Hi

We’ve had a lot of new subscribers this week, so if you’re new here, a very warm welcome, you’re now a Chestnuteer! There’s no uniform or special duties, don’t worry!
Many people joined following Pat Carroll’s demo for us as part of our Conkers LIVE season; the demo was fantastic and if you missed it, it’s available to watch on YouTube here – but not for long, so don’t hang about. The video will be removed at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, we’ve had some questions…

This one comes up a lot, which is how to revive some Gilt Cream that has dried out in the jar. We’ve tried everything we can to stop this from happening, but I think a lot of the problem is that it is used so infrequently that some solvent loss is inevitable. The answer is quite simple, adding white spirit will bring the product back to life. We relayed this answer back to a customer recently and their response was this: ‘I tried white spirit and it seemed to work even though I think the gilt cream is somewhat 3 years old, good result.’ Which nicely correlates with both of my points above!

A slightly strange question next – but we get a lot of them so we expect it. Can the Iridescent Paints be used on rubber? The Iridescents are good at sticking to most things and rubber shouldn’t cause any issues for adhesion, but I’d worry they weren’t flexible enough if the rubbers was going to be stretched or flexed a lot. This particular application was to go onto a tyre, which would be decorative so that shouldn’t be a problem. As it was going outside I did suggest a coat of the Acrylic Gloss or Satin Lacquer over the top to give it extra protection. We await definitive reports!

Finally this week, someone contacted us who was in the process of restoring a very old wooden attaché case made by their grandfather. The question was, once they’d removed all the cracked and flaking finish, should they seal it or not? I’m a big fan of sealers, they do an important job and can help the next coating look good and last longer. In this case (pardon the pun!) a wax was the intended finish. The answer here really depends on whether all of the previous coatings are removed, and the surface is taken back to bare wood. If so, a sealer would be a good idea. But if not, or if there’s any uncertainty, it’s probably best not to use one, as it could react with any of the previous coating that is still lurking behind. The choice of wax will also be important; something like WoodWax 22 would be ideal as it is quick drying enough to work on bare wood, and give a good looking finish. Microcrystalline Wax could then be applied on top, for a harder wearing finish. (If used on bare wood the Microcrystalline Wax would soak in whilst drying, requiring several coats to achieve a shine).

Two more things to mention before I disappear for another week…
Ronald Kanne, one of our stockists in the Netherlands has recently launched a YouTube channel which is worth checking out – it’s mostly in English except when he’s talking to his dog!
And we mentioned our good friend Gordon a few weeks ago (he of the Necktube story) and he returns again this week; sadly, not for such fun reasons this time. We were very sad to hear that he’s having a spell in hospital with Covid; I don’t know if he’ll see this or if someone can pass this on, but we’re all thinking of him and are wishing him a speedy recovery. We’re looking forward to seeing you at a show when they start up again Gordon.

I hope you’re keeping safe and well too, I’ll be back again next week, by which time I’ll have been to a club and given my first live demo in about six months. It’ll all be socially distanced, of course, I’ll let you know how it goes!

All the best

Terry