Thread: Shellawax over BLO + extra

Yes, you can put Shellawax over an oiled finish.

The oil needs to be fully cured. Not just touch-dry, but fully gassed off. A year old box? Not a problem. A day old box? Probably won't get the finish you'd hoped.

I've found I'm happiest with the result when I apply a penetrating coat of oil, wait... and wait... until I'm happy it's dry... then lightly wipe down with some 1200grit paper (or 0000 steel wool) and a tack cloth along the grain direction. Then apply the shellawax.

I've never tried applying it to a box, per se, but in the past I've applied it to small decorative tables & units. I have a dedicated lambswool buff for a 6" grinder that I used for this, which appears to develop the required heat with a bit of elbow grease. From memory it's first use, as a 'virgin' buff, took a while though.

For a small box I'd be very, very careful if I use any mechanical buffing method. Be very aware of direction of rotation, work with the buff moving from the centre of a face outwards, never from the edge in. Nasty, nasty catches and launching of pieces across the room can happen that way. DAMHIKT.

Personally, I've moved to Shellac for larger pieces instead. Similar final result in similar times and much quieter to apply with a lot less dodging.

If you use a buff it needs to be conditioned. IE: the face of the buff needs to be almost glazed with Shellawax.

A new clean buff will pull the shellawax from the surface of the work piece. A glazed buff will have the same affect as polishing on the lathe as it will produce the friction to burn the polish into the timber as it is designed to be done.

As Skew rightly said use extreme care when using a buff on small items like a box. Ideally have a look at getting or using one of our Swansdown Mops as they work with the grain of the timber rather than putting swirls onto the surface as a lambswool buff will do.



It might also be worth having a look at Aussie Oil or our Hard Shellac and if your box has the oiled finish you are happy with but you want to bring up more of a shine you can use EEE-Ultra Shine if the oil is fully cured and hard.

Sorry about the blatant advertising.

Cheers - Neil

Originally Posted by ubeaut

Sorry about the blatant advertising.

Cheers - Neil

Neil, thank you, and why not when you can.