus a bunch of
workbenches, clamps, etc. Depending on how many hours you buy on a card
(the minimum is 5), the rate starts at $20/hr. and goes down. An
unlimited membership is a little less than a thousand a year.