Hi

A huge thank you to everyone who wrote or called in to wish me a speedy recovery from this covid thing. I’m feeling a whole lot better now, thanks, pretty much back to full strength – and so, hopefully, is the Newsletter.
Which would be good, as yesterday marked the Newsletter’s Fifth Birthday. It seemed such a simple idea when we first thought about it, who knew it would still be going strong after all this time?
Let’s see if we can get some questions dealt with…

One question that came in recently asked how to ensure a resin would adhere to a coat of Danish Oil. Obviously, neither of these are products we sell so we don’t have any specific experience of this situation.
Our understanding of oil coatings, though, is that this probably isn’t a good idea. Oils don’t much like anything else being applied on top of them. They will allow a wax to adhere without any problems, but with most other coatings they will repel it and prevent it from adhering properly. So we couldn’t offer any advice that would guarantee success. Abrading the surface of the oil would possibly help, but it’s not an ideal situation and is really better avoided.

We could probably file the next question under the same category. Another correspondent wanted to use Melamine Lacquer on a table top – but wanted to paint it a solid white colour first. Could we suggest a way of doing this? Sadly not, Melamine Lacquer contains a strong solvent, and is liable to attack any paint used underneath it. Spraying it over small painted details is usually ok, but on larger areas it can be much more problematical. Although the lacquer can be tinted with our Spirit Stain, the White (due to its make-up) will have trouble dispersing evenly. And none of the stains will give a solid colour; they are meant to be transparent after all.
The only options here are a pigmented lacquer (they’re available, but we don’t make them, they tend to be more industrial) or to switch to the Acrylic Lacquer, although tests would be needed to make sure it worked with the chosen paint.

A slightly unusual question came in recently, asking about the best way to clean a spray gun. It was unusual because the product used was Shellac Sanding Sealer, and whilst it’s not unknown for it to be applied by spray, it is quite rare. But it was easy to answer. Meths is the best clean-up solvent for shellac-based products. I’d probably still run some cellulose thinners through the gun afterwards, though, to make sure all the meths has been removed. Cellulose Thinners is clear and evaporates quicker, so there is much less chance of any unwanted contaminants being left behind.

I’m heading north next week, up to the Red Rose Woodturners, who meet just the other side of Preston. Having had to miss two demos in the last couple of weeks it’ll be good to be back in the saddle again. I’m looking forward to seeing some of you there.

And as always, if not, I’ll be back here next week.

Terry

PS Don’t forget, only two weeks to go to the Woodturning Weekender. Make sure you’ve got your tickets!