Should I document my kit builds here?

[Markshan]

I'm really pleased with what the grain filler did. I think this finish is going to really pop once I put the green over it. I took the bulk of the filler off with 220 and then went around again with 400. Tonight is band practice so probably tomorrow night I'll sit with a piece of 400 and work the corners a little more and the insides of the horns. Then maybe I'll give one more sanding job with some 600. On Friday, payday, I'll order the green and neutral leather dyes.

DURATION: 2 1/2 hours

 

[Beej]

That's looking great

Just a word to the wise, 600 may be too fine and you could end up burnishing the surface which could impact how well the finish holds. Even 400 is pushing it IME, I tend to max out at 320 in most circumstances.

 

[Markshan]

Less stuff to buy.

If I wet the surface to try to raise the grain before another 400, do I risk washing/wiping the filler out of the pores?

 

[Markshan]

That's looking great

Yeah, looking at the pictures one could almost reach the erroneous conclusion that I know what I am doing, lol.

 

[Beej]

Good question, sounds possible... might you have a scrap of something with an open grain you could test it on? Walnut, oak, etc.

 

[Markshan]

I did some more hand sanding this evening and now every bit of the surface feels smooth and even slightly waxy (for lack of a better way to describe it). I'm not going to bother trying to raise the grain. I think it's good where it is. Plus the leather dye is alcohol based so I don't think it should raise the grain much of at all. When I order the dye I'll also get some tack cloth.

 

[Markshan]

Do we like this color? This is 50/50 Angelo's green and neutral. I can't decide if I like it or if I should mix it a little darker for the second coat tomorrow.

The second coat should darken it a bit as well as evening it up, right? I've never worked with leather dye before.

DURATION: 30 minutes

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I’d probably want a little darker for something I was going to keep for me but that shade of green is quite good as is. Whatever clear you apply will also darken the color, some more then others. That may make it just right.

 

[Markshan]

I’d probably want a little darker for something I was going to keep for me but that shade of green is quite good as is. Whatever clear you apply will also darken the color, some more then others. That may make it just right.

I didn't even consider that. My plan is pure tung oil. A coat a week for six weeks. Have you ever worked with it? Do you think that will darken it much?

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I didn't even consider that. My plan is pure tung oil. A coat a week for six weeks. Have you ever worked with it? Do you think that will darken it much?

Not Tung oil specifically. I know TruOil will will darken and amber whatever is under it. It’s a kit so you don’t have any scrap? Maybe try some Tung oil in the neck or pickup route.

 

[rickwrench]

My plan is pure tung oil.

It will be well worth it to spend some time experimenting with a chunk of hardwood scrap, first. Several coats worth.

If you haven't -successfully- worked with the exact brand/type of "pure tung oil" you have, do not experiment on your project. It could end up perfect, or, it could also end up as a gummy ruined mess.
Tung oil, whatever flavor, needs to be fully cured/polymerized before the next coat. Cure time between coats depends heavily on temp, humidity, and air flow (and brand). If it still smells, it isn't cured. If it doesn't smell, and feels completely dry... wait another 3 days.

The "Tung Oil" designation literally means nothing. Has it been heated, partially polymerized, drying aids added? Further: Is there actually any tung oil in it? Nobody knows, and it isn't listed as hazardous, so you can't pull up a MSDS to see what is actually in whatever product you are using.

 

[Markshan]

It will be well worth it to spend some time experimenting with a chunk of hardwood scrap, first. Several coats worth.

If you haven't -successfully- worked with the exact brand/type of "pure tung oil" you have, do not experiment on your project. It could end up perfect, or, it could also end up as a gummy ruined mess.
Tung oil, whatever flavor, needs to be fully cured/polymerized before the next coat. Cure time between coats depends heavily on temp, humidity, and air flow (and brand). If it still smells, it isn't cured. If it doesn't smell, and feels completely dry... wait another 3 days.

