feedboard

I’ve recently rebuilt the feedboard and takeoff board on a C&P old style press. I used hard maple. now I am wondering what to finish it with. What was the original finish used and what should I use today - do new inks have different solvents?

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Look at the thread from a few days ago regarding Evapo-Rust, there is a discription about finish with Orange Shellac.

Thanks Dennis:

Would it help to know that the solvent I’ll use will be California Wash?

I somehow think that the really old feed boards had spar varnish on them, it was used on wood of that era as a finish. Most old wooden printing cabinets and related items had that finish.
It was okay for the time because there were not many choices. You can spot an old spar finish because it with still get gummy when the weather is hot or with high humidity.

The feed boards that I remember (much later) appeared to have a hot lacquer finish, which is very durable.
Orange shellac on rock maple will give you that violin color - or close to it. You can use shellac as a sanding sealer and top it off with a lacquer or a poly varnish. I myself would use the lacquer - because it with dry very quickly. Most poly varnishes take at least 4 hours with 24 hours before you can handle the item.

No finish will last with repeated splashing of roller wash. Just be careful with the roller wash.

chuck

And keep in mind that if you do apply lots of roller wash to the feedboards, you can always strip the varnish off and re-apply. The whole point of varnish is to be stripped/reapplied, and to keep the wood sealed against staining. No coating is absolute or final if applied to a working part, and in fact you should plan to strip/re-varnish every few years, unless you desire a weathered look, a patina if you will.

I am maybe just a little confused here (it definitely comes with age). I have a century-old house and a few decades ago decided to restore the floors on the first floor to their original glory. Talked to lots of old-time painters at the time to find out what to use. The results where spectacular and the the two products used where an amber shellac and a spar varnish. I seem to recall using the shellac first, which gave it the wonderful color. (Here’s where the memory thing comes in to play) I believe that it is the shellac that actually gets soft and sticky in high heat and humidity so therefore it had to be sealed with the spar varnish to put a lasting wear-resistant coating over the top of it.

The term spar varnish has a nautical implication and is used on boats.

I could be wrong on this, but I believe that was the process I used about 30 years ago. Most the interior doors and molding in the house have the original shellac on them and they DO get a little sticky if touched on very hot and humid days.

Rick

A bit off topic, but following Rick’s comments above.
Spar varnish is indeed of nautical origin. It is formulated to give a very durable and hard finish applied over bare wood. I have varnished many sailboat spars. Spar is the generic or over-all term for masts and booms and such.