# capt. Eddies finish



## Karda (Nov 19, 2016)

Capt. Eddie recommends a home made finish made of equal parts of white shellac, boiled linseed oil and denatured alcohol. Is it a good finish, and is rubbing alcohol the same as denatured. I flunked chemistry. Thanks Mike


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

I'll let the more expert guys comment on the overall recipe you're talking about. But I can say that rubbing alcohol is not the same as denatured. For one, rubbing alcohol is diluted with water, and two, it's isopropyl alcohol, which I don't believe is the same as the base alcohol for the denatured product - usually ethanol.

All denatured alcohol is is grain alcohol that's been made unfit for consumption so they can sell it outside of a liquor store. In fact, some finishers say that Everclear is a better solvent for shellac flakes due to its purity.


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## Karda (Nov 19, 2016)

ok thanks


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## jacksdvds (Jun 13, 2015)

Eddie's finish also known as French Polish is one of the most valuable finishes there is. If you have a flaw, run or blemish, all you have to do is reapply it locally and it blends in with the dried finish. I used it in school in 1949 on my first lathe project. Your portions are correct. The best finish is several coats then heat it up with higher revs until the final polish comes thru. I love it!


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I used it for about a year. It's okay for decorative items but doesn't seem to hold a shine. I think it's too much oil. Sanding is so easy on the lathe it doesn't save much effort. I tossed it and just use straight shellac or poly.


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## Karda (Nov 19, 2016)

ok how about mineral oil and bees wax, I need something for food and also I am not a fan of real shiny


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

That would be my choice for food. They say that all finishes are food safe when cured but … I'm a little skeptical still.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> That would be my choice for food. They say that all finishes are food safe when cured but … I m a little skeptical still.
> 
> - Rick M


There's more bad "stuff" in the food you buy @ the grocery store than in a fully cured finish…....just saying.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

> There s more bad "stuff" in the food you buy @ the grocery store than in a fully cured finish…....just saying.
> - AlaskaGuy


And you believe that why?


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## Karda (Nov 19, 2016)

because its true, I know processed food can be pretty nasty but I don't want to add to iti i would rather use a safe finish if i could.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> There s more bad "stuff" in the food you buy @ the grocery store than in a fully cured finish…....just saying.
> - AlaskaGuy
> 
> And you believe that why?
> ...


Because I can read, and my doctor is always telling me there's bad "stuff" in the foods I like. The FDA tell us there's bad "stuff" in our food. I'd rather eat off a varnished table than drink the water in Flint. 
I'd venture to say food is killing way more people the a cured finish ever did. Why do you ask?


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Bob Flexner and some of the other well respected finisher are total A$$---. They all been lying to us for years and years. Who would have thunk?


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

The 23 worst food additives in America. There are many more. These are just the worst.

http://www.eatthis.com/worst-food-additives

Lol, pass the cured varnish please.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Processed food? It is ALL processed. That's why they call 'em grocery stores. If it weren't for processed meats, we'd be eating the animal while its alive. Very noisy and messy.
Bill


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

50 Things Nutritionists Never Eat - So You Shouldn't Either

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/50-things-nutritionists-never-eat-%e2%80%94-so-you-shouldn%e2%80%99t-either/ss-BBA6cm1?li=BBnb7Kz#image=3

This must not be a complete list, they missed cured varnish.


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## LeeMills (Nov 2, 2014)

On most of my items I give a couple of coats of thinned shellac (1 pt. shellac and 2 pts. DNA).
It will soak into the wood and then I burnish with 0000 to a low luster. No finish left on the surface to peel off.
I've tried mineral oil and did not like it but I would use walnut oil or bees wax.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

So basically you took a furniture refinishers word for it. Flexner refinishes antique furniture, he is not remotely qualified to speak about food safety. 


> Bob Flexner and some of the other well respected finisher are total A$$---. They all been lying to us for years and years. Who would have thunk?
> 
> - AlaskaGuy


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> So basically you took a furniture refinishers word for it. Flexner refinishes antique furniture, he is not remotely qualified to speak about food safety.
> 
> Bob Flexner and some of the other well respected finisher are total A$$---. They all been lying to us for years and years. Who would have thunk?
> 
> ...


So tell me Rick M, who's word are you taking that it's unsafe and why do they clam that?


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/finishing/articles_497a.shtml


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> So tell me Rick M, who s word are you taking that it s unsafe and why do they clam that?
> 
> - AlaskaGuy


I think we're talking about two different things here. A fully cured finish like urethane or shellac is perfectly safe to place food on. I just don't think you'd want to eat the finish any more than you'd want to eat slices of a plastic cutting board.

It's come up on here multiple times: Someone builds a cutting board and uses GF Salad Bowl Finish, then writes a post about why it looks like crap after use. It's because it's a hardening urethane finish that is intended to be food safe for bowls, etc. It's not intended to be used on a cutting surface because of the fact that it does harden, and then is chipped away by the knife. It even states on the GF web site that it is not intended for use on a cutting surface - that only an approved chopping block oil should be used on that.

So, AG is right that's it's a perfectly safe surface for food, once cured, and I agree with Rick that, while it may not poison you, I wouldn't want to be ingesting chips of it.


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## Karda (Nov 19, 2016)

thanks for your input, My concern is deterioration of the finish, but if it soaks in it won't deteriorate,


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

> So tell me Rick M, who s word are you taking that it s unsafe and why do they clam that?
> - AlaskaGuy


I didn't say it was unsafe. I don't form opinions unless there is something of substance on which to form an opinion. Flexner may be right, or he may be wrong. I am not taking anyone's word, but if I did, it would be someone qualified to give it. In the meantime I am skeptical. I'm not telling you not to do it, I'm saying I don't want to do it.



> http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/finishing/articles_497a.shtml
> - AlaskaGuy


I want to make clear that I'm not saying that all finishes are food safe-we can't be absolutely sure about the safety of any curing finish. I'm saying that there is no evidence of any common wood finish being unsafe for food or mouth contact once it has fully cured, so a distinction between food-safe and non-food-safe is speculative. - Bob Flexner

Flexner is using lack of evidence as evidence. It's a logical fallacy called argument from ignorance. So before anyone's knees go hyperactive, I'm not calling Flexner ignorant, the phrase is translated from Latin.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

OK Rick I'm done, this whole thing has gone why pasted common sense. Your right I am wrong.

It just a damn wonder any of us old time has survived this long.

Rick, don't forget to put your helmet on before you go to bed tonight. you just never know when you might fall out of bed.


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

Tenuis album.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

^^^^^ 



> Your right I am wrong.
> - AlaskaGuy


I don't know that you're wrong. You're trying to have an argument that neither of us are equipped to have. I don't go around forming opinions them looking for evidence to support them. I look for the evidence first. And I doubt almost everything until proven otherwise. No one on this planet is beyond question, everyone makes mistakes and everyone lies. As for old folks living, dying isn't the scary part.


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