Chestnut Products offer a wide range of finishing products which appeal to the woodturner and the woodworker alike.   The range we carry includes:-

A good finish starts with a good base and for most turning projects, that base is cellulose sanding sealer.  The advantage that the cellulose product has over the 'traditional' shellac-based products is its very rapid drying and the complete seal it produces over any dye-coats or other pre-finishes, preventing colour leaching during any subsequent finishing process.  For most turned pieces, the only finish needed over the sanding sealer is paste wax, or possibly solid stick wax.  However, don't use this sealer if you plan to use finishing oil as the sealer will inhibit the oil's penetration of the timber.   Now also available in a handy spray can for quick, clean, easy application.

This product is available in half and full litre tins and is highly recommended for its smooth application, rapid drying and freedom from the sticky build-up on the surface which afflicts so many other sanding sealers.  Nibbed off with a piece of '000' or '0000' steel wool or a NyWeb pad, the timber will then be ready for the final finish to be applied. 

For cleaning up spillages or for thinning cellulose sanding sealer, the only product to use is cellulose thinners.  Thinning sanding sealer?  Yes, sometimes it is useful to use a very thin solution of sanding sealer to gain high penetration, in areas of 'pecky' (soft, spalted or decayed) timber to 'stiffen its resolve'.  It may also be found that the working solution tends to get 'thicker' if the top is left off, or as the tin gets older, due to evaporation.  The thinners can be used to bring the viscosity back to the original.

With our increasing awareness of the damage which can be caused to our environment by the use of solvent-based products, there is a welcome trend towards the use of less damaging products.  Among these, the water-based acrylics have found ready acceptability and have proven very successful in a wide range of applications where solvent based products would previously have been employed.  We are pleased therefore to bring to you a new hard-wearing water-based acrylic lacquer for use on bare wood or over a base coat of acrylic sanding sealer (see below).

Sharing many of the features of the Acrylic Lacquer referred to above, these versions are supplied in an easy-to-use spray can (CFC-free).  The two clear types offered are a Satin Lacquer and a Gloss Lacquer, the former giving your turnings a soft sheen whilst the latter imparts a hard glaze to their surface.  The lacquer in this form is quick-drying and can be used for a variety of other uses besides woodworking when a water-resistant coating is required.  Application should follow the application of a base coat for which the Chestnut  acrylic sanding sealer spray (see below) is particularly suitable.  It is important to follow the instructions on the can for best results.

Ebonising Lacquer is a pigmented product designed to coat most timbers and give the classic look of ebony.  The lacquer is designed to cover in one coat and is highly durable in most applications.  CFC-free.

This is the ideal base coat developed for applying under the acrylic lacquer introduced above.  As with the lacquer, this is a water-based product and hence much more environmentally-friendly than traditional solvent-based products.  It is a quick-drying formulation and in addition to its use under acrylic lacquer, may also be used as a base-coat for paste- or stick-wax finishes.  Hence, it may fairly be said to be a complete replacement for the more traditional base-coat preparations favoured hitherto.  A welcome step forward indeed, now also available as a quick-drying aerosol spray.

A really vital product for anyone who harvests and seasons their own timber.  Whilst it is possible to use melted paraffin wax and even messier approaches using greases and oil paints, this preparation really is the quick, clean and simple solution to inhibiting drying cracks in timber.  Simply paint it onto the end grain of timber when freshly cut and leave it a short while to dry off.  Slow drying in a cool place should then result in dry, sound timber.

An oil finish for timber specially designed to penetrate the wood to give a natural water-resistant finish with a soft sheen.  Wax may be applied over the oil finish, once dried, to give a brighter lustre.  Oil finishes are favourites with many woodturners for the way in which they make the light reflect from deep within the wood, not simply off its surface - observe what happens if you put a little clear oil onto paper to understand this phenomenon.

An interesting example of the range of finishes is Lemon Oil.  This produces a near matt, low build finish with a fresh lemon aroma and natural water resistance.  (This is also the product that Chris Beardshaw recommends to Daily Mail readers as ideal for treating garden furniture.)

Tung Oil is a natural, vegetable-sourced oil that has traditionally been used for finishing many treen items, being non-toxic.  It is also the basis of many of the finishing oils seen on the market, but this is the product in its "pure" form.  Applied direct to bare timber, this oil will dry more slowly than modified oils and can be waxed over when dry.

The recently-introduced Food-Safe Finish is a product that turners have been seeking increasingly as it becomes ever more difficult to buy (legally, at least) those products that have been the cornerstones of out treen finishes in the past.  It is a clear food grade oil for use with salad bowls, cheese boards and other items which may come into contact with food.  It dries to a soft satin finish and exhibits a high degree of water resistance.  It can easily be cleaned by wiping with a damp cloth.

A high build shellac-based polish for use on or off the lathe to produce a hard, bright, French polish style finish.  Simply hold a cloth (preferably a safety cloth), or kitchen towel, moistened with the polish against the revolving work and let the friction heat dry the polish to a high gloss finish.  Warning: beware loose ends and trailing parts of rags which could get tangled in the rotating machinery or wrapped around the workpiece, causing injury to the operator.  The use of safety cloth helps minimise this risk as it tends to tear before any damage ensues.  A personal opinion is that this product is superb for smaller spindle-turned items but is not the easiest to apply on large smooth surfaces such as bowls over 6" (150 mm) diameter.

