Martyn, You've got it. Look at the prior horizontal photos and the top one in this posting. Small subtle changes that make a big difference. Some finish and it will be ready for the gallery.
Thanks every one, cheers Stuart i think you are right , Glenn the vase is 301mm x 215 diameter. Just need to finish it now if hopefully tomorrow, well see nearly at the end now
ok i got five coats on today i left it 1hr between coats 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th you can see the layers starting to even out the surface smoothing out the pores i am going to leave it while thursday for the finish to properly cure before i flatten out the finish with sand paper and possibly add more layers, we'll see
Very cool picture sequence Martyn. You can watch the grain get filled in a bit more with each coat. The 4th application looks smooth, the 5th looks glass like.
yeh not every on likes that hi gloss, i some times stop at two coats as i don't mind still being able to see the pores in the Finnish as long as it is even. But i do like to try and get a perfect surface, on thursday i will make a assessment whether it is fully cured and if it is i will take some 400 grit abranet abrasive to it and flatten out the surface, i may then add more layers well see. Some times if you get a good flow with the new layer after sanding you can get a amazing Finnish without going through the grits and polishing. If you are going to sand through the grits then polish you need enough lacquer on it to get to the end of the job without sanding down to wood. But i am happy so far, its a long process though, saw your bowl on the gallery it looks pretty sweet if you don't mind me saying well done, you'll be designing a new one now won't you? Are you going to do another follow along project?
Martyn I will certainly do another project and most likely it will be a "Follow Along". Just that I don't have the project in mind yet so it will be a bit. In the mean time lots of work going on around our house so that will keep me busy for at least another month. I will use my evenings to play with Segment Pro and tinker with a design.
ok checked on finish tonight and i was satisfied the finish had cured so i continued this is how it had cured you can see the pores again its not a bad finish but it is far from smooth so i sanded it on the lathe with 400grit and almost got it all flat, theres only a tiny bit of the pores left showing as shiny spots so i am almost there so I've continued to add a further 3 coats at 1hr intervals i am now confident that, that will be enough to sand flat up to a fine grit and polish to a glass finish on friday fingers crossed. I've got a nice thick layer on now so back friday
so i kind of finished this project and then ruined it on removing the chuck and cleaning up the bottom but ill take you through the steps i took and show you the finished item still on the chuck and tell you what went wrong This all took place on thursday and not friday as i said it would, had i don it on friday i think things would have been ok. here is the vase all coated up, 8 coats in total you can see the brush stroke but not the pores i sanded it late with 400 grit mesh abrasive after that i continued with wet and dry paper using water as lubrication i sanded with the following grits 800,1200,1600,2000,2500 i then applied t-cut much like you would your car allowed to dry to a cloud and the polish off this is what i was trying to achieve i was very happy with this so all i had to do was part off the base clean up, and sign and date, this is where it went wrong i turned a bowl blank flat and cut a spigot in the middle the size of the vase opening to centre it on the lathe up between the tail stock, i then unscrewed the chuck on the btm of the vase and reverse the vase on the spigot with a piece of cloth separating the vase from the bowl blank(protect the finish so i thought) . I manage to do what i wanted to the bottom but when i removed it off the lathe i notice the cloth had stuck to the vase in the finish, i pulled the cloth off and it had ruined the finish on the vases top ring, the finish cant have been fully cure on the internal top ring properly. I tried to rub it flat but it was no good i soon found wood and it was all over. subsequently have managed to remount the turning on the lathe and are re applying the finish again so yeh is what it is, i won't post any more steps of this project as i feel there no point as i would be repeating my self, ill post the completed vase on the gallery when complete shortly, kind of infuriating to be honest it was finished lol
on a side note i am going to try a epoxy finish next time that you put on once then leave to cure for a hard finish. It might turn out to be a disaster but it might not. If it works i will certainly be a lot less work. it might be a short follow along but if anyone interest in following let us know i might just turn a simple bowl out of a solid blank or i might refinish my last project that i made with laminate pro that i used danish oil with i was never really happy with that finish. leave a comment if anyone interested
Thanks for the follow along Martin. I hope this fall to be able to try something similar. I'll have to figure out what equivalent product is available on this side of the ocean to use. I tried searching for the Rustins name but never found anything here. I look forward to any other follow along that you do.
Hi glenn i dont think it has to be rustins plastic coating i think any laquer will work just the same , i have just ordered some art resin epoxy which i am going to try, ill post the results soon, thinks it just getting a nice thick layer that can be sanded flat that is the key to the process not the product, you might find a better product your side of the pond
then ruined it That is not a good statement at the beginning of a post. My first thought was it blew apart when you were removing it. I'm glad it was part of the finish and is repairable.
Bit of suspense i suppose, sorry, i did ruin the finish which was bad enough. If the whole thing had gone in the bin id have been beside myself thats for sure i am still waiting for that day to happen
When I remove a piece from the glue block I use a parting tool most of the way and then finish with a saw. I was at the saw off stage when I got some sort of catch and ripped a hollow form off. It bounced and hit every flat surface in the shop. When it finally stopped and I opened my eyes there wasn't a dent or scratch on it. It was a prototype made out of HD pine and scrap walnut so of course there wasn't any damage. I doubt if I would have been as lucky if it had been some exotic woods.
You was lucky with that one, i do the same, i use a thin parting tool to do it most of the way through and then i finish it off with a hand saw, its definetly the most tense part of the whole project if i was to be honest with myself