Another newbie question: Lacquering blades?

Bob,
I am proclaiming myself an semi-expert at sealing and lacquering, although there may be other techniques that may be almost as effective as mine. :-).

VARATHANE DIAMOND INTERIOR WOOD FINISH-SATIN (not gloss)-#2002-61.

*Prepare blade first. If you have to lightly sand, do it carefully with a fine gauge sponge sanding block-DRY. If you wet-sand a bare wood blade it might sofen the wood and could disform it. Do not round off blade edges. Use rubbing alcohol to clean. Let dry (a few minutes). Now you're ready . . .

1. Stir Can well without shaking (causes air bubbles).
2. Dip the corner (twisted or folded up a little) of clean, dry cotton cloth* and quickly rub the sealer into the blade and with a technique that covers evenly. I go in circles starting at the center of the face of the blade and work my way to the outter edges, then wipe along the side edge (perimeter) of the blade where the edge tape will go, then quickly return to the face of the blade to wipe off any spill over from the edge sealing with some light vertical strokes from handle out over top of blade. You might want to stroke a nice even level line across the top of the handle where the bottom edge of the rubber will go; however, I think it looks better and strenthens the blade to seal the wings/shoulder. Some prefer to use a sponge or china bristle brush when applying, but that leaves a heavy coat and/or streaks of sealant. THAT IS NO GOOD. The trick is to rub the sealant INTO the blade, then gently wipe off the excess with the cloth. Some use a good quality paper towel. Basically, use whatever is clean and doesn't leave link or fuzz stuck in the wet sealant.
3. Wait two hours, then polish with a clean dry cloth.
4. Repeat.
5. Repeat a third or forth time ONLY if the blade is like bare porous wood or if you want a stiffer lacquered effect (I have over sealed and made a mess. My blade looked like an over protected night table . . . hard as a rock and too thick). Luckily, I managed to fix this by sanding with a fine gauge wet sanding sponge and it took hours to repair my disaster. But only do this if you mess up, which you shouldn't. However, I should mention many of the Chinese players are over-sealing to stiffen the blade. Some call over-sealing "lacquering." There are also other product and techniques specifically designed for lacquering, but I recommend using Varathane and adjusting the number of layers.
6. Wait 24-hours.
7. Affix your rubbers! I use glue sheets and NEVER get splinters when removing!!!!!!

*Use a cotton cloth or an expensive paper towel like Bounty that will not leave lint of fall apart and get stuck to your wet sealer. I use an old pair of 100% cotton boxer shorts. :-).

I don't remember who turned me on to this Sealer, but it was on this site. My hats off to him/her. I added the boxer shorts.

TRUST tommy,

If they have the power to transform my wifes attitude about my EJ issue ITS WORTH ANY TRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

word to Mr. Zai! BTW if you want to use something lint free, use a paper towel.
-Dip it in the can using the paper towel
-wipe it on evenly.
-wait 1min
-wipe it off
-leave it on a warm place for 24 hours (depeding on the varnish or lacquer you're using).
 

loopy wrote: ONLY expensive paper towels are lint free. BE CAREFUL, you dont want fuzz on your blade. Doubt it would make that much difference unless you want to sell the blade. As a plumber, I only use the "Shop Towel" blue type.

those are not lint free,lol.... I just use kitchen paper towels, they "seem" lint free.

I know tommies boxers are lint free. I've seen them. They did have some funny coloring though. Could have been the VARATHANE.

Scott + Bounty Paper Towels are almost lint-free, but my boxers are better!

20070908_213152_Varathane+Boxer.gif

a light varnish and your good. too much of a smooth re-surfacing of the blade face can make you use a lot of glue. the same as using too much of any type of wood treatment.

so whatever you use i would suggest moderation