I'm trying to apply a Spar varnish finish on my blank and having trouble getting it even and smooth. I've seen several mentions of using a coffee filter to apply finishes to a blank. Are we talking plain old Mr. Coffee type filters? Also, how do use it to apply finish? Do you roll it up, use a strip of it, or just a wad of it? I'd like to try it, but I'm tired of applying and removing finish and would like to get the job done without further problems. Any help from this great board would really be appreciated.
Murf

Besides the filters and cheese cloth it was also suggested on this site to use one of the black foam paint brushes. Use the black foam not gray as a chemical reaction will occur with the gray brushes. A simple light squeeze of the foam on the blank will apply a wonderfully thin & streak free coat of your finish of choice. I liked the brush much better than the filters. Chances are I was not doing the filter method much justice. The foam brushes just seamed much easier to me. Good luck. Jay

What about bubbles with the foam brushes? I can't seem to avoid getting bubbles in the finish when using regular brushes..
Murf

anyone try to spray a blank with a cup gun hvlp?

steve

I've experimented with hand sanding "rough" blanks and spraying finishes using an air brush. I put the blank in one of my dryers and get it turning, then spray a 50/50 mixture of clear urethane laquer finish (satin) and laquer thinner. Make sure that you are wearing a respirator and have good ventilation as you do this. So far, I've been very happy with the results.

Dale Richardson
Mojo Rods

Fred,

I'm certainly not an expert in this area -- there are probably many others on this listserve more experienced than I at refinishing rods, however...

I tried the coffee filter method (plain old Mr. Coffee or whatever) and found it to be quite easy and effective. To apply a single coat, I pretty much saturated most of a filter with varnish, rolled it around the rod loosely, and pulled it in the butt-to-tip direction a couple of times. I had the blank hanging from a beam in my basement.

One thing to watch for though -- because the layer applied is so thin, it dries to tackiness pretty quickly, so you can't do more than a couple of swipes with the filter at one time. The up-side though is that since the individual coats are so thin, and consequently it does dry so quickly, you can apply the multiple coats needed in a relatively short time, depending on the conditions under which you're drying the blank.

The finished product looked really good -- no runs, no drips, no errors!

BTW, wore throw-away plastic gloves to keep the hands clean.

Bilge

I've seen no real problems with bubbles using the foam brushes. Jay

I have placed blanks on a "slow turner" and brushed different materials on. No room for a compressor, don't like the pressure of the air cans, make thin, then brush, starting from the tip to the butt. On tip sections I stick a piece of scrap blank in it and put a turn or two of 1/4" tape right against the female end so material does not get inside and glue the two together. Using good lighting one can get a nice level wet coat

" soft hair brush "

Thanks for all the help, I'll give both the foam brushes and a coffee filter a try.
Murf

Some one (I think Tom K.) recently suggested soaking a corner of a black foam brush with the finish and actually sticking the blank tip right through the foam and pulling the whole blank through it. Sounds like a great idea to me

Mike

Try dipping.

Fred,

I have settled in on takeing a piece of sponge (1x1x1) and wrapping the coffee filter around it.