Hi

Thank you to everyone who contacted me after last week’s ‘non-Newsletter’, all showing their support and appreciation. This probably had the highest response rate of any previous Newsletter, which, I think goes to show the level of respect and admiration for Queen Elizabeth II.
We will be closed on Monday as a mark of respect and to allow the team here the opportunity to watch the funeral or mark the occasion in their own way.

Some interesting questions this week, kicking off with someone returning to turning after a few years break, and wondering whether or not he should be using a sanding sealer under a wax. A similar question came in about using sealer over stain but under an Iridescent Paint. My general rule of thumb is, if you can use a sealer, you should. It will mean you’ll use less of the next coat, which will make it more resilient. And the sealer will, in most cases, help the next coat adhere better.
Where I’ve said ‘if you can, you should’, one of the main factors in deciding should be what you’re going to put on top of it. Any of our products EXCEPT oils benefit from the use of an appropriate sealer under them.

Another caller this week was making a pen, and had put the aerosol Acrylic Sanding Sealer onto it. What would be suitable on top of this, bearing in mind the amount of handling the pen was likely to get. If you’ve seen one of my demos, you’ll know that I usually use a Cellulose Sanding Sealer and Melamine Lacquer combination on my pen barrel. This is ideal for demos, as it’s very quick, but the acrylic aerosols are equally suitable. My suggestion was to smooth the sealer with a White NyWeb, then apply up to three coats of Acrylic Gloss Lacquer, cutting back between coats with the White NyWeb again. This ensures a smooth, burnished surface, ready for the next coat.
Allow the final coat to fully harden (24 hours is plenty), then burnish it with Burnishing Cream for a very bright, glossy finish, which will also be very hardwearing.

Finally, a call from a marquetarian this week. He’d finished a piece with about thirteen coats of Cellulose Sanding Sealer, but was disappointed that a year later the finish had started to craze. My only surprise at this was that it had taken so long! In most cases, only one coat of sealer should ever be applied. If you’re not putting anything else on top (not really recommended) you can apply more, but as with lacquers, a maximum of three coats should be applied. Apparently, marquetarians do this to smooth out any minute blemishes in their work (usually only visible to other marquetarians!), but it’s really not good practice.
A high-build finish is what is needed here, our Cellulose Sanding Sealer is about as high-build as it’s possible for it to be, so maybe something thicker would be better. I suggested our Hard Wax Oil, which I think could do the trick. I await feedback and will let you know.

Have a good weekend, and however you decide (or, maybe, have) to spend Monday, whether you decide to mark the occasion or not, I hope that all is well with you.

I’ll be back again in seven days

Terry