[Irish]

Helen, I think you need to write the magazine and ask Curt directly why he is applying Deft cut with lacquer thinner before you give this a try.

Lacquer thinner is extremely volatile and tupelo is a very spongy porous wood. I, personally, would be very worried about how flammable the project could become. As for burning directly into any chemically treated wood which would include any sealer, stain, paint or pre-treatment is something that I would not recommend.

Remember that what you burn become the fumes that YOU breath!

The only reason that I can think of for sealing the wood is because it is tupelo. That wood is so soft that he may be trying to control the burn by making the wood 'harder' with the Deft sealer.

If that is the case to me a better option would be to use a variable temp tools and really turn the temp down until you have just enough heat to create your feather lines.

But ... go directly to the source and ask Curt why ... then please come back and let us know too!

Susan

[Pyrographer]

Wow, I can't imagine burning over anything but raw wood. I have burned on tupelo and while it wasn't the greatest wood I've ever burned on it did produce a very nice burn and as I do with any burn...only done on raw wood, no finish, stains, etc.

I've used Deft and the smell alone is enough to kill ya , can't imagine what it would do to burn over it or lacquer thinner.

Nedra

[Helen]

Wow,
Looks like I kicked over a hornets nest..Curt told me NOT to burn over his product. But...I read where this carver did use a modified amount of lacquer before woodburning and I wondered why. I have since emailed the writer of this article and if he gets back I'll let you all know.
Sounds like a dangerous and stinky thing to do.
Thanks all,
Helen

[Woodartist]

Obviously it isn't a good idea to burn through a finish, however I have done it with lacquer and other finishes. The burn wasn't as elegant as done on plain wood and the finish actually had a "melted" look around the lines. I suspect the toxicity is a function of how often you do it

[Donna_T]

I'm like Kathy--wouldn't want to burn over any chemical that might put off toxic substance. All of the carvings that I burn are cleaned up as smooth as possible before burning so there's little drag. Can't think of anything that could be added by sealing as opposed to the possible harm.
Donna T

[Hugh P.]

Hi, thought I would jump in here and add my two cents worth. Grin. There are two sealers that sound like the same thing, , TeeKay's sealer put out by Curts, an excellent sealer, not recommended to burn over, the other KT sealer , and they recommend sealing your work and burning over the sealer. I've tried doing this and would NOT recommend it. Fumes, and it gums up the burning tip very quickly. No benefit that I could see.

[Helen]

Thanks everybody,
I think I won't seal before burning. I knew there were different sealers and I never said that Curt said to do it, he recommended not to. Anyhow, thanks to all of you, I appreciate it.
Helen

[Hugh P.]

Hi Helen, I did notice in your earlier post that you mentioned that Curt said not to seal before burning. I was just explaining the differences between the two sealers. My apology if I offended.