# Top finish for my curly maple box



## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

I'm basically a newbie at woodworking. I've done little bits here and there, but this is the first time I gotten "serious" about it. And this is my first time working with curly maple. I was surprised, and quite happy at the results so far.


















Finishing so far has been Dark Vintage Maple trantint diluted with water. Applied lots of the mixture to the wood, and then let dry and then sanded down to 320 grit.

Applied one coat Sealcoat dewaxed shellac, mixed 50/50 with denatured alcohol. Applied one more coat of Sealcoat at full strength.

That's it, so far. I'm now trying to decide what I should do for the final finish. 
Should I just use some normal blonde shellac, or maybe using Deft gloss clear wood finish?

I have a small sprayer I just bought, but was thinking about just using something from a spray can for now to make it easier.

This box will be one of a two piece audio tube amp. There will be one tube in here, it will get a little warm inside but should not get too hot. I'm putting a metal screen over the top and will have vent holes in the bottom.

Randy


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

First of all, good work on the box. Deft wood finish would be a good choice, or you could simply keep applying the sealcoat until you're happy with the finish. The only downside to using the sealcoat is that it's thinner than the premixed orange or blonde shellac that you buy in the store. In this case, you can compensate by applying a few more coats.


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## ClintSearl (Dec 8, 2011)

Rattlecan lacquer. NOTHING else is required.


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

One issue I am having with the sealcoat is that I am not getting a real smooth finish. I'm using a paper towel to apply it, and I'm probably getting dust from the paper towel in the shellac. For now, I smoothed it out with 000 steel wool.

I guess I could make a test piece from a scrap piece, and try the deft over the seal coat and see how it looks.
I already bought some deft, so maybe I'll try that first.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

Randy,

A light scuff sand with some 800 to 1200 paper to smooth and slick , and a couple of coats of DEFT .. and it will be superb.


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

OK, thanks the the replies and advice. Deft it is.

My next step is actually to hopefully to add dovetail miter keys to the corners, probably a couple in each corner to add strength and I like the way they look.

After that, another coat or two of shellac so everything looks consistent and I'll try a couple coats of Deft and see what happens.

Randy


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I would use some t shirt materiel rather than the paper towels to rub on more shellac. Sand with 320-400 grit lightly before rubbing on more shellac.


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

One person told me that Deft darkened considerably after a few years. I don't know if that is true or not, but you might want to research further. FWIW


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

So it turns out that there are two kinds of Deft "Clear Wood Finish"

One type is a nitro cell lacquer. I think this would yellow over time.

Other type is a waterborne acrylic, which is the one I have at this time.
I wouldn't think an acrylic would darken over time, but I could be wrong about it.

So is the waterborne Deft OK?

Another factor is I live in Los Angeles, and have to deal with low VOC laws. There are finishes I would like to use that I can't, they can't sell or ship them to LA.

I also read some finishes have been reformulated for low VOC, I saw that finishes people used to like were not as good after the new version came out.

So waterborne Deft, or is there something better I could use?
Since this is a small box, I don't mind buying something else, as long as it's sold in quart sizes.

Randy


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Waterbornes do not darken/turn yellow over time. If that is the deciding factor, it will work fine. It's a little more durable than the lacquer as well. I want to also mention what a nice job you did getting that grain to show, well done! Be aware, the wood itself may change color over time and there's not really much you can do about that.


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

Any disadvantages to water based acrylics?

I remember seeing a wood whisperer's video spraying it, and I thought water based didn't look as nice as normal lacquer for bringing out the grain, but I used shellac for that purpose.

BTW, I am going to sacrifice an old T for the final shellac layer, after I finish the corners of my box, and will use some fine grit sandpaper after to make it smooth, and see how that works out.

Thanks to all who have replied and helped me out.

Randy


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

All clear waterborne finishes are acrylics, even when they call themselves something else. "Polyurethane" is the most common mislabeling, but some call themselves "lacquer". For one reason or another (thank you, Norm) woodworkers flock to a finish called "poly". Noticing this, manufacturer's started adding a small amount of urethane resins to their waterborne finishes, and then labeling them "polyurethane". No more misleading than labeling something "Tung Oil" when it doesn't have a drop I guess, but the point is that the waterbornes are primarily an acrylic finish and they share a common chemistry.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

Having used Deft for about 40 years .. I have not noted any significant yellowing as compared to other nitro lacquers .

