shellac/varnish over clear finishing oil

[maddog 62]

hello all
am new to the woodworking thing, steel was more my field
so being new to it all im having my share of problems as i go along
the latest one is a failed attempt at burlishing. i followed the book of rules to the letter but have found the end result was not what i had expected
so i was wondering, if i go over it with a varnish/shellac would the oil react with it giving it an even shoddyer finish
opps-- the timber im working with is mallee stumps sliced for backings of wall mounted clocks
the finish im would like is a semi to high satin look
thanks

[Gumby]

Hi and welcome maddog .Nice name, you should fit in well :) Our regular dog on here is mad too, but he's away at the moment, probably cocking his leg against a tree in central Victoria on the Great Vic Bike Ride :D

I had quite few attempts at burnishing until I finally got it right on a recent breadboard. I'd keep trying that as a first choice. Try a few more coats but only put the oil very lightly on the sanding pad (I assume you are using a random orbital sander) and continue going through the grades. Don't flood the surface. It will build up nicely.

I don't think it's an option to shellac over it but I could be wrong. You'd be better off sanding it back but since it's an oil and been somewhat burnished, it will probably take a fair amount of sanding. It depends on whether you have enough timber left to go a bit deeper.

[Auld Bassoon]

As per Gumby.

Also, I've successfully used uBeaut, after the oil has dried, EEE first with 0000 wire wool, then Traditional uBeaut, either by hand for a high satin sheen, or with a Swansdown mop for a good shine.

I haven't tried shellac over oil - but give it a whizz on a scrap piece of the same timber. I generally have a couple of scrap pieces left after making the elements of a project, and finish them as I would the piece - that way I can check, beforehand, how the finishes might work (or conflict) with one-another.

Generally, though simple is good.

Cheers!

[Bodgy]

Maddog, thought your post was interesting as I just finished a piece, camphor laurel sanded to 400 and finished with Organoil (the stuff with Tung oil) as per instructions. Wasn't happy with results. Very little sheen despite enthusiastic buffing

Thought stuff it, and sanded back and shellaced. So far so good, 3 coats and it went on fine. Will finish with sponsor's wax

Looks 100% better already, grain and features of wood far better defined and it glows.

Give it a go.

[Auld Bassoon]

Maddog, thought your post was interesting as I just finished a piece, camphor laurel sanded to 400 and finished with Organoil (the stuff with Tung oil) as per instructions. Wasn't happy with results. Very little sheen despite enthusiastic buffing

Thought stuff it, and sanded back and shellaced. So far so good, 3 coats and it went on fine. Will finish with sponsor's wax

Looks 100% better already, grain and features of wood far better defined and it glows.

Give it a go.

Hi Bodgy!

Not meaning to discredit a vendors product, but I too have been rather disappointed with Organoil's product, and reverted to simple "Danish Oil" - and generally uBeaut over the top when the oil has dried.

I followed the instructions punctilliously, but could not acheive the finish I wanted; also, I agree that the grain/whorl of the timber were obscured somewhat.

Any Organoil users/vendors comments?

Cheers!

[Gumby]

From what I've been told, some timbers take burnishing much better than others. Therefore, it's not only the product which is variable. You get a better finish by doing the same thing, depending on how porous the timber is. Pine, for example, doesn't burnish very well. Perhaps it soaks it up too much. I don't know.

I saw the finished timber at the Organoil stand at the WWW show and mentioned to the guy there that i could never get a finish like that. I don't know how many coats it had but it looked really nice and was dead smooth. More like a low sheen shellac finish. That's why i persisted with my last attampt and kept adding more coats. I'm sure that's the secret.

[Auld Bassoon]

From what I've been told, some timbers take burnishing much better than others. Therefore, it's not only the product which is variable. You get a better finish by doing the same thing, depending on how porous the timber is. Pine, for example, doesn't burnish very well. Perhaps it soaks it up too much. I don't know.

I saw the finished timber at the Organoil stand at the WWW show and mentioned to the guy there that i could never get a finish like that. I don't know how many coats it had but it lkooked really nice and was dead smooth. More like a low sheen shellac finish. That's why i persisted with my last attampt and kept adding more coats. I'm sure that's the secret.

You're probably right mate, but after eight coats, on Red Gum, it still wasn't getting any better - so spirits and a rag, some scraping and sanding - and do it all again with Danish. Grrr:mad:

So with Danish and uBeaut:
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/attachment.php?attachmentid=15954&d=1132981741

[markharrison]

You're probably right mate, but after eight coats, on Red Gum, it still wasn't getting any better - so spirits and a rag, some scraping and sanding - and do it all again with Danish. Grrr:mad:

I used Organoil on Red Gum with wax. Burnished to 1600 grit with a ROS for the top. Mine looks nice. Depends on your expectations I suppose.

[Termite]

From what I've been told, some timbers take burnishing much better than others. Therefore, it's not only the product which is variable. You get a better finish by doing the same thing, depending on how porous the timber is. Pine, for example, doesn't burnish very well. Perhaps it soaks it up too much. I don't know.

I saw the finished timber at the Organoil stand at the WWW show and mentioned to the guy there that i could never get a finish like that. I don't know how many coats it had but it looked really nice and was dead smooth. More like a low sheen shellac finish. That's why i persisted with my last attampt and kept adding more coats. I'm sure that's the secret.

Have a word to Niel when he gets back and he'll tell you how they get that high shine, hint hint, it has a lot to do with a UBeat prodiuct. ;)

[Bodgy]

The camphor Laurel was (is) extremely porous so maybe thats the reason.

I only bought the Organoil cause I thought it was Tung oil, not just containing Tung Oil.

[kerriescroller]

Thanks for all this info guys. I am a new woodworker and one of the things i need to get right is finishing. I have been using shellawax on my work and not getting a good result on some timbers.
Its all valuable info for me.
cheers
Kerrie:)

[mag]

Maddog,

Not sure about shellac, but recently Lacquered some Huon pine after using Burnishing oil. Worked fine, no reaction at all.

[maddog 62]

thanks for your help fellas,will stick with the burlishing,
and see how it turned out in a few days
again thanks

[Gumby]

Just a last thought on this.
I'm assuming you are using the proper Burnishing Oil ?

[Termite]

Have a word to Niel when he gets back and he'll tell you how they get that high shine, hint hint, it has a lot to do with a UBeat prodiuct. ;)

I've put it in again in case you missed it. I too have seen the high gloss finish that you are speaking of and the details were briefly explained to me at the time.
At the moment I cant recall the exact details but I do remember that a UBeaut product plays a big part in it.

[Bodgy]

3 days later, after using Shellac and then wax over a previous attempt with Organoil, the finish is still fine. No sign of any reaction between oil and sheallc.

From all the posts I would conclude that Camphor Laurel is not a good candidate for the oil, unless perhaps your turning it and can really get stuck in to the burnishing/polishing?