I just finished carving my wife a bracelet out of some walnut I had laying around. Now it's time to throw on some finish and I'm not sure what to do. I'm sure this thing will take a ton of abuse, but I can't say I'd want to it to look like I dipped it in plastic.
Recommendations?
Wax... just like Lignum Vitae finishing. Johnson's Floor Wax.... multiple coats across many days. Wait at least 24 hrs between coats. Use steel wool to prepare for the first 3 coats, then cotton rags after. It will last a life-time and easy to touch up when dinged. Steve
I think on a bracelet, I would use something like a polyurethane finish..once if it dry they will be no bleed off of worry of rub off finish on the skin and there should not be any skin irratation with it.
Randy
I use two coats of tung oil on my wooden bracelets, then wax.
Uh - walnut oil?
Walnut is a wood noted for provoking allergic reactions. For that reason I would suggest a finish that would effectively seal it, preferably one that is itself as hypoallegenic as possible,.
I think a water resistive finish is a must. When a little sweat (sorry, "glow") hits the bracelet and penetrates a wax finish, the oils in the walnut will come out. And it wouldn't be too great to have that bracelet turn someone's arm purple. Not good at all.
Finish with poly, and steel wood to the proper sheen. I would think since it is only a bracelet, you don't have to put more than a couple of coats on it. I would just buy a rattle can and be done with it.
Robert
Shellac maybe? Easy to renew the finish since a new coat dissolves the surface of the last coat, forming a single layer coating - and you can EAT IT - FDA says so.
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