Our first question this week came from someone wanting to use our Spirit Stain. They asked if applying more coats will make the colour darken, or simply remove the previous coat?
The answer is the former; the more coats that are applied, the darker the colour will become. The change after the initial coat is quite marked, obviously, subsequent coats will be a lot more subtle in their effect.
Of course, this assumes that the stain is being applied to bare, unsealed wood, and my recent comments about oversanding the surface of the wood also apply. If either of these things have happened, the second coat is likely to remove the one before

Another question came in asking about the best way to polish an item that can no longer be mounted on the lathe.
I don’t normally lead with our Buffing Wheel Kit as it’s an expensive answer to the question, but my emailer had already mentioned it and, of course, it’s perfect for this sort of application. One of the advantages of the Buffing System is that the item for buffing doesn’t need to be mounted again, making it great for buffing both new work and refurbishing older items.
The question here, though, also asked if WoodWax 22 could be buffed with one of the wheels. We don’t normally recommend this, the wax could smear across the surface due to the heat generated. But if WoodWax 22 was the polish of choice, an ideal way to buff this up would be with one of our polishing brushes, and as I didn’t know what the shape of the item was, the Dome Polishing Brush was the one. It can be held in a drill or even a lathe (with the Large Mandrel) and is ideal for polishing wax.
And of course, the other, cheaper option, is to just use a lot of elbow grease! WoodWax 22 polishes up quite easily off the lathe, just apply it sparingly, only wait about a minute or less for it to dry, and buff up immediately. A great shine can be achieved, and a second coat can be applied for a deeper gloss

The question above was relating to applying wax over our Cellulose Sanding Sealer, and it casually raised another point worth mentioning. In this case, two coats of sealer had been applied, which we would consider to be bad practice. If followed by wax, no harm would be done, but if a lacquer was applied on top it could be a different story; the sealer could crack/craze, spoiling the look of the piece.
Plus, in most cases, the second coat isn’t really doing much, the sealer should seal and bind the timber with just one coat.
In general, the rule is one coat of sealer, up to three coats of lacquer. Oils don’t really have a limit, but I wouldn’t go more than 7 or 8 if your patience will allow you to get that far!

That’s enough for this week. I’m feeling another quiz coming on, I’m experimenting with some new software for it, so watch this space if you feel like taking part and letting me ask the questions for a change! They’re always fun, let’s see what we can do.
I’m off to Hampshire Woodturners next week, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there

I hope you enjoy the long weekend

Terry