Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on September 17, 2010 at 1:38am

I tested TruOil on the inside and it did not mar the gold on the lable, so I very carefully sanded the box right up to the tape and put a coat of TruOil, being careful of the paper.

I'll give it a few more coats over the weekend and see how it goes. I mostly wanted to smooth out the wood, which is quite rough and hairy.

I've done the polyspray on vintage paper boxes before and they end up looking a bit too glossy for me, so the paper on this one will just have to take it on the chin.

Fitzhugh said:

Dianne, that is a beautiful box. One sorta on topic note that may well be old news: I was trying to mask the paper while treating the wood and just learned the hard way that painters' tape really is different than masking tape. I masked off with normal masking tape, even stuck it to the wall a few times first, and tested... came off with no hints of problems. Problem was I then left it on for a couple weeks until I got back to working on that one. Today I removed it and it stuck too heavily to some of the paper, stripping off the top layer in a few places. If you do mask, try the blue tape, or better yet, the blue or green delicate surface tape - I saw a few types of blue painters' tape, including different types by the same company.
No great loss, but it that's because it wasn't a perfect box to start with.

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Permalink Reply by Fitzhugh on September 17, 2010 at 9:50am

Oops, I was lazy, knew I should have taken the few seconds to check... Diane, not Dianne.

I just used polyspray yesterday, and yeah - too shiny, and that was the low gloss or satin or whatever. I like it more now that I used some 600 grit at the end, but I'm curious to hear how you like truoil. There was a suggestion earlier on this thread to try it. I looked for some just a few hours ago and that hw store didn't have any, but that was the lesser of local hardware stores. Please report back how it goes.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on September 17, 2010 at 10:04am

TruOil is a gunstock oil, and not so easy to find in Chicago, what with the handgun ban and all. A friend brought me some back from the hinterlands.

So far with one coat the color is much improved and the paper looks unharmed. I burnished it up with a bit of brown paper and I"ll give it another coat tonight.

I am very leery of using masking tape anymore on a paper box, I had the same problem. Even the blue stuff lifted the ink right off the paper. Sooooo frustrating at the time.

Fitzhugh said:

Oops, I was lazy, knew I should have taken the few seconds to check... Diane, not Dianne.

I just used polyspray yesterday, and yeah - too shiny, and that was the low gloss or satin or whatever. I like it more now that I used some 600 grit at the end, but I'm curious to hear how you like truoil. There was a suggestion earlier on this thread to try it. I looked for some just a few hours ago and that hw store didn't have any, but that was the lesser of local hardware stores. Please report back how it goes.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on September 17, 2010 at 12:58pm

I used Shellac on a recent build "Rosalia" and it worked well on both the raw wood and the paper labels. It does dry to a gloss on the paper, but a nice satin on the wood, if , and that is a big if, you put it on right! I wish I would have read about how to use it BEFORE putting it on, but I'm too impatient for that. Luckily, you can use denatured alchohol to remove it a try again! There are ways to make it less glossy too if you want. Neat stuff, and it dries very fast.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Farthing on September 17, 2010 at 7:30pm

Deft is the best, spray it on light. you can do a couple of coats as necessary. I like the satin finish.
jason.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on September 18, 2010 at 12:16pm

Okay, folks, TruOil is my new favorite for pretty much anything and everything. Nice rich color, does not mess with a coated label (but you need to be tidy going around those tax stamp ones), dries fast and is neither glossy nor flat.

I also just used it on an old Royal Jamaica cedar box, and it looks lush and delicious. Put a piece of brown paper on a sanding block to burnish between coats.

Diane in Chicago said:

TruOil is a gunstock oil, and not so easy to find in Chicago, what with the handgun ban and all. A friend brought me some back from the hinterlands.

So far with one coat the color is much improved and the paper looks unharmed. I burnished it up with a bit of brown paper and I"ll give it another coat tonight.

I am very leery of using masking tape anymore on a paper box, I had the same problem. Even the blue stuff lifted the ink right off the paper. Sooooo frustrating at the time.

Fitzhugh said:

Oops, I was lazy, knew I should have taken the few seconds to check... Diane, not Dianne.

I just used polyspray yesterday, and yeah - too shiny, and that was the low gloss or satin or whatever. I like it more now that I used some 600 grit at the end, but I'm curious to hear how you like truoil. There was a suggestion earlier on this thread to try it. I looked for some just a few hours ago and that hw store didn't have any, but that was the lesser of local hardware stores. Please report back how it goes.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on September 18, 2010 at 12:24pm

Then I gotta try TruOil. I've been using Danish oil and like it a lot too, very forgiving and not too shiny. Off to the gun shop (we have a lot of them here).

Diane in Chicago said:

Okay, folks, TruOil is my new favorite for pretty much anything and everything. Nice rich color, does not mess with a coated label (but you need to be tidy going around those tax stamp ones), dries fast and is neither glossy nor flat.

