At the request of the cyber pal of mine (Tony) I hunted around the shop for piece of birch that I could stain to see how well the color/blotch control would work.
Birch is notorious for not taking stains well and for having very difficult grain pattern that can swing north to south in just a few inches along the board surface. As luck would have it I did have a piece of Spalted birch that was well beyond its useful life wormholes and soft patches.
This should not work at all – right?
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I sanded one side down with 80 grit paper and applied 2 coats of blotch control with a two-hour dry between each.
I rubbed out both coats with a fine 3m type pad to remove the “nub”
Out of curiosity, I hand sprayed one side with a small touch up sprayer and hand wiped the dye stain on the other half with a webril wipe.
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This next shot just shows both sides of the wood after drying for a couple hours.
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The artifacts you can see on this picture on the top left hand area the five white spots are from the lacquer spill I did from clearing off the bench for another project. This wood is highly figured but despite that and the softness of the Spalted areas evidence of blotching is virtually nonexistent.
Nice Product Charles.! You should be very proud.
Somebody’s going to ask where to get is so I am leaving the website here and hoping this does not break any rules.
This gal will get you set up with more info and or help you with a purchase.
sherri@charlesneilwoodworking.com
To put an end to this blog for the time being I wanted to share a photo with you all that shows haw the colour is affected after the finish has bee applied.
The center of the picture has blotch control and stain only.
The top part is blotch control and nitrocellulose lacquer.
The bottom is blotch control and General Finishes Poly Urethane satin.
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-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
9 comments so far
a1Jim
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86927 posts in 1742 days
#1 posted 1105 days ago
Hey Bob
I got my blotch control an I’m about to do a test also. I know If Charles made it has to be great.
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
Bob #2
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3808 posts in 2187 days
#2 posted 1105 days ago
I’m pretty sure Jim that you are going to really be impressed.
It’s not a miracle but for many of us it’s giant step up the finishing ladder.
Let us know you impressions Jim.
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Tony
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974 posts in 2195 days
#3 posted 1105 days ago
Above and beyond the call! Thanks very much Bob, you confirmed my suspicions – it would work on difficult birch – I especially like the fact that the grain/spalting is clearly showing through finish – this is lost with so many other treatments.
Just waiting for my order to be shipped – I can’t wait to use this. It is going to open up a whole new world for me in finishing. The customer might even get what they want for a change :)
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
Bob #2
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3808 posts in 2187 days
#4 posted 1104 days ago
Glad to help Tony.
You could easily get a dozen of more guys on this product without raiseing too much fuss with the regulators ove there.
It would sure cut down your shipping costs.
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Tony
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974 posts in 2195 days
#5 posted 1104 days ago
I doubt if I could get anybody to sign up for this at the moment – they are a little slow on new things and normally have to be shown the way. But thanks again for your efforts.
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
Tony
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974 posts in 2195 days
#6 posted 1103 days ago
Just a quick update, after a little tooing and frowing and a lot of help from Sherri, we finally managed to get a carrier at a reasonable cost – Good old, reliable USPS. Any how, 7 cans are now whisking there way to me – we will see how well it works on our nasty Birch, but I am confident it is going to change the way I work with this material.
Thanks again Bob for posting the initial link, notifying us LJs of the product and the subsequent testing you did for me.
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
Bob #2
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3808 posts in 2187 days
#7 posted 1103 days ago
Happy to help Tony.
I look forward to your comments when you try this formula.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Bob #2
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3808 posts in 2187 days
#8 posted 1103 days ago
A1 Jim.
Have you had a chance to try it yet?
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Kristoffer
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617 posts in 1381 days
#9 posted 1100 days ago
is it just me, or does this seem like it would be a great product for somebody just getting into finishing? I haven’t done a lot of staining or dying, but I have had a couple of problems on a few pieces. I followed all of the directions using other products and still had issues.
Charles’ blotch control really seems like it eliminate a lot of my learning curves. Right or wrong?
-- Cheers and God Bless
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