Re sealing a wood brush

[Pattorashu]

Oil will not soak into the epoxy, it'll end up being a useless endeavor. If you have a power drill I'd pick up a 3-4" buffing wheel that has a spindle. Put it in the chuck and run it at low speed on full trigger (should put it around 4-500 RPM) and maybe some polishing compound (normally a bit heavy, but it might work for epoxy since it's more durable than lacquer), machine glaze, or car wax (less agressive). Should restore a nice luster to it.

I would hold the brush by the bristles or wrap them in paper and then tape for this.

You could try polishing compound with a hand pad, but you might be there an hour and your arm will be tired.

Ok so buff it with microfiber cloth?

Would food grade mineral oil work.




I'm not wanting it glossy. What I am trying to achieve is one protecting the wood so it lasts for generations and two bringing out the beautiful natural color of the wood.

 

[Esox]

First you'd need to make sure the wood is absorbing water. If it does it will become darker when wet.

I have an Omega 10005 boar with a Beech handle that had a crack in it out of the box. It didnt take long for the thin fragile finish on that Omega handle to deteriorate. When it did it started absorbing water.

Since that handle was already shiny, I tied a string around the base of the knot and dipped the entire handle into a gallon pail of satin MinWax Poly and hung it to dry over night. That left a small drop on the edge of the base that I cleaned up with wet sandpaper when fully cured.

More than two years later, that handle is still fine and the poly gave it some extra grip in the process.

Assuming the handle in question has been sealed with a marina grade epoxy, I would bet that it was a very thin coat to seal and stabilize the wood and not leave much of an external finish on the surface. It may wear off the surface of the wood but the point of sealing the wood is that the material used penetrates into the wood without staying only on the surface.

If the wood colour doesnt change when its wet I wouldnt touch it.

 

[Suhrim21]

For the most part water beads up on the wood. Right at the top next to the knot it doesn't bead up like on the rest of the handle. But my thing is the wood doesn't have that gorgeous color it did when it was first made and I was wanting to bring the color of this wood back to life which was the whole point of making this thread. So with the info given I'm thinking of a light sanding then try mineral oil to see how it works if not a light coat of a satin poly seal.

Anything wrong with my plan?

 

[Pattorashu]

no sanding and no oil if you're getting beads, that means the finish is intact.

You WILL hurt it if you sand then oil.

 

[Suhrim21]

I used 000 steel wool and oil. I'm going to get a satin poly. I'm so glad I did sand and oil it. Here is before.

 

[Suhrim21]

Here is the after.

 

[Big Jim]

Congratulations. It's beautiful and you learned a lot. You learned that there is "more than one way to skin a cat", you determined your own course, and it's done.

 

[Chandu]

I use a water base polyurethane to seal my wood handles.

Oil based are better and tougher. Water based quicker and easier.

I would just oil it myself, but I kinda like a more natural, used look

That would be my choice. I like to be able to feel the wood more directly than the finish. Varnishes and Polys have a plastic feel I don't like.

I would use multiple coats of 100% pure tung oil and then simply lightly sand every couple of months and add a coat of pure tung oil.

 

[Chandu]

It didnt take long for the thin fragile finish on that Omega handle to deteriorate. When it did it started absorbing water.

They took the quick way out no doubt. Some spray lacquer and call it good. Lacquer lacks flexibility and will usually crack quickly.

Even though I am more of an oil finish guy, I will admit for do it your selfer that wants the utmost in protection, at the cost of easy repair-ability at the expense of any natural feel there are two easy ways to go. 1. Polyeurethane - very resistant to water and tough as nails. 2. Dipped into epoxy - the clear stuff you put on table tops. This will not be a brushed or satin look though, it will look wet, but it will be even tougher than poly.

Neither are my cup of tea, but both are long lived and tough as nails.

 

[Suhrim21]

Thank you all for the advice. I'm going to just keep oil on it as I do like the feel of the wood but really love the depth the oil gives this wood.

Right now I used food grade mineral oil since that's what I have to protect my razors. Is there a better oil I should get

 

[Esox]

They took the quick way out no doubt. Some spray lacquer and call it good. Lacquer lacks flexibility and will usually crack quickly.

Even though I am more of an oil finish guy, I will admit for do it your selfer that wants the utmost in protection, at the cost of easy repair-ability at the expense of any natural feel there are two easy ways to go. 1. Polyeurethane - very resistant to water and tough as nails. 2. Dipped into epoxy - the clear stuff you put on table tops. This will not be a brushed or satin look though, it will look wet, but it will be even tougher than poly.

Neither are my cup of tea, but both are long lived and tough as nails.

I did it quick and easy and wanted to only do it once, and I had a gallon pail of poly handy.

