Thread: Varnish for wooden scales?

Hi everyone! I have a razor where the varnish looks a bit uneven (shiny and matte in different spots). I suspect that the razor was packaged before the original varnish was completely dry.
Do you guys have a favorite translucent varnish to make wooden scales nice and shiny? (or semi-shiny)

A wipe on Polyurethane is one of the easiest there is to use, quite durable too

For nice, shiny scales, I use clear lacquer. I just put a metal rod through the pivot hole and dunk the entire scales into the lacquer can and let it drip dry, carefully turning it until it stops running. Gives a beautiful "wet" look to the scales.

Some use “super glue” with good results; glossy, hard, waterproof.

Tru-oil Gun Stock finisher works nice too. But its a lot of work.

I use a brush on poly. It leaves a really nice finish but it takes some practice to get it right. I usually put a coat and sand to opaque a couple of times then put a very thin coat of some thinned about a quarter to finish. Hard to get it thinned properly without getting bubbles but if your patient stirring it works well.

My preference is "True-Oil"

It really makes the wood come to life, compared to others. It is time consuming building the layers, once the grain is filled.

But the results are worth it.





Being a gun stock finish, it'll handle anything you can throw at it.

Super glue tends to crack from the scales flexing, from what I've seen from those I've done.