Thread: 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

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

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