Choice of wood finish?

[Phil_S]

Life and weather have conspired to delay the finish work. It is still queued up. I hope to get to it before the summer ends. It is disappointing to say the least. Please stay tuned.

I need to build some squirrel cages for my tomato plants. It will take me a whole day. I don't seem to have a day. I work 5 days a week at an office, so I have all manner of things to pack into only two days off. When I was a consultant, I could work a little less in the summer. I would have knocked out the table finishing work early in the morning and then inside to work by late morning. I plan to retire next May. That is an example of life getting in the way. I'm determined to keep those furry rodents off my tomatoes. I almost don't care what it costs! Last year, they ate dozens of green tomatoes the size of baseballs or softballs. They even got the cherry tomatoes.

Too much to do, so little time!

[statorvane]

My folks had the same problem w/tomatoes when I was a kid. We had a dachshund that chased the squirrels away most of the time. However the little rodents would still get the ones up high - take a bite - spit it out and go to the next tomato, take a bite.....

[TUBEDUDE]

They are after the water in the tomatoes, birds will do the same. Leaving a bowl of water near the tomato plants can save the tomatoes.

[Phil_S]

Bowl of water? Makes sense. Thanks very much for the tip.

The tomatoes need the cages anyway. Otherwise the deer give them a haircut, sometimes all the way down to ground level

To put a finer point on this for those who are spectators on the thread, I live inside Baltimore City limits. Baltimore is a tiny land mass, maybe 90 square miles. If you've never been here, you might think of it as dense urban landscape. Not so. I have all sorts of wildlife invading my back yard: deer, mice, fox, occasional racoon, possum, or blacksnake, and the usual critters like squirrels and toads. I'm pretty sure there are other critters who come by in the night that I never see.

[Phil_S]

My folks had the same problem w/tomatoes when I was a kid. We had a dachshund that chased the squirrels away most of the time. However the little rodents would still get the ones up high - take a bite - spit it out and go to the next tomato, take a bite.....

We considered ourselves to be fortunate to have Frankie the dachshund for nearly 13 years and I still miss her so much. She was 2 when we got her. She was too unreliable to let outside off leash. I know she'd have done a fine job keeping them away. One time, on leash, she caught a chipmunk and left it at my feet. It was shocking to me. Poor critter, I had to put it out of it's misery and bury it.

[Tony Bones]

To put a finer point on this for those who are spectators on the thread, I live inside Baltimore City limits. Baltimore is a tiny land mass, maybe 90 square miles. If you've never been here, you might think of it as dense urban landscape. Not so. I have all sorts of wildlife invading my back yard: deer, mice, fox, occasional racoon, possum, or blacksnake, and the usual critters like squirrels and toads. I'm pretty sure there are other critters who come by in the night that I never see.

Mice, squirrel and raccoon are a given, but surprisingly (to me) even coyote are found in cities. https://www.conservationmagazine.org/20 ... d-trouble/

EDIT: I recall reading about urban coyote a few years ago. What I learned then (but is not mentioned in the above linked article) is that they usually find a 'home base' that is in a place where humans virtually never tread. Popular is that green area inside expressway on/off ramps. For this reason, if I ever go in to one of these areas I will be careful not to surprise anyone and put myself in danger.

[TUBEDUDE]

It was 20 years ago but there was a bear on Walton Way, a 4 lane in the middle of the city. I live on Lake Olmstead and we have crocagators regularly. The city pulled 2 12 footers out in the last 3 years. The owners of the formerly yappy dogs complained.

[TUBEDUDE]

Took a cab with a bad tolex job and tried the Japanese Torch/Brush/Oil method. Here are some images. The loss of wood was 1/64" down to the grain lines, then another 1/64" to the softwood surface. Very 3D in person.

[TUBEDUDE]

After oiling, i decided to scrape down the finish to make a more even surface. Re-oiled n waxed.

[Phil_S]

Nine months later...
I made an attempt at brush on Watco Lacquer. I used semi gloss. I chose lacquer because Flexner says it's easy to repair, it dries fairly hard, and is said to be a good choice for a table.

I wouldn't call it a disaster, but it was an unsatisfactory attempt. After reading Flexner's book, I decided to go with what he says, which is that there isn't much difference from brand to brand, that they all use the same basic chemicals. I bought what the big box store had. However, he also says, if you find what you like, to stick with it. But I diverge.

I'm not sure I liked semi gloss. I think part to the problem is that it was not applied well -- what I'd call "operator error." According to the can, I can recoat in 30 minutes, so open time is quite short. I am not that fast. I am convinced this stuff is meant to be sprayed, even though the can says it can be brushed. Flexner covers this, too. He says whatever they write on the can can't be relied on. It was a real challenge to keep a wet edge.

