Barrette stick finishing

[UKRay]

A week or so ago someone was asking about barrette sticks and it started me thinking about ways to improve the look of my products. Like most folk I take a bit of dowelling, sharpen one end and stain it a darker colour - that is pretty much it. Now the bad news: I just had a play with some finished sticks and found that the dye I use comes off on my hands... not good.

I need to find a way to seal the sticks so this doesn't happen again. Anyone got any good ideas on this - remember I'm generally doing these in batches of 100+ at a time so the process needs to be pretty quick. I dip the sticks to colour them - is there a finish that can be applied in the same way? What about a wax finish of some kind? What about leather finishes, anyone tried them on wood?

Your contributions gratefully received.

Ray

edited due to my inability to spell...

Edited September 17, 2009 by UKRay

[terrahyd]

A week or so ago someone was asking about barrette sticks and it started me thinking about ways to improve the look of my products. Like most folk I take a bit of dowelling, sharpen one end and stain it a darker colour - that is pretty much it. Now the bad news: I just had a play with some finished sticks and found that the dye I use comes off on my hands... not good.

I need to find a way to seal the sticks so this doesn't happen again. Anyone got any good ideas on this - remember I'm generally doing these in batches of 100+ at a time so the process needs to be pretty quick. I dip the sticks to colour them - is there a finish that can be applied in the same way? What about a wax finish of some kind? What about leather finishes, anyone tried them on wood?

Your contributions gratefully received.

Ray

edited due to my inability to spell...

I use a plastic spray on my buckles [VAR A THANE] this stuff is tuff I have work 10yrs old and no problems . this is a wood finish could work for you ? lol

[UKRay]

I use a plastic spray on my buckles [VAR A THANE] this stuff is tuff I have work 10yrs old and no problems . this is a wood finish could work for you ? lol

That Rust-Oleum stuff is good but I can't get it here in the UK - nice idea though, Terrahyd, thanks. I'll definitely look out for something similar.

Meanwhile, any other thoughts?

Ray

[howardb]

Ray,

Minwax (not sure of UK brand) makes pre-colored urethane finishes. That would be perfect and should be relatively quicky drying if you did a quick wipe on & set it on a cookie rack to dry. i would suggest getting your own cookie racks so the cook doesn't take a rolling pin to your noggin.

Brent

[AZ09]

Hi Ray,

For sealing my small wood projects and my plaster casts, I like the "poly thane" type spray finishes such as Min Wax brand or the generic brands. After I stain my woodworking I always rub them down with a cotton cloth when they dry which tends to help reduce the "rub off" effect Then I coat with a "poly thane". Min Wax brand also provides a line of liquid stain with "poly thane" included in the dye. These things are easiely found here in hardware store.

When I make my sticks you refered too I'm going to experiment with nail polish for some "funky colors" and will coat with a clear nail coat. I also learned that when I make boar tusk or bear claw necklaces /pendents I always coat them with nail hardener. So I imagine at the very least you can find nail clear coats,and nail hardener at your pharmacy's.

Peace

Tal~

Edited September 17, 2009 by AZ09

[UKRay]

Thanks for all your suggestions. My main problem has been sourcing the right product for the job here in the UK...

Having tried a number of products over the past couple of days - including all the leather finishes on my shelf - I have had the best results from beeswax based cream finishes. Top products IMHO are carnauba wax which works quite well but is a bit sticky (could be the age of the pot I was using...) and Skidmore's Restoration Cream which is quick and easy to use and seals the barrette sticks up nicely.

I ended up with a cloth impregnated with Skidmores Restoration Cream and simply gave each stick a quick wipe over. I then gave each stick a polish with a clean cloth to take away any surplus cream and they looked great. Much better, in fact, than simply stain dipped. Much more 'finished' looking.

BTW - I have started using a quick drying spirit based stain - it takes around ten seconds to dry - the fumes are pretty lively, but with all the windows and doors open it clears pretty quickly.

I tried some of the spray/stain finish products on sale here in the UK but wasn't too impressed. There is a much bigger range available in the US.

I used Skidmore's and was very happy with the finish, but I'm sure almost any cream type beeswax product would work well enough.

Ray

Edited September 19, 2009 by UKRay

[troy]

Hi Ray

Don't know if this helps but recently I made the black arrows (on hardwood dowels)with plain old fiebings dye, sanded it down with wire wool and applied aussie conditioner - unfortunatly some does come off on first use but not much - I used three coats of dye to get a solid black colour, but perhaps one would do for your job.

[UKRay]

Paul, that was my experience with Aussie too, it went on okay but didn't seem to seal the colour into the wood - in fact it almost seemed to lift the colour as though it was a solvent. I had to leave it for a while to soak in and then it wasn't too bad. The Skidmore's, however, soaked in quickly and sealed the wood very well. Much the same as it does with leather.

All the products I tried worked to a certain extent, but some worked better than others! I'm still experimenting...

Ray

[iwannabeacowboy]

What about clear coat you would use on outside wood. Like on decks or railings.

Charlie

[BearMan]

Hi Ray,

I would just use the Fiebings Spirit dyes to color them,,, & then either some spray Lacquer,,, or something like NeatLac. I prefer the spray lacquer,,, then when it's dry,,, wipe it down with some 4 Ought ( 0000 ) steel wool,,, then apply some wax. That works very well,,, & makes them super smooth!!

Ed the"BearMan"

[UKRay]

Brent,

Thanks for the suggestion, but I can't find Minwax anywhere in the UK - does anyone know what the UK brand name might be?

iwannabeacowboy,

I tried a couple of those exterior finishes and wasn't too impressed. They seemed to take a long time to apply and dry and I need something that is very quick and easy so the job remains cost effective.

Ed,

I completely agree about the Fiebing's spirit dyes. USMC Black gives very good results. I'll take your advice and try some spray Neat-Lac on the next batch and see what happens. Although I'm keen to try anything that makes a better job, I have to say that Skidmore's Restoration Cream is pretty impressive stuff and will take some beating. It dries hard and just needs a quick polish to bring up a nice finish. I tried it on another woodworking job today (a picture frame) and that looks great too.

Ray

[AZ09]

Brent,

Thanks for the suggestion, but I can't find Minwax anywhere in the UK - does anyone know what the UK brand name might be?

iwannabeacowboy,

I tried a couple of those exterior finishes and wasn't too impressed. They seemed to take a long time to apply and dry and I need something that is very quick and easy so the job remains cost effective.

Ed,

I completely agree about the Fiebing's spirit dyes. USMC Black gives very good results. I'll take your advice and try some spray Neat-Lac on the next batch and see what happens. Although I'm keen to try anything that makes a better job, I have to say that Skidmore's Restoration Cream is pretty impressive stuff and will take some beating. It dries hard and just needs a quick polish to bring up a nice finish. I tried it on another woodworking job today (a picture frame) and that looks great too.

Ray

Hi Ray.

Minwax owns Ronseal in UK

www.ronseal.co.uk/

They offer several Varnish products and woodstain products

Tal~