Thread: Banjo Finish help

Originally Posted by ckngumbo

Yes you can. .

i wouldnt personally coat a job in oil then apply finish of any type but that's just me
it will complicate the process way more than necesary - the oil type finishes seal up the wood to a greater or lesser extent
you can create a primitive finish with pure BLO or tung oils but its a lot of work and not a robust water/sweat/beer proof finish

the closest you will get to an oil type finish that is water resistant is Danish Oil which contains 1 part BLO 1 part Turkentine and 1 part {insert brand name here] high gloss polyurethane varnish. - it really pops out the figure and looks great after 3 or 4 applications the turps draws the oil and varnish down into the wood up to 1mm and the poly varnish sets it hard - you would want to wipe down with metho to remove any surface grease b4 attempting truoil application -

the idea behind oil finish is to seal the wood while preserving the feel and look of the natural wood ie it looks / feels like a piece of polished wood not like a piece of wood that has a separate skin on top of the wood which fills the grain and is polished to a high gloss - truoil is this latter type of finsh it builds on the surface and creates a separate skin which can be polished to a very high gloss -

advantages of the oil type finishes -
they look and feel natural and bring up the grain a treat
easy to repair
disadvantage - they are very difficult to remove

advantages of the separate skin type finish WB or nitro lacquers, polyurethane [not 2 pack]
matt to mirror gloss is possible
easy to remove if you stuff it up
effective vapour barrier
disadvantges
mechanically weak chip scratch peel craze etc etc
may deaden the wood if its an accoustic instrument ie not applicable to a soundboard like a guitar top

DO is kind of halfway in between - its a real b1tch to remove in fact deep sanding is the only way if it goes wrong with stain - dont ask how i know that

tru-oil is definitely in the "separate skin" category
it is easily gotten rid of with a wipe of acetone

how about trying some unstained truoil on the inside of the banjo to test it first - i think you will find it looks real good

btw you could try feast and watson prooftint stains from bunnings - they work with tru-oil - get a good sealing coat of pure truoil on before you apply any stain - i suggest you mix the stain into the truoil and strain it through a fine mesh before application - [panty hose make a cheap strainer] as you add more coats of stained truoil the colour will deepen - again make sure the 1st couple coats is not stained - if it goes wrong you really want to be able to get back to 100% natural withou complications like stain blotches

using dyes is tricky - it goes on the wood first [ubeaut make great WB dyes btw] - if you are not carefull it will go on blotchy and ruin your day bigtime- dampening the wood first helps even things out
staining raw wood is a nightmare and i never done it and have it come out good - some guys can though and swear by raw staining and dyeing

sorry for the long winded post
obviously i am dodging the workshop

Originally Posted by Groundhangers

Beautiful wood Mungo. It would make a kick ass Tambourine!

Well their you go, that would solve evertything.
Cheers Ron

Carlton:
Thanks for the volumes reply, if that is the right word.
it will take me a bit to chew threw all that, but it speaks of your expierence for sure. thanks for taking the time to help.
I can rule out nitro and poly, still wanting to say away from stain if possible.
I have on the shelf, shellack, Watcos Danish Oil, BLO and Tru Oil.
I think yes have a go on the inside of the rim first, if I tweak it from their it will not look out of sorts. Cheers Ron.