Purple Heart Plaque

[khaos]

I never like it when the lacquer blushes. But the end result came out great. In the first pic you see the clear blushed pretty bad. I sprayed some very thin laq on top and the results are in the second picture. :D Hope you like.

[mtylerfl]

That came out beautifully!

[rcnewcomb]

I like that you did something besides a standard rectangular cutout. It adds some nice character to the piece.

[myxpykalix]

That first picture looks awful "muddy". I made a "treasure chest" out of some purpleheart but have yet to put any finish on it. I was thinking about a clear glaze do you think i would have the same problem you had? Or do you think it would be ok?
How did spraying a thin coat on top cause it to go back to a more purple shade?
I like the end result, very nice:D

[tlempicke]

What causes blush is when the solvents in the finish evaporate at such a rate that the surface of the wet finish gets cold. Moisture then forms and you have blush. Lots of ways to prevent it.
Drier conditions
warm the piece slightly so that the temp will not get to the dew point
HVLP sprayers that use a turbine setup almost never have blush problems because they use warm air
Blush retarders mixed in the paint. (My least favorite solution. Many of these have silicon in them and getting silicon anywhere near paint spraying operations can be a real problem)

[khaos]

That first picture looks awful "muddy". I made a "treasure chest" out of some purpleheart but have yet to put any finish on it. I was thinking about a clear glaze do you think i would have the same problem you had? Or do you think it would be ok?
How did spraying a thin coat on top cause it to go back to a more purple shade?
I like the end result, very nice:D

There are two things in play in the first pic. Its straight on so the purple is washed out of the image by the flash. The second is the blushing. The second thin coat was my attempt to keep the surface activated long enough to let the blush (moisture) get out. On my test piece the blush was also present, I did not spray the thin coat and it came out crystal clear as well. So I think it was a mute effort, but a safe one. I sprayed @ 1:1 - Lacquer:thinner. I don't have any control in the shop and the atmospheric moisture here was over 80% Thats fairly usual here. Right now its 73% 88% humidity. I find the hot mix help it lay down nicer.

HTH

edit: The blushing did hide the color value to some extent too. So I guess it was a double threat in the first pic.

[khaos]

I like that you did something besides a standard rectangular cutout. It adds some nice character to the piece.

Me too. I wanted something interesting and different. And it seemed to go well with the chiseled look. Love a router table :cool:

This is a commissioned piece for a friend's birthday and he wanted something to stand out. The plaque will be hanging on a horse stall. I have no idea where they will hang it so the horse won't chew it ... but thats their problem. I pre drilled and hung two .5" D rings on the back to help them hang it.

[khaos]

That came out beautifully!

Thank you. Now I am making a Pistol Box for one of my high skruul buddies. still tossing around cherry with a live edge or Maple ... :)

[khaos]

What causes blush is when the solvents in the finish evaporate at such a rate that the surface of the wet finish gets cold. Moisture then forms and you have blush. Lots of ways to prevent it.
Drier conditions
warm the piece slightly so that the temp will not get to the dew point
HVLP sprayers that use a turbine setup almost never have blush problems because they use warm air
Blush retarders mixed in the paint. (My least favorite solution. Many of these have silicon in them and getting silicon anywhere near paint spraying operations can be a real problem)

Exactly. :) Warming the pieces is a good idea but I didn't want to bake the purple heart and change the color.

[mtylerfl]

Thank you. Now I am making a Pistol Box for one of my high skruul buddies. still tossing around cherry with a live edge or Maple ... :)

I can't wait to see what you come up with... the cherry with the live edge sounds interesting, but either way you go, I'm sure it will be gorgeous!

[joe]

Joe.

My complements on a fine carving. Your texture around the outsde is outstanding.

One criticism if you don't mind. The gloss makes the panel look hard as if was made of plastic. It looks like plastic.

I'd strip it and go back with a hand rubbed finish. If this were mine I'd start with a couple of coats of 3lb. shellac. Give it a day or two and burnish it down with 4#0 steel wool. Then I come back and wipe a little dark stain into the recessed area's. Give that a few days and buff it down again. I wouldn't be looking for an even gloss in all area's. By hand buffing you can get a very custom look.

Finishing is a trade all it's own.

Let me say again I really like your carving.

Joe

[khaos]

Joe.

My complements on a fine carving. Your texture around the outsde is outstanding.

One criticism if you don't mind. The gloss makes the panel look hard as if was made of plastic. It looks like plastic.

I'd strip it and go back with a hand rubbed finish. If this were mine I'd start with a couple of coats of 3lb. shellac. Give it a day or two and burnish it down with 4#0 steel wool. Then I come back and wipe a little dark stain into the recessed area's. Give that a few days and buff it down again. I wouldn't be looking for an even gloss in all area's. By hand buffing you can get a very custom look.

Finishing is a trade all it's own.

Let me say again I really like your carving.

Joe

I think that would be great. I was concerned about premature darkening of the wood. I thought about going with a neutral oil finish only and thought the owner would not maintain the piece. It will be in a barn. For some reason I didn't think of shellac. I took the unwaxed satin laquer route. It looks less plast-icky in person. Its already out the door now. :D