Hi David, Well of course there is Formica or Arborite of course, very durable and a blind person can apply that as well as a sighted person but I rather think that isn't what you were thinking of <GRIN>
For a wood finish you probably want to colour the surface a little depending on the wood. That is a matter of taste and probably a nod is as good as a wