I was watching this TV show about these high end custom business jets. The thing that struck me was the unbelievable veneer work on the cabinetry. Of course it was wonderful crotch and burl species but the depth and shine on this veneer was something I had never seen. Any ideas on how to reporduce that look???
---> Ed
Lacquer or short oil phenolic varnish (NOT polyurethane), wet sanding, and rubbing. Sometimes, a grain filler is used, but I usually prefer to fill with finish. I've done similar stuff for custom cars.
Think piano...
With short oil phenolic varnish, but you need to wait much longer before sanding and rubbing, but it'll be more durable for horizontal surfaces.
The wet sanding is done with a hard cork or even an uncushioned hardwood block. Be prepared to use enough sandpaper, and THROW IT OUT if you get the slightest "pilling", which can cause scratches that are much work to remove. I'll usually go to ~ 1200, then buff with fine pumice and rottenstone. Sometimes, I'll use a product like Flitz or Plexus for the very final buffing. The wet sanding is done to cut the surface level, the final buffing steps remove fine scratching. My favorite sanding lube is mineral spirits for lacquer, shellac, or cured varnish.
Make up a 12x12 panel of appropriate wood (or veneered plywood) and have at it. It's not as difficult as it looks, but it can be very labor intensive and requires practice.
Mid-priced furniture of the late Victorian period. There was a time when labour was cheap and this sort of finish was just the norm. Then time became money and we've become used to junk quality on nearly everything. One-coat spraying is seen as the perfect finish, because it's quick and cheap rather than good. See a piece of retail furniture today with gaping pores all over it and there'll be a salestwunt extolling the virtues of its hand-oiled finish, meaning a 5-minute blast over with a rag and then leaving it wet.
This sort of high-end finish isn't hard, it's just time-consuming to do and needs a moderate amount of practice on technique. If you use the right materials, learn a bit on the technique and do a couple of practice pieces first (make a few veneered boxes or something) then this level of finish is obtainable at home.
ROTFL ... so true. While "twunt" is a new one on me, ya gotta love it! ;)
| Make up a 12x12 panel of appropriate wood (or veneered plywood) and | have at it. It's not as difficult as it looks, but it can be very | labor intensive and requires practice.
The stuff I normally build gets latex'd - so when I decided it was time to learn to make "pretty", I started finishing shop stuff (TS extension, sawhorses, router fixtures - nothing was safe) and discovered that it could be fun.
It /isn't/ as difficult as I'd expected, /does/ require practice, /is/ as labor intensive as I let it be (but then, how much would /you/ put into a sawhorse?), and even for tuba-four constructions can be rewarding because it's possible to look around and /see/ progress...
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
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