Greetings from Harrogate!

(I’m not there as I write this, but I’ll be there when it’s delivered to your inbox. It’s a bit like being in two places at once.)
We’re looking forward to what I’m sure is going to be a hectic day at the show and hoping to meet lots of you there. Be sure to let us know you’re a Newsletter reader. Maybe we need a secret handshake? Or you can just introduce yourself as a Chestnuteer, it’s up to you.
But you’re here for the questions really, so let’s start…

Had a call from someone who had made some new wooden handles for a barbecue and wanted to know if Acrylic Lacquer would be a good finish for them. The barbie would be covered when not in use but could get caught in the occasional unexpected shower – it’s England after all. The lacquer would be ok but our Finishing Oil would be even better. Both would inevitably require maintenance eventually and whereas the lacquer would need to be stripped back to bare wood, the oil would only need a quick clean up and another coat applied.

Another caller was asking about Food Safe Finish and whether it could trigger a nut allergy. Absolutely not, it’s a pure mineral oil and shouldn’t cause any sort of reaction. Claims are made about Finishing Oil being food safe, not something we say, and as it contains the product of the tung nut we’re really not sure about this, and sadly we can’t find anywhere to get a definitive, informed answer.

And finally for this week, a customer called about using CA Glue as a finish on pens. To speed up the drying time he’d been using the Accelerator on them and it had been turning the finish white. That’s to be expected in that situation, it’s too easy to use the Accelerator like you would a lacquer and put lots on – and that’s the problem. Only a minimal amount of Accelerator is needed to do the job, too much and it will turn the glue white. Not a problem when the glue is used as an adhesive and is on the inside of a joint, but it is in a situation like this.
Use less of our product is both the answer here and something we try to avoid saying too often!!

I’ll be back again next week, hopefully with some questions from the show if I get chance to write them down. If I don’t see you at the show (and even if I do) have a great week.

Take care until then,

Terry