I believe it needs to be applied thin. If I were to try again with a brush, I'd thin it and I'd add something to extend the open time.

So, today I spent the morning scraping/sanding off most of the finish. It wasn't so bad. I took it outside and enjoyed the fresh air. It was a nice day here in Baltimore. I learned quite a bit while I was removing the finish because it forced me to look carefully at all the parts and at all sorts of angles. I did not completely remove all of the finish, but all of it was at least lightly sanded. I'm intending to try lacquer again. One big problem was that applying finish amplified the snipe on the top. I thought I had sanded it out, but nooooo...there it was in spades. The good news is that with the finish in a valley, it was very easy to see the progress on snipe removal.

I'm thinking about a spray gun. I have some questions, as I've never had a spray gun and never used one. Maybe someone can help? From what I have gathered in my limited exploration, I should get a gravity fed gun. I am unable to determine if such a gun will work with my little 1 gallon 130psi compressor. I'm not painting a house, just a small table. I see that I can get something like this in the $25+/- range. https://www.amazon.com/SPRAYIT-SP-33500 ... ay&sr=8-12 That's certainly within budget. I''d be grateful for some help to understand:
a) What's an appropriate gun that won't break the piggy bank?
b) Will it work with my compressor? https://www.cpooutlets.com/factory-reco ... tQQAvD_BwE
c) What else will I need? Experience suggests there is always more than what meets the eye.

BTW, the walnut top looked great with the first coat of lacquer. I should never have gone ahead with a second coat. The maple legs were quite forgiving, even the few runs I managed to create weren't that obvious.

TIA for any advice you might offer.

[stelligan]

Sorry to hear of the setback. I know I mentioned it earlier in the thread but, I am extremely happy with Waterlox resin modified tung oil for this kind of application. Here is a pic of a walnut butcher block top we put on a small island off the kitchen. Time consuming to apply yet very easy. Ventilation and time was all that was needed. Very beautiful and durable result. I used original formula to build up the finish then 1 coat of satin on top. Used small throw away chip brushes to build it up then wool pad applicator for final coats. If you are like me - you think tung oil and not much thickness between the wood and you. This stuff can build up quite a bit.

Like this stuff so much am considering using what I have left to finish a fancy head and cab with it...
Sales pitch over. Good luck with the project!

[statorvane]

I don't think that compressor will be up to the job - more like an airbrush source.

If you want to shoot lacquer without a major investment in a compressor and sprayers, I think you'd have better luck with a Preval Sprayer or two. I have used them quite a few times applying lacquer and shaded toners to guitars. You can pick them up at the big-box home improvement stores. Here's one:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Preval-Spra ... /203826736

I thin the lacquer around 50/50. Apply the lacquer with a 30-minute wait between coats - to prevent getting any runs and help minimize orange peel.

[Phil_S]

I don't think that compressor will be up to the job - more like an airbrush source

Exactly what I was thinking, but was unable to determine. I bought it to run a brad nailer, and that's what it's good for. I didn't know about the Preval sprayer. That looks terrific and certainly at the right price point. Thanks.

Stelligan: That really looks terrific. I'd like to make the lacquer work, but that looks like a great choice if I can't make it work. My hesitation is that I've got no inside place to do this, so multiple coats could possibly take weeks or months. Otherwise, I'd probably head in that direction. Right now, I'm hoping for a 70 degree slightly overcast weekend day to see if I can apply the lacquer outside and it's dry in 30 minutes.

[stelligan]

My hesitation is that I've got no inside place to do this, so multiple coats could possibly take weeks or months.

Understood. For future reference. Done in garage at beginning of summer with fan and door 1/4 open. 1 coat every 18 to 24 hours - done with application in 8 days. Let cure a couple weeks more then moved in place. A bit of steel wool every now and then toward the end....

[johnnyreece]

I started off in the guitar finishing world before moving to amps, so lacquer is something I'm familiar with. If you're only going to spray this one project, I agree that the Preval is the way to go. You suspected right; it wants to go on in multiple thin coats. If you want to spend some time reading, I'd suggest the ReRanch forum. If you don't want to read, I'll summarize: Apply three coats, three times per day for three days. Start with thinner coats, then work up from there. Try not to recoat too quickly, or you run a higher risk of runs/drips. If that happens, don't panic. You can take 800 grit or so sandpaper and knock those down. Then just recoat, and it's like it never happened. If you're going to sand/buff to a high gloss, mirror-flat finish, wait at least 30 days for the lacquer to gas off. If you don't wait long enough, that once-beautiful, mirror shine will not be so mirror-flat. I know all that sounds like a pain (because it is), but that's the tried-and-true method.