Thread: Natural wook finishes

Hi All

I posted my Joseph Elliots a few days ago with Natural Beech scales, and I had a question but I think it got diluted amonst all the information about the resto.

What do you use to get a natural wood finish, but still protected enough to be exposed to water the way a razor is?

I already put beeswax on it, but somehow it still doesnt feel protected. I put on several light coats over several days, letting each coat dry thoroughly. I then put on a thick "overcoat" and polished the beeswax back so that the surface was nice and flat. It feels like it is just not protected at all at the moment, and water soaks straight into the scales, not balling on the surface like I expected it too.

Thanks for the help!

Si

I'm no woodworker so I'm most likely off base but I thought I remembered my grandfather using some sort of clear polyurethane.

I know people use CA (superglue) which I think dries clearly. I'm interested to see what solutions you end up using.

CA and Poly-wotsit products tend to leave a shiny finish from my, also very limited, experiences. I am looking for that deap matt look of natural wood. Even my guitar is finished naturally, and if I could only work out how they did that it would be great.

Si

I use Trueoil (gunstock finish), and then coat the scales with Renaissance wax. The scales still have that wood look and feel, and are protected from water. The Trueoil can be buffed to a shine if wanted (with high grit sand paper), and several coats can be applied. You just wipe it on with a clean cloth and wait! VERY easy to use.

I hear CA is easy to use too, and it leaves a great glassy coating on the scales. But personally, I have not used this. I'm a bit reluctant to use it since in my experience CA, or "super glue" is that it has a bit of fumes, and I've noticed in time degrades (I'm told from UV and water ) PLUS, I'd wind up accidentally gluing everything together, fingers, tools, etc... But with that said, I have a few scales that others made with the CA finish and it looks great! Also, I hear that using CA is easy as well.

It's all a matter of personal preferance!

C utz

P.S. Those beech wood scales look great! They remind me of the old bone scales....

having the finish is really up to you, but be aware that you can rub out lacquer, shellac, and polyurethane finishes to a satin sheen which looks 'natural.' Ease of use would be the oil blend mentioned, polyurethane, shellac, or brush on lacquer since they can all be brushed on and left to dry and you don't have to worry about HVLP spray guns, air compressors and whatever.