I also just used it on an old Royal Jamaica cedar box, and it looks lush and delicious. Put a piece of brown paper on a sanding block to burnish between coats.

Diane in Chicago said:

TruOil is a gunstock oil, and not so easy to find in Chicago, what with the handgun ban and all. A friend brought me some back from the hinterlands.

So far with one coat the color is much improved and the paper looks unharmed. I burnished it up with a bit of brown paper and I"ll give it another coat tonight.

I am very leery of using masking tape anymore on a paper box, I had the same problem. Even the blue stuff lifted the ink right off the paper. Sooooo frustrating at the time.

Fitzhugh said:

Oops, I was lazy, knew I should have taken the few seconds to check... Diane, not Dianne.

I just used polyspray yesterday, and yeah - too shiny, and that was the low gloss or satin or whatever. I like it more now that I used some 600 grit at the end, but I'm curious to hear how you like truoil. There was a suggestion earlier on this thread to try it. I looked for some just a few hours ago and that hw store didn't have any, but that was the lesser of local hardware stores. Please report back how it goes.

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Permalink Reply by Fitzhugh on September 18, 2010 at 4:39pm

Gotta find a gun shop open tomorrow. As for shellac, I just have to get over being intimidated by what little I've read. There's something about tradition, like with hide glue.

I'm trying tung oil finish on a neck right now. I got tung oil finish and not pure tung oil by mistake. It's nice, quite understated, but feels fantastic. From what I've read real tung oil is a different, and better, beast... much stronger finish in the end but still feels mostly natural. I'll definitely use some form of tung oil again on necks for the feel.

Polyurethane was a good choice for the build for a child, seems strong, but I don't much like the plastic feeling I ended up with.

Next two will be tru oil and shellac. Only way to know for sure is to try them, right? And it makes a great excuse to build more.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on September 19, 2010 at 3:23am

I like the Tung oil too, but not near paper labels, it seeps into the paper and does not dry. For any all-wood applications, the only real difference for me is that the TruOil dries really fast -- like an hour -- compared with the Tung which has to sit overnight and be rubbed out. At least the way I do it. I slather it on, drink a cup of coffee and then rub off all the excess I can with brown paper. Go to bed. Wake up and do it again. A lovely finish, no question, but takes a while. ( Manila drawing paper works, too.)

I may not know what I am talking about, but I believe TruOil has a hardener in it so the oil sets up quickly. Tung oil is just the oil, and you have to let Mother Nature do it the old fashioned way, with time.

Fitzhugh said:

Gotta find a gun shop open tomorrow. As for shellac, I just have to get over being intimidated by what little I've read. There's something about tradition, like with hide glue.

I'm trying tung oil finish on a neck right now. I got tung oil finish and not pure tung oil by mistake. It's nice, quite understated, but feels fantastic. From what I've read real tung oil is a different, and better, beast... much stronger finish in the end but still feels mostly natural. I'll definitely use some form of tung oil again on necks for the feel.

Polyurethane was a good choice for the build for a child, seems strong, but I don't much like the plastic feeling I ended up with.

Next two will be tru oil and shellac. Only way to know for sure is to try them, right? And it makes a great excuse to build more.

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Permalink Reply by Mister Scott on September 19, 2010 at 5:33pm

Diane in Chicago said:

Okay, folks, TruOil is my new favorite for pretty much anything and everything. Nice rich color, does not mess with a coated label (but you need to be tidy going around those tax stamp ones), dries fast and is neither glossy nor flat.

So I imagine the TruOil is no good for the tax stamps? Any idea what kind of finish would work well with those thinner stamp/stickers?

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Permalink Reply by Fitzhugh on September 20, 2010 at 6:47am

I like the brown paper wipe down - all my rags end up with dog hair no matter how much they get washed.
according to lmii.com tru-oil is linseed oil plus other oils, and spiffy magic stuff to make it do its thing. Quick dry time and ease of application, leaves label alone... has me sold. As for uncoated labels, I read about spraying with hair spray (mask the rest) but spray fixer from an art store would probably be best.

Thanks for all your help everyone.

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Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on September 20, 2010 at 7:40am

I think I am going to try some brush on poly in matte finish, put on with a fairly dry sponge brush. But I'll test on a scrap box first. The sponge brush will let you control where the poly is going to go, and frankly I hate aerosol anything.

Scotty C. said:

Diane in Chicago said:

Okay, folks, TruOil is my new favorite for pretty much anything and everything. Nice rich color, does not mess with a coated label (but you need to be tidy going around those tax stamp ones), dries fast and is neither glossy nor flat.

So I imagine the TruOil is no good for the tax stamps? Any idea what kind of finish would work well with those thinner stamp/stickers?

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