Thread: Sealing wood scales

I'm in the process of putting new scales on my razor. The plastic ones that came with it cracked and I want to go with wood. I have the sales made already. I have been flipping and flopping on how to seal them. I cant make up my mind if i should use polyurethane or epoxy. Anyone had an experience with this?

Gssixgun (Glen) posted this on using CA.
I have used CA and it works great but takes some time to get super smooth.


http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...ints-tips.html

Dave

There are alternatives to both. Depending on the natural oiliness of the wood you could use something like a finishing oil with renwax over the top. The application process is far easier and you end up with a more natural finish - my personal preference as I don't think scales look quite right with a piano gloss finish.

Ca works well and gives a glass like coating

There is also shellac, the CA is a very nice gloss finish but as stated above is a little bit of work. To get a gloss finish on wood using wax it can be buffed as the coats are built up. the poly and epoxy are both pretty self explanatory. Wood scales can sometimes be tricky, if the wood is soft. What happens is the small washers will want to sink in. If you are using soft wood make sure you use large washers or washers that thru bolt. Sorry on the last one I am unsure how to describe them.

The wood you choose will decide on the finish that you will use..

It really is that simple

Some woods are pretty accepting of many choices, others dictate the finish, so the answer to your question is actually a question

What wood did you choose ?????

I'm just using some solid pine that I had left over from a different wood working project.

Pine is pretty soft for scales, but is very accepting of all finishes, if I was going to use Pine (or any softer wood) I would do a double finish..

Some type of penetrating thin finish to harden the wood, in fact actual "Wood Hardener" wouldn't be a bad choice, thin it a bit to make sure it really goes deep, and use at least two coats.. or use a Vacuum Chamber

Then I would use a Hard Finish over that

CA
Epoxy
Poly


JMHO


Also another hint about hard shell finishes from the responses above...

Any "High Gloss Finish" can very easily be made into a "Satin Finish" it just takes some many zeroes Steel Wool or the Synthetic stuff, the only thing you can't do easily is get the texture of the grain back...

Thin CA as the first coat or two will significantly harden the wood.

I find CA to work really well with wood that has that iridescent look to it or some sort of figure as it seems to help bring it out, but it can be a pain to do and the fumes are horrible. I am actually doing a set out of Chechen with a CA finish and that wood just doesn't want to do what I want it to. Certain woods I like to do with oils or no finish at all. As stated above some woods benefit from a double finish. Some you can use a type that will highlight the grain when soaked in and sand back the surface, then use a top coat. Some that are brittle need something to harden them and make them more stable. The more scales you make the more likely you are going to be trying different finishes.