EJ333
Well-Known Member
My original walnut shift knob is looking dried out. What would you use to condition it with ? A little orange oil ?
Treating Walnut Shift Knob
- Thread starter EJ333
- Start date
Fret Doctor. It's used on vintage guitars with mahogany fretboards. A little goes a long way. I've used it on guitars and my wood shift knob.
http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm
http://www.beafifer.com/boredoctor.htm
loloe13
Well-Known Member
you may get better result by putting back on a Satin Clear coat or Gloss Clear
but, steve, the knob has varnish on top of the wood, how would this penetrate ?
while waitng for steves response, that probably makes things easier, this is my way:
in my case was the varnish the deteriorated part, so i removed the cracked varnish using steel wool first, and then obtain an even colouring using some cherrywood colour dye, let it dry, seal the pore with a very thin layer of sealant, steel wool to smooth surface, and finishing using a suitable wax for wood, this will give you the natural touch of wood without varnish, like what is used in old furniture,
anyway first i would need a picture to assess correctly the case
while waitng for steves response, that probably makes things easier, this is my way:
in my case was the varnish the deteriorated part, so i removed the cracked varnish using steel wool first, and then obtain an even colouring using some cherrywood colour dye, let it dry, seal the pore with a very thin layer of sealant, steel wool to smooth surface, and finishing using a suitable wax for wood, this will give you the natural touch of wood without varnish, like what is used in old furniture,
anyway first i would need a picture to assess correctly the case
please steve do not blame me for this, but the link you gave us for the magic oil leaved me speechless,
i am not saying that it does not work, if steve says it works, i will buy one at once, but...do this guy really need to give such explanations ? including a ridicuolus badly written letter, ha, ha, ha, so funny !
natural chemically developed blend of unknown compounds for a magic oil ? what was that other famous oil called, snake oil ?
first point, it is not him, but his friend the one that deveolped the product, then the explanations are so absurd, the scientifical base of all of it is so ridiculous,...but what surprised me was the image of a micrograph trying to show how deep the product enters into the wood, first, if it is said that the micrograph is showing 30 mm deepth, you will probably need the picture to be xtimes that length, guess that it is really a micro, so at least 1000 times, that makes a 30.000mm picture, simply you can not show a 30mm micrograph !
the second point is that to my naked eye what is shown there has nothing to do with wood micrographs, much more like organic structures following a pattern, see here.
http://www.woodanatomy.ch/species.php?code=LOCA
or thousands of those images if you google: "micrograph of wood"
the micrograph shown resembles much more mineral, inorganic,...probably he got it from internet, should we put a price for the one who founds it in it's real context ?
only a guess, but i had to comment such a funny advert of a probably decent product. :roll:
steve, anyway thank you for showing us the path :wink:
i am not saying that it does not work, if steve says it works, i will buy one at once, but...do this guy really need to give such explanations ? including a ridicuolus badly written letter, ha, ha, ha, so funny !
natural chemically developed blend of unknown compounds for a magic oil ? what was that other famous oil called, snake oil ?
first point, it is not him, but his friend the one that deveolped the product, then the explanations are so absurd, the scientifical base of all of it is so ridiculous,...but what surprised me was the image of a micrograph trying to show how deep the product enters into the wood, first, if it is said that the micrograph is showing 30 mm deepth, you will probably need the picture to be xtimes that length, guess that it is really a micro, so at least 1000 times, that makes a 30.000mm picture, simply you can not show a 30mm micrograph !
the second point is that to my naked eye what is shown there has nothing to do with wood micrographs, much more like organic structures following a pattern, see here.
http://www.woodanatomy.ch/species.php?code=LOCA
or thousands of those images if you google: "micrograph of wood"
the micrograph shown resembles much more mineral, inorganic,...probably he got it from internet, should we put a price for the one who founds it in it's real context ?
only a guess, but i had to comment such a funny advert of a probably decent product. :roll:
steve, anyway thank you for showing us the path :wink:
hmmm yes could be quackery but I've used it for years. Your thorough analysis of the claims are likely correct. I've had the little container for 10 years and haven't used it up so they're not getting rich quickly :razz:
My knob has no varnish so it soaks right in and grime comes out.
Were they originally varnished as to not be pourous?
My knob has no varnish so it soaks right in and grime comes out.
Were they originally varnished as to not be pourous?
