Thread: Trying different finish for wood scales

Well, I may be one of the few but I'm not the biggest fan of finishing with CA or epoxy...Don't get me wrong they look outstanding with those finishes. The down side is the smell from CA and the mess with epoxy. On the other hand, the down side of not finishing with them is you is I miss the high gloss you get.
So over the last few month I've been search/playing with a few different things. Most have turned out about like a thought, I nice finish but a bit on the dull side.
So this is the newest one I've tried and to be honest I'm pretty hopeful this one just might work.
I'll refrain from post what it is until I can determine if the finish will hold up and keep the semi-high gloss look.
Here are a couple of pics, so what do you think?

Nice Brian. I not only like the shape of the scales to compliment the blade the finish looks very nice.

Great finish,I want to try wood scales, I'm looking forward to finding out what you used.

Thanks,
You should grab a prece of wood and try it out. It's not that difficult.
I say go for it.

That is a very nice job and I really like the finish! It looks like wood and not plastic! Whats the wedge made of?
It reminds me of some I did using minwax stain with polyurethane. Holds up great.

The wood look is pretty easy to get, just use a good tung oil. Getting the gloss without using CA, epoxy, poly..ect is easier said then done (atleast for me)

Tung Oil trick that I have found that works for the "High Gloss" effect...
Multiple coats is a given

But use a true "Hand Rubbed" finish in other words rub it in with your bare finger I use that on most all oil/oil based finishes if I want a high gloss look....

Agreed a true hand rubbed finish will get you the gloss...just looking for a quicker way and to prevent the finger cramps...lol
The scales pic'ed have more then a few coats of tung oil..lol. I just added something different to the end to prevent the serious "hand rubbing"

I am not a big fan of CA too, I use Tru oil and it works very nicely
Currently I am exploring other options and I think they are very promising.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I am not a big fan of CA too, I use Tru oil and it works very nicely
Currently I am exploring other options and I think they are very promising.

When I know for sure or not this one will work, maybe we'll compare notes