Finishing a Wooden brush handle

I made my own brush handle a while ago and I used a wax finish on it. It looked nice until I used it a couple times. The brush has white discolorations on it. I am unsure as to what causes this. Sometimes I can wipe it off and sometimes i cant. (I can post pics if anyone wants) Anyways im looking to make a few more in the near future and I would like to test a few finishes. I have seen people use epoxy as a finish. So if anyone has any ideas for a finish please let me know. And if someone could post some instructions as to how they used epoxy as a finish I would greatly appreciate it (that seemed to work very well).

You don't need to use epoxy as a finish -- it's not meant to be used for that, and it's really, really hard to get it to behave like a finish.

Personally, I have gotten excellent results with simple, clear, furniture-grade polyurethane. Just apply very, very thin coats and sand between each coat. After about 5-6 coats, you will have a very shiny, smooth and durable finish.

I've also recently started using tung oil, and I love it too, although it's a little more difficult to use and takes more coats to finish.

I use poly like jeff, but I also use epoxy, CA and acrylic.
The most difficult is acrylic and I don't suggest it.
CA is easy and relatively consistent. Look online there are many places that go over CA finishes.
For epoxy I use a rotisserie motor to hold the brush and turn it at a slow speed. I then use a high quality slow setting epoxy that is MADE as a finish. I made a way to clamp my brush handles then mount it. Apply the epoxy in a thinned coat to soak into the wood. Then allow the epoxy to start curing. Then apply a standard coat of epoxy. The motor allows the epoxy to flow with out dripping. The thin coat acts as a sealing coat as well as a binder for the finish coat. When working with epoxy make sure to mix thoroughly with a non-porous object this will help reduce bubbles. If bubbles are still present I use either a hair dryer or alcohol lamp to pop them, care must be taken as this can burn the epoxy.
Poly is poly. Directions are pretty much the same for each of them.
Hope that helps

-G

i almost purchased a can of poly finish for my first brush, however my father recommended not doing that because he said if even a tiny bit of water seeps through the wood to the poly finish it has a tendency to flake off. Is this true? have u had any experience with this? or if u use multiple coats will it eliminate this.

Also I used wood hardener to stabilize the wood before my first brush, would you recommend that as well? Would it detract from my finish at all?

what kind of wax did you use, im trying to also find a finish. let share notes

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mcjacob71990

i almost purchased a can of poly finish for my first brush, however my father recommended not doing that because he said if even a tiny bit of water seeps through the wood to the poly finish it has a tendency to flake off. Is this true? have u had any experience with this? or if u use multiple coats will it eliminate this.

Also I used wood hardener to stabilize the wood before my first brush, would you recommend that as well? Would it detract from my finish at all?

---

There is some truth to swollen wood and flaking finish. Its a small surface and you should use a couple of coats at least.

There is nothing wrong with wood hardener. It is not a true stabilization procedure. It can change the look of a finish. It can also ruin a finish if the piece is not fully cured before finishing. I've used wood hardener on some items, I have also used it in my vacuum for stabilization; not in my top five.

Some call finishing an art, I do not. Finishing is a science with many variables. Some are controllable others are not so easy to control. This is why some finishes sell better in certain parts of the country where they don't in others. That is why there are so many opinions on finish. That is why this is such a hotly debated subject on woodworking forums. It is also why I have a fire cabinet in my study full of chemicals (controlled environment).

I suggest you find someone who has such a cabinet and test until you come across something you like or you pass out then realize you should be wearing a respirator.

-G

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mcjacob71990

i almost purchased a can of poly finish for my first brush, however my father recommended not doing that because he said if even a tiny bit of water seeps through the wood to the poly finish it has a tendency to flake off. Is this true? have u had any experience with this? or if u use multiple coats will it eliminate this.

Also I used wood hardener to stabilize the wood before my first brush, would you recommend that as well? Would it detract from my finish at all?

---

Your dad's right, but it's not really a problem with brushes.

If you have a hard edge like the edge of a desk or any other flat surface and you push your polyurethane right up to that edge, the polyurethane -- when it dries -- tends to shrink just a bit and leave a little opening that can start chipping right off. It can happen when there's moisture at the edge or even without moisture, just because there's nothing to "hold" the polyurethane in place right at the edge of a surface.

With a typical round handled, wooden brush, however, that's not really a problem. There's no corner or edge really to worry about, except at the top where the collar sits, and you just need to be careful to paint the poly right up over the lip so that there's no exposed wood.

And yes, your wooden handled brush gets wet when you use it, but you are not submerging the brush in water for 12-15 hours when you are shaving, right? If you are, and the underlying wood gets laden with water, then you have MUCH MUCH bigger problems than just your polyurethane. I did this once while I was restoring a brush, and the wooden handle actually expanded as it soaked up water and then cracked the plastic collar in half. No harm to the polyurethane, but the handle was trash!

Good luck!

When working with wood I have always used a sealer to seal the wood before any stain or finish is applied...this gives a better finish and also helps protect the wood against water.
RB

Good advice.

