[TheForge] Help! finish problem

Thu Feb 7 16:51:11 2002

Hi Bruce,

The piece is a floor lamp, and I warmed my piece with a torch and the
formula just in the sun.  I'm in southern california so its pretty dry here
and mild in the day. My "shop" is my backyard, under a carport tent.

I used 2 cups of linseed, 1 cup of turpentine, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of
beeswax and 3 tablespoons of drier.  I figured from the recipes I've seen
that would be right.  Before I use it again I'll add more drier.

Since my post yesterday it is drying but still has tacky spots.  I may have
applied too much.  Someone suggested light coats 2 or three days apart which
I will try next time. I am showing my work at a gallery on Monday and I just
hope it will be dry by then.

I also like the vegetable oil in the oven and use that for anything that
will fit.

I appreciate your feedback.

Mata

on 2/7/02 6:03 AM, Bruce Freeman at [email protected] wrote:

> Mata, 
> You don't say what the piece is.  I HOPE it's not an eating utensil, because
> Japan drier is toxic.  The Japan drier should have done the trick.
> 
> You don't really give us your formula.  "Parts" vs. "tablespoons" is not
> definitive.  Assuming the "parts" were big compared to tablespoons, the
> formula looks okay, but maybe a little too thin.  Terpentine sould evaporate
> away, eventually, so the problem may take care of itself.
> 
> The other question is what kind of finish were you expecting?  If you have a
> piece of black iron from the forge and want a nice black finish on it, I
> always recommend wiping with ordinary polyunsaturated cooking oil (very thin
> layer) and baking in an oven at 400 F for an hour.  The result is lovely and
> non-toxic.  On white metal, this finish will be a fairly unsightly dark brown.
> 
> The heating step will work with linseed oil too, but keep japan drier and
> commercial "boiled" linseed oil (it's NOT boiled, it contains Japan drier) OUT
> of your home oven.  Turpentine in an oven would be hazardous.  I'd suggest
> gentle warming with a propane torch.  (400 F is NOT very hot from a
> blacksmith's perspective.)
> 
> Bruce
> NJ
> 
>>>> mata iaia <[email protected]> 02/06/02 04:39PM >>>
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I made a finish from a recipe of 2 parts linseed, 1 part turpintine, 3
> tablespoons japan drier, and about 4 tablespoons of beeswax.
> 
> My problem is that my piece is still really tacky in some places and oily in
> others.  It has been approximately 24 hours.  Did I get the recipe wrong or
> will it just take much longer to dry?  What can do if it stays sticky to
> make it dry out or thin out??
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mata
> 
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