I might be an idiot about adhesives (see the thread on dashboard veneering), but I've also got 30 years of useless experience with furniture finishes.
That guitar fingerboard product might work great, but the text and explanations (as DQ said) is nonsense.
There are many ways of getting a nice touchable wood finish, with both natural and synthetic products. But, in every case you will give up some durability.
(1) Spar Varnish: I would never put this on anything other than a canoe oar. Ugly and yucky to touch.
(2) The suggestion to stay with a satin or even a flat finish is right on, IMHO. Any gloss finish feels like plastic to me. There are many varnishes (Alkd and poly) that provide a good balance between durability and touchability. I use Pratt and Lambert H17S, and think it would be a good compromise.
(3) Watco Danish "oil" is actually a thinned out alkyd varnish with some color, that will give walnut a nice rich tone and leave you with the touch of real wood. Because it's thinned out, you don't have to seal the pores of the knob, but drying will take longer because the excess will seep out for a while. I used this on a walnut 2002 center console (custom piece housing a set of VDO gauges) and I thought it worked very well. It would provide less of a surface finish than a 'normal' varnish, but require a little more frequent maintenance (reapplication).
(4) Filler: you usually fill when you want to achieve a completely flat/smooth surface finish. It's not needed to protect the wood, and I'd argue that when you don't fill the pores you get more sense that you're touching wood.
(5) Natural oil's. I've only used boiled linseed and true Tung oil. I'm not sure I'd use either. True tung oil is a pain to apply (slow, but for 1 knob it's not a big deal). I've only used linseed oil on exterior house panels, not furniture.
(6) No matter what finish you end up using, be sure to apply a good was as a last step. This will make a big difference to the look and feel. Rub down with 0000 steel wool, then apply a coat of Trewax (paste), JE Moser's, etc. and polish. Note: this might make the knob too slippery for some people.
That guitar fingerboard product might work great, but the text and explanations (as DQ said) is nonsense.
There are many ways of getting a nice touchable wood finish, with both natural and synthetic products. But, in every case you will give up some durability.
(1) Spar Varnish: I would never put this on anything other than a canoe oar. Ugly and yucky to touch.
(2) The suggestion to stay with a satin or even a flat finish is right on, IMHO. Any gloss finish feels like plastic to me. There are many varnishes (Alkd and poly) that provide a good balance between durability and touchability. I use Pratt and Lambert H17S, and think it would be a good compromise.
(3) Watco Danish "oil" is actually a thinned out alkyd varnish with some color, that will give walnut a nice rich tone and leave you with the touch of real wood. Because it's thinned out, you don't have to seal the pores of the knob, but drying will take longer because the excess will seep out for a while. I used this on a walnut 2002 center console (custom piece housing a set of VDO gauges) and I thought it worked very well. It would provide less of a surface finish than a 'normal' varnish, but require a little more frequent maintenance (reapplication).
(4) Filler: you usually fill when you want to achieve a completely flat/smooth surface finish. It's not needed to protect the wood, and I'd argue that when you don't fill the pores you get more sense that you're touching wood.
(5) Natural oil's. I've only used boiled linseed and true Tung oil. I'm not sure I'd use either. True tung oil is a pain to apply (slow, but for 1 knob it's not a big deal). I've only used linseed oil on exterior house panels, not furniture.
(6) No matter what finish you end up using, be sure to apply a good was as a last step. This will make a big difference to the look and feel. Rub down with 0000 steel wool, then apply a coat of Trewax (paste), JE Moser's, etc. and polish. Note: this might make the knob too slippery for some people.
knob jnob
I agree with bfeng completely...
I would only add that any oil like linseed, or rather any oil that doesn't polymerize (like tung oil does...big fan, but not for cars..) is not that much different than vegetable oil. I was taught that the reason that so many antiques appear to be black, was that the linseed oil finishes attracted so much dust, and dirt; especially candle, wood, and coal soot...Another reason I don't like Armor-all...
Just my .02 cents, however..
DV
I agree with bfeng completely...
I would only add that any oil like linseed, or rather any oil that doesn't polymerize (like tung oil does...big fan, but not for cars..) is not that much different than vegetable oil. I was taught that the reason that so many antiques appear to be black, was that the linseed oil finishes attracted so much dust, and dirt; especially candle, wood, and coal soot...Another reason I don't like Armor-all...
Just my .02 cents, however..
DV