The "Tung Oil" designation literally means nothing. Has it been heated, partially polymerized, drying aids added? Further: Is there actually any tung oil in it? Nobody knows, and it isn't listed as hazardous, so you can't pull up a MSDS to see what is actually in whatever product you are using.

Thanks. I've done some reading on the "Tung Oil" controversies and unless these people are complete liars (a possibility for sure) this is just oil. I'm also somewhat optimistic because this came in a sealed plastic jug that had all of the air squeezed out of it. That seems like a weird extra step to take just to trick someone. Anyway, it's this stuff...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0C6JSM9VS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I also have been dissuaded from the common practice of "pouring" the first coat. I will be doing thin coats at each step. I planned once a week but I like your method of dry plus three days because that accounts for local atmospheric conditions. So I will alter my plan to no quicker than once a week but check the material on day four. Thanks for the great advice. It is appreciated.

 

[Markshan]

So I just got in from a long call night at work. This morning before I left I took a couple more pictures of the first coat because there were certain spots where the dye didn't really cover.

Then I put the second coat on, mixed about 60/40 and went to work. So I just took pictures of it now. Hopefully it's completely dry and I don't get up in the morning to bare spots again like I did yesterday. I am pretty happy with the color now I feel good about it.

 

[Beej]

@Markshan Where are you located?

I spent some time looking at that Olasir brand, and there's not a lot out there on it that I could find. Curious how you found it and where.

 

[Markshan]

@Markshan Where are you located?

I spent some time looking at that Olasir brand, and there's not a lot out there on it that I could find. Curious how you found it and where.

I am in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and I got it on Amazon. Where are you? I did a search for tung oil . I filtered the search by products that were prime eligible and rated over four stars. That one had only one negative review and that review was that it was too much money. In particular there was a review from one guy who seemed to know what he was talking about. He said it was non-polymerized, which the jar doesn't say either way, but he seem to know what he was talking about and settled on it as the good brand to get from Amazon.

 

[Luke Kephart]

I think it looks great, regardless of the cat's opinion.

 

[Markshan]

@Beej @rickwrench I just put on the first coat and I'm letting it sit for a few minutes before I go wipe it off. Just like everyone else I can't say exactly what's in it. I'm not a scientist. However, what I will say is that I am very sensitive to chemical smells. I wretch when I open a bottle of acetone. I put on a glove before I pump gas into my car because I don't even want the smell left on the handle to be on my skin. This product has almost no smell. The smell that is there smells more like the vegetable oil that I cook with than it does any finishing product that I've ever used before. In fact, I would actually say that canola oil smells stronger than this.

 

[Beej]

That sounds like pure tung oil. It has very little scent as I recall from my pre-covid-loss-of-sense-of-smell days.

A reliable brand of pure tung oil is Lee Valley's "Pure Tung Oil" - it's the real deal, but if what you have is also seeming solid, then by all means go for it. I was asking about your location because it's not indicated in your profile, and we have people from all around the world on this site - I didn't want to recommend Lee Valley if you were in western Indonesia.

 

[Markshan]

That sounds like pure tung oil. It has very little scent as I recall from my pre-covid-loss-of-sense-of-smell days.

A reliable brand of pure tung oil is Lee Valley's "Pure Tung Oil" - it's the real deal, but if what you have is also seeming solid, then by all means go for it. I was asking about your location because it's not indicated in your profile, and we have people from all around the world on this site - I didn't want to recommend Lee Valley if you were in western Indonesia.

I updated my profile a little bit. Sorry to hear about your covid loss of smell. That's a real drag.

 

[Markshan]

Here we are with the first coat of tung oil, applied 24 hours before these pictures were taken. It's dry to the touch for the most part but there were a couple spots that weeped just slightly. I don't know if it will show in the pictures or not but even the first coat added a lot of depth to the look of the grain. I can't wait to see what it looks like a few coats down the road.