Randy you want the "clear wood finish", its a nitro solvent lacquer , not water base .

Fred is totally correct .. most of the Waterbases are Acrylics .. Some of the Modified oil water base products are exceptions, but Acrylic is the dominate resin. There is more hype and mis-information surrounding finishing products … You would think it was government run. Unbelieveable .


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

Charles,
So you are talking about this stuff
http://www.deftfinishes.com/trade/products/lacquer-topcoat-sealer/clear-wood-finish-brushing-lacquer Nitro Lacquer

My local HD only carries the water based stuff, will need to see if I can find the nitro lacquer around here.
Looks like I need to find the blue can, water based is in a green can.

Randy


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

Well I can't find Deft lacquer at HD or Lowes or the HW store close to my work.
Will try OSH and an Ace on the way home.

Deft started in LA, so why can't I find their lacquer?

Seems strange the I might have to resort to mail order to get it.

Randy


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Lacquer is very hazardous, and the green police may be why you can't get it. The hazardous part may well keep you from getting it on line as well. Shipping could be a real problem.


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## CharlesNeil (Oct 21, 2007)

Its a long story.. See if you have a "do it best " hardware store , they have it, or can get it for you. I also saw where WAl- Mart had it in rattle cans, havent confirmed that … Do it best, I just got 8 gallon and 12 rattle cans..

Ace Hardware used to carry it, some still have it, but I dont think its a long term thing .

Its a situation where PPG who bought Deft, had a little different "dealer" program, and alot of the dealers, Lowes, Woodcraft to name a few, didn't make the cut, about all I know .


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

I do have some do it best stores around, the one I went to at lunchtime is one, but they don't do the ship to store thing. There is another one I go to that does, so I may do that if I can't find it anywhere else.

Still plan to check out a couple stores on my way home tonight.

And there are many finishes I can't get in LA now, but I think Deft Lacquer is still OK. Since Deft is in so cal, they must know the so cal rules, so they could have formulated their stuff accordingly.

Randy


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

Found it in the 3rd HW store I visited. The 2nd one, a True Hardware had it in semi gloss spray can.
Osh had it in gloss, spray can, so I bought it there.
They didn't have it cans, so if I want a can I will need to order through do it best.

Randy


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

Wanted to post an update on my project.

I added dovetail keys, and that was a learning experience, messed up some finish cutting the first key, so after that I rough cut the keys, and sanded them down to fit.

So, I resanded the entire outside, and then dyed and shellaced the box again.

Yesterday, I applied Deft gloss lacquer from the spray can. I applied 4 thin coats, letting it dry for at least 30 mins in between, and sanding with 600 grit sandpaper in between coats.

It looks nice now, and is pretty smooth, but I will probably add a couple coats to try to get the glass smooth finish. I also have a couple lines from not sanding the shellac down enough I think. They are only noticeable on close inspection, but I plan to sand down, and re-lacquer the top of the box to fix those lines as they are more noticeable than the others.










I am happy with the results, especially for my first "real" woodworking project.

Randy


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## TRHeath (Jan 20, 2014)

This is a jewelry box lid I made for my daughter. I had seen some work done with dyes on figured wood so I thought i would give it a try. This is the color she chose. It's actually just RIT fabric dye. You can buy transtint dyes but they're about $20 a bottle. The rit works fine but you have to heat it up for it to soak in. The clear coat is just a spray on semigloss urethane. The other picture is the finished boxes. Aquamarine for my daughter and purple for my niece. I got lucky on the wood. It's not "true" curly maple but has decent curl. I picked through every piece of Maple that a Menard's had and found one piece and lucked out at Home Depot and found another that slipped through grading. From what I can see of your box, it's beautiful work.


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## TRHeath (Jan 20, 2014)

Those dovetail keys are really nice


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## RandyTsuch (Nov 1, 2013)

You found that wood at HD and Menards? Good stuff for big box wood.

I bought my wood from an internet supplier, so it wasn't cheap, but at least it looks nice enough.

I used transtint vintage maple dye. It's diluted way down, so that little bottle will last a long long time.

Thanks for the compliments. Wood was a little warped, so box is not square, and there are gaps in the corners that I didn't show in the pictures. And the dovetail keys did take some work, but I'm happy that they turned out OK.

Randy


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