I'm actually working on a few handles now and using tung oil instead of polyurethane. The tung oil seems to get absorbed much more deeply into the structure of the wood, and I like how easy it is to get a really fine finish, whereas polyurethane needs to dry just right.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted. --Jeff

you see the problem that i run into is some of the woods i turn will not take the the tung oil to dense. anyone mess with waterlox

The best "waterproof" finish I've found for a brush so far is epoxy (an epoxy designed to be used as a finish).

I first prep my wood to around 320 grit (this makes it finish ready, but if you go much smoother you won't get as strong of a physical bond between wood and finish), then I mix up my epoxy very carefully and pour it into a new cup after it's all been mixed (eliminates the unmixed residue problem).

Then I separate a part of the epoxy into another cup and cut it 50/50 with acetone. I rub the wood down with a quick pass from an acetone dabbed rag (all while wearing gloves to make sure I don't get the wood oily again) and give it a seal coat with this thinned mixture.

After the seal coat is dry (I wait 24+ depending on the mix instructions), I hit it quickly with some wet 320 paper... dry... wipe with light acetone, and apply a full strength coat by pouring, brushing, whatever until everything is coated well (very well!). Be sure to get over the collar area and however much you need to in the hole area to seal the wood that will contact water.

Then I hang it all to dry (usually from a wood screw turned a few threads worth in the knot hole). The epoxy will drip, and you may have to get some bubbles out, but when it's dried 100% (I go 2 days here) you'll be able to sand the spot where it dripped even with the rest of the finish and it will look great.

That said, there is lots that can go wrong.. but this is the best way I've found for wooden handles. I have done tung oil, varnish, poly (of all kinds), tung oil/shellac/poly etc. But as with everything here YMMV!

best of luck

Dave

I do a finish similar to Dave, but I find that thinning epoxy with solvents causes long term issues in adhesion and color. I choose to first heat the handle to a point where it is warm, but still quite easy to handle. This allows the thinning of the epoxy with no adverse effects. I also do not allow the seal coat to fully cure before application of the second coat. Being that this epoxy system does not use a solvent I have no worry of an uncured coat affecting the top coat. I also believe this to cause superior bonding between coats.
All of this is done with the handle mounted to a reversible slow turning motor. This keeps the epoxy from dripping and allows for a more complete flow causing an even finish.
Just some thoughts. Take them as you wish.

-G

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by deighaingeal

I do a finish similar to Dave, but I find that thinning epoxy with solvents causes long term issues in adhesion and color. I choose to first heat the handle to a point where it is warm, but still quite easy to handle. This allows the thinning of the epoxy with no adverse effects. I also do not allow the seal coat to fully cure before application of the second coat. Being that this epoxy system does not use a solvent I have no worry of an uncured coat affecting the top coat. I also believe this to cause superior bonding between coats.
All of this is done with the handle mounted to a reversible slow turning motor. This keeps the epoxy from dripping and allows for a more complete flow causing an even finish.
Just some thoughts. Take them as you wish.

-G

---

I'll try that heating thing and see how it goes... cool tip.

i put 2 coats of tonge oil and buff between coats let it sit over night then buff again, then i dip the whole handel in high gloss fast dry polley, 2 coats, and the finish has held up for 3 years i have made all my brushes and no problems with water, when i drill the hole out for the brush i paint the inside of the hole but not the bottom this gives a good surface for the glue to stick to.

The white marks are from the wax. They shouldn't be a big deal. Do you ever get rings on a table from a wet cup? same deal. Any surface treated with wax does this at some time (not when brand new, though). They should wipe off easily.

Look for a finish called Polycrylic at the hardware store by Minwax. It is a water based clear finish topcoat. When dry, it is waterproof.

bill

i wonder how that would hold up over the long run

It would be great to see some photo's!
Sam

Finish to 600 grit,6 coats of artist grade linseed oil cut 50/50 with zippo lighter fluid applied over 6 days sanded between coats.
Polish with renwax,renwax will not turn white or waterspot,all the carnaubas will.

The reason I like tung oil - I get mine from Don McIvor - is that it can be touched up with a quick coat at any time in the future. Any kind of varnish - poly, spar, whatever, is much more difficult to touch up. I've never tried epoxy, so can't comment on it. I will try it sometime. For what its worth, I've had major problems getting varnish finishes to dry on oily tropical hardwoods, which are about all I turn for brushes. I'm working on an old barber style right now, with a home brew black plastic top, and a tulipwood bottom - pictures to follow.

In the begining I used to finish my brush handles with Carnauba wax after sealing them with CCL Wood sealer. Wax finished handles are nice and shine but wax is not so hard and resistant to heat so it's possible that glossy wax finish dull by the time.
After that I decide to varnish my handles and procedure is as follows:

1. sanding with 120-280-500-800 sandpaper (dry sanding)
2. varnishing with 3-4 coats of acrylic car varnish (no coloured one of course)
3. after 24 hours drying I matte varnish with 2500 sandpaper (wet)
3. polish all with 3M proffesional polishing compounds, medium and fine (the same ones that are used for car polishing).

After above process, the finish is mirror polished, durable and resistant to water impacts, fingerprints etc...