If you are producing timber goods which are going to be subjected to water or other liquids, hot or cold, then this is the only finish designed to stand the strain!  Simply applied by rag or brush over a cellulose sanding sealer base coat, the lacquer is allowed to dry after which multiple coats can be applied, cutting back with steel wool between coats.  For most applications, three coats is sufficient, after which the finish can be cut back with 0000 steel wool or a NyWeb pad and wax polished to give a soft sheen or burnished to a high gloss.

Paste waxes are a firm favourite with woodturners, offering as they do very quick drying, good penetration and a deep sheen over a simple sanding sealer base, or even directly onto the timber of dense, close-grained species.  However, many of the favourite formulations of the past contained toluene which is now under suspicion as a carcinogen.  This new-generation formulation from Chestnut Products contains no harmful solvents and is even easier to use than the older, potentially harmful formulations, and gives a superb finish with negligible effort.  Offered here are both a clear paste wax, "Wood Wax 22", and "Liming Wax" which is used to create a most attractive finish on open grain timbers such as oak, ash etc.  Note that Liming Wax should be top-coated with WoodWax 22 or Finishing Oil as it is not intended as a stand-alone finish.

Woodturner's wax stick is a blended wax bar, containing carnauba and beeswax, designed for use over sanding sealer to impart a high gloss finish onto turned items, especially spindle work.  Softer than other examples, this bar will not damage your work when applied.

Carnauba wax is a very hard vegetable wax, food safe, and capable of being brought to a very high shine when burnished onto your spindle work.

this product was originally developed for use in reviving old polished and waxed surfaces, such as in furniture restoration.  However, recent feedback from adventurous woodturners has suggested that it is also excellent when used as a surface refinement treatment to burnish lacquer finishes, sanding sealer etc. when it will be found to impart a silky smoothness to the timber surface that simply invites a "touchy-feely" response from your fingers.  Try it and f-e-e-l the difference.

Despite the introduction of the synthetic alternatives to steel wool, many woodworkers still prefer the 'real thing' when it comes to de-nibbing of a surface preparatory to final waxing or finishing.   For smoothing sanding sealer coats and for applying paste wax, grade '0000' steel wool remains the product of choice for these craftsmen.  However, developments in the world of synthetic products have created new and excellent materials such as the Chestnut NyWeb product which equal, and in many applications exceed, the performance of the traditional abrasive.  In my own work, I routinely use NyWeb to apply finishing oil and final wax coats to help me develop the superb tactile finish which I love to present on my turned pieces.  Available in four grades spanning from what I gauge as somewhat coarser than 0000 steel wool through a "soft as a baby's bottom" UltraFine grade to a non-abrasive, white grade, ideal for applying polishes and waxes, this is a great product (mind you, you should see my babies).

One note of caution: if you are working with genuine steel wool on timbers with high tannin content, such as oak or chestnut - especially if the timber is wet - ensure that any fragmentary pieces of the steel wool are removed after finishing to obviate the risk of blue staining.  Of course, if you use NyWeb, any such concerns are obviated - another very good reason to use NyWeb.

Why take risks with your precious fingers in the workshop?  These economical safety 'cloths' are designed to tear in the event of an entanglement with rotating machinery.  They're not a substitute for sensible practice, but they could save you from a nasty accident.  Ideal for applying friction polish, waxes, finishing oil and myriad other jobs around the workshop.  Unlike kitchen towel, these cloths will not absorb the polish as you try to apply it - think what a kitchen towel is designed to do!  Reduce your wastage of polishes and stop pretending to be economic by using kitchen towel instead!  Size of each cloth is approximately 345mm x 335 mm (13.5" x 13"), packed in threes, or economically in tens (10s).

A practical product which makes those messy jobs somewhat less irksome.  Ideal for applying stains, friction polish,  finishing oil and myriad other jobs around the workshop.  The gloves are lightly powdered to make them easy to put on and large enough for man-size hands.  Being non-handed, they can be used on either hand: very useful since for many jobs only a single glove will be needed.  They're also economical enough to dispose of - with due regard for environmental concerns - after use.

For use on most timbers, but especially good on hardwoods and previously-worked pieces, these spirit stains are quick-drying and have a high resistance to fading.  With very little tendency to raise the grain, this formulation minimises the possibility of your needing to re-finish the surface of the timber after staining, unlike water-based stains.  Two "Sample Packs" of 25 ml plastic bottles of spirit stain allow small projects, such as woodturnings, to be coloured or colour tests to be made in preparation for larger projects (you'll find these at the bottom of the following porudct list).  These stains may also be used to add colour to WoodWax 22 to create your own coloured waxes.

An economical method of buying a high-quality anaerobic adhesive, often known as "superglue".  In three viscosities ("runniness") to suit small, medium and large gap-filling situations, this adhesive is supplied in 20 g bottles with caps colour-coded to minimise the chance of your mixing them up!  Also available is an accelerator and, in case all goes wrong and you're stuck to the job - a de-bonder!.

©1997-2008 P. Hemsley.  The information on this website is the copyright property of Peter Hemsley.  Coeur du Bois and The ToolPost are trading styles of Peter Hemsley.  Whilst reasonable efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, no liability can be accepted for errors in this information nor for contingencies arising therefrom.  If you are inexperienced in any aspect of woodworking, we would strongly counsel that you take a course of formal instruction before commencing to practice