No disrespect to others, but I have learned a lot from CPD's posts and would definitely try those ideas out. Gettig curious myself, wondering how a CA glue finish will hold up in a kitchen environment....
Stefan
Thanks, Stefan. (Speaking of past posts - but without hijacking here - been experimenting with hide glue for handles. Have a test run planned later this week..will let you know the result)
Back to this - As for durability of CA - it's sturdy. The stuff dries to a brittle hard finish. While it can chip if you drop something, it's also pretty easy to repair. Just add more and re-polish
The biggest trick to using it is to make sure you buy a thin variety (it usually comes in different gel thicknesses for gap filling) and build up coats slowly so you don't get too much of a mess.
Sand between coats to level as needed and then, you can polish it to high gloss with mineral oil as a lubricant to wet sand.
Pen turners use CA quite a bit this way to impressive results. In their case, they can apply it on a lathe to a spinning project which takes away some of the challenge of applying such a fast drying finish. Personally - I tend to avoid the stuff but that's only because the dust is a nasty irritant both to breathe and to skin ... if I'm not super careful with some exotic woods, or CA glue, my eyelids will itch for days.
Back to the original post questions - I'd likely follow a schedule similar to Mikey's. My variation would be few changes, but that's just a matter of my style of working.... no criticisms to his approach, just the opposite, would add a +1 to it (and thanks for taking the time to write it out) My variations:
Grain filling with shellac is always a good step. I often don't bother on super dense woods like ironwood, but on the other hand, base-coating with shellac will not only help grain fill, it will also seal in some of the natural oil, and it can add an increase in shine. I'd use a blonde or super-blonde higher grade shellac at a 2lb cut. Premium shellacs are expensive than something like bullseye but they do help more depth and sheen to a finish. The effect would be pronounced on something with strong contrasting figure like curly maple...and lighter woods....probably not so much on ironwood. Keep in mind, the shellac will add some golden coloring.
If I'm going for a glossier finish, i'll do two coats of shellac, sometimes three. Sanding to barewood with 220 between the first coats...then sanding to 300-400 between second and third, if two coats.
(shellac by itself can build to incredible piano finish shines but it's not a fan of heat and can melt so only light coatings for sealing and sheen are best for kitchen stuff, in my opinion)
Unlike Mikey, I don't sand to high grit before applying the first coat of a long-oil finish. I've never found it worth the effort relative to result... I wipe on a thinned coat after sanding to 400 max...let dry and then add one or two coats at lesser dilution. After that, I'll build up more coats as needed - exact amount depending on the project - before polishing. Sanding between coats is not really needed with the oils I use other than to knock down any areas that got uneven..or catch anything that got stuck in the finish.
most oil finishes will darken things up some and add a little amber tone. If you want to keep a really clear finish, it's better to use a spray lacquer after the shellac. A few companies sell spray cans for guitar finishes that will work great. These finishes will also "build and leave a nice durable shine.