Right now I used food grade mineral oil since that's what I have to protect my razors. Is there a better oil I should get

I was thinking about this last night. I think that handle needed a good cleaning but I'm not sure how to clean soap residue from wood like that. I was thinking an old toothbrush and baking soda, rinsing under running water often but not sure if that would work.

I would think scrubbing with an old toothbrush dipped in linseed oil would do and then hand polish with a soft cloth but not sure either.

The problem with oils is, soap will in time remove them. The same as waxes.

Marine varnishes are tough. They should last 5 years exposed to the weather 24 hours a day, at least 5 years.

I'd look into cleaning solutions like below and then gently buff with a soft (well used) Scotch Brite pad.

These 3 Products Will Clean & Restore Your Walnut Furniture - http://rahnsfurniturerestoration.com/2016/11/22/top-3-walnut-wood-furniture-cleaners-restorers-maintain-classic-beauty/

I think the shave soap might build up a thin residual coating, like on the base of the handle, and fill in the pores of the wood. That would need to be removed then the Scotch Brite pad would restore the shine.

@Rudy Vey and @Graydog may have better advice.

 

[Chandu]

I would avoid linseed oil for a shave brush if you are doing an oil only finish. Linseed will sometimes feed mildew in moist environments.

100 percent Tung oil (not Formbys or similar that are really a wiping varnish) will not feed mildew and will stand up to water better than linseed oil. You will need several hand rubbed VERY THIN coats allowed to dry several days each.

This is not quick and easy but is very nice for those that want wood to feel like wood.

 

[Suhrim21]

I would avoid linseed oil for a shave brush if you are doing an oil only finish. Linseed will sometimes feed mildew in moist environments.

100 percent Tung oil (not Formbys or similar that are really a wiping varnish) will not feed mildew and will stand up to water better than linseed oil. You will need several hand rubbed VERY THIN coats allowed to dry several days each.

This is not quick and easy but is very nice for those that want wood to feel like wood.

I will have to get some then. Thanks.

 

[Rudy Vey]

I always prefer to use resin stabilized wood. If I cannot get any, then my finish of choice is CA glue. It is always easier to get a finish on the handle while it has no knot in.
Other finishes I have used are Spar Varnish, stuff that is used for boats - takes a long, long time to cure - apply thin coats, let cure and apply more. One cannot accelerate this process.
Also, as someone said, oil/solvent based finishes are better than water based.
A lesson I learned is to let the coating dry/cure before you put a new one on.

 

[Chandu]

A lesson I learned is to let the coating dry/cure before you put a new one on.

I think anyone finishing wood has probably learned that one the hard way. I have.

I will have to get some then. Thanks.

Here is an informative article. I don't agree with the smell part though. Tung oil just smells a but "nutty" not unpleasant.

Tung Oil as a Woodworking Finish

Tung Oil as a Woodworking Finish What it is Tung oil, also known as China Wood Oil, Lumbang oil, Noix d'abrasin (fr.) or simply wood oil, is made from the seed kernels of the Tung

www.woodworkdetails.com

Most of the polymerized stuff they speak of is cut with mineral spirits to keep it think enough to work with. The pure/raw is not, it's just the oil. It does take longer to dry. One nice thing about just doing a pure tung oil finish is that there are no VOC's to worry about. You can safely do it indoors in the winter and even put the item near a heat vent. Just use very thin coats of oil. By thin I mean when you put the item down to dry, you basically can't tell there is oil on it, it all will seem like it's soaked in. Don't leave any heavy residue of oil on it.

Also drying oils such as tung, linseed and the like are where are the horror stories of wadded up rags spontanously combusting come from. So dispose of the used rags properly. (i usually burn them when I'm done, in that way I decide if / when / where they combust)

Lots of sources for Tung oil, but rest assured, you are going to have to buy about 10000x more than you will need for this project. It does keep well if you squeeze the air out of the container or throw in some marbles or something to increase the volume thereby removing the air if the container is non squeeze-able.

[update]
I should add, a varnish type product that would also work well and is available in small qualities is Tru-Oil. It's an oil varnish mix, you apply it much the same way as you would the tung oil, it will build a finish faster, this will offer better water resistance unless you do probably 10 or more coats of the pure tung oil.

Now Tru-oil does contain Linseed oil, but you will not have the mildew problem as I mentioned previously that pure Linseed oil can pose, in this case it's a varnish made with linseed oil, so the end result is a totally different beast.

Tru-Oil Gun Stock Finish

A Tru-Oil finish is weather resistant (this is the term Birchwood Casey uses, not “proof”), looks terrific, is very tough, and can be easily repaired or renewed.

www.fieldandstream.com

 

[Suhrim21]

Thank you for all of that information. It is greatly appreciated.