Burnishing

[Tom-H]

Does anyone burnish their carvings prior to painting or applying any other finish?

Tom H

[kitaye]

IF you mean using a super fine grit sandpaper, I do that on all my spoons and the recent chipcarved ornaments. I sand with 1500 grit to get a super smooth finish. It gives the wood a satin sheen and a very smooth feel. I use oil to finish.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

about the only burnishing I do is with paper bags.

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

I carve mostly characitures and whimsies. Those I do not burnish. Occassionally I'll do something of a more formal nature out of walnut or mahogany, those I will bunish. Some in places and others entirely; depends. I don't have any special tools for burnishing, just grab whatever seems appropriate for the job; screwdriver handle, piece of hardwood dowel, etc. If I did it more frequently, I'd probably make up some tools for it, but ..... (lazy). I don't ever remember burnishing anything that I painted.

[nadcarves]

What you do when you burnish is actually compress the wood surface, making a thin dense layer that polishes in the process.. Each wood reacts differently to the process..I use it mainly on Walnut carvings, and one Butternut...The idea was to seal the pores..If you use a white wax on Walnut, with out sealing, you could wind up with white specks at all the pores.. Neat way to downgrade a carving ....cordially NAD

[Tom-H]

Long time no see or hear NAD. Good information on burnishing. I always burnished the mitered corners on all the cabinets that I built, prior to finishing. It tightened up (well closed) up the joints. I also use a stylus type of burnisher on carvings. The one I use has different sized balls on each end. Since I carve small this tools works where sand paper would cover too large an area. But you are absolutely correct, it compresses and tends to seal the wood, making painting much easier. I have found that the grain does not lift as much either.

Tom H

[Kenny_S]

When I first started carving and did not paint, I used the knife handle and burnish those first pieces.Then I started using brown paper sacks wadded up to get the fuss off and it kind of burnished the carvings. However, I don't do either technique much anymore.

[Alice in Wonderland]

does the word "burnish mean the same as polish??
I have not heard this word before so please alow my ignorance.
Alice

[Tom-H]

Alice, Nad gives a good description of the process. While burnishing does tend to result in a polished look, I don't think you would call burnishing polishing. Burnishing is accomplished by "rubbing" a curved/rounded tool over the wood. This compresses the wood grain, and yes; does produce a kind of polished appearance. The burnishing tool is usually steel but wood or plastic could, I suppose, be used. Try it out with an old teaspoon. Rub the bottom of the spoon over a piece of carved wood.

Tom H

[Jim OH]

Hey Tom,
Why would you want to get rid of all those tool marks ? LOL. The only thing I do is carve, wash, and paint. I think caricatures look better lumpy ;O)
Jim OH