Wood Finish 1. Polish

Deciding what wood finish to use can be a bit of a minefield. There are a lot of different things to take into consideration. The wood finish that brings out the figuring, refraction of the light, etc. best is a polish but this tends to be quite shiny which isn’t to everyone’s taste. It is also not very waterproof or very tough. However, if it is scratched it is easy to re-polish. Varnish is the toughest wood finish which is why it is used for yachts but this is a coating on the surface of the wood rather than going into it and if it gets scratched the whole finish needs to be removed and redone. Oil is the wood finish which penetrates best but it is not tough and doesn’t necessarily show off the wood to its best advantage.

After experimenting with various wood finishes when I first started wood working I ended up using a hard wax/oil which seals the wood well. I would then polish with a couple of coats of wax polish. My reasoning was that I had not found another wood finish which highlight the subtle colours in the wood or showed off where the cross grain or crotch wood made the wood shimmer like satin. I also felt that wax polish was the most likely thing that people buying my work would have in their cupboard if they scratched the piece or just wanted to re-polish it.

I know now that I can get pure beeswax from a neighbour who keeps bees and makes candles from the wax. I would love to use a wood finish that is as local and natural as this. If the turning is smooth and round it is possible to hold a stick of beeswax against the turning as it is spinning and the friction melts the wax onto the wood. It then just needs buffing up. This is the theory. Of course, in practice it is not quite so easy as the wax can lump in some places! Much of my ornamental work is natural edged, burr or has holes and knots. This method of finishing is unsuitable for these as the wax will definitely not go on smooth so making a beeswax polish is the answer. I will experiment and report again.