Finishing Basswood= Shoe Polish ?

[carvedbears61]

Getting close to finishing a basswood Bison roughout. Some people have talked about useing shoe polish is this regular polish ? Or should I use Burnt Amber on the Cap Hair.

[Mitchell]

I suggest making a trial piece and use a combination of your options. You'll learn more through trial and error.

By the way - Thanks for the descriptive thread title.

[Bartster]

carvedbears,

you may consider using different shades of stain or using paint instead of the shoe polish.with the stain you could get a thinner mix and not cover the grain so much. just a thought.

bart

[mdallensr]

Are you finishing the coat by woodburning? If so, it might be better to do a thin stain or a wash to add some color to the dark coat. Mike

[carvedbears61]

Don't own a woodburner I'll take all the advice here to today and do easyist. Because I'm still a newbie

The Horns is my next ? Natural or WHite wash.

AGAIN MANY tHANKS.

[Scott]

I use shoe polish all the time. Mostly on hardwoods. As you rub it in your body heat will help the polish penetrate into the wood. There are many hues and shades and I mix and blend.

I find it much more durable than wood wax and a richer finish than a stain., but as mentioned, try it out on some scrap bass first. I've never finished bass wood with it.

http://www.caribooblades.com

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Shoe Polish? With all the advances in stain and finishing science and you're reaching for a can of Kiwi?

I'd first stain the piece the color you want as it would be hard to get that colored wax down into every little nook and crany. Then you could apply a dark furniture wax to bring out the richness of the wood. You could even give it a coat of Polyurethane varnish prior to applying the wax to protect it even more.

As the label says. Shoe wax is meant for Shoes not woodcarvings.

[Scott]

I don't think we could have come this far, especially in science and technology if we had all just followed the instructions.
I suggest that you try it on a piece of walnut or some fruit wood. Like anything else that you finish wood with it is not going to be appropriate in every case.

Because Kiwi shoe polish was designed for protecting leather in trieing conditions that quality lends itself to protecting wood.

http://www.caribooblades.com


http://www.caribooblades.com

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Just like I wouldn't put varnish on my shoes I don't think I'd put shoe polish on my carvings. I can just imagine the quality of wax used in a can of Kiwi. I would hope your carvings deserve better.

[Scott]

In fact the wax used in shoe polish is
carnauba.

Turpentine based. One can mix a little stain into it creating a paste or a brushable glaze or you can add a little to your stain.
You can mix a translucent glaze that penetrates and protects your carving and creates depth.
After it dries then you can buff it up. Vive la Art...aye.

Here is a link to some information

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_polish

http://www.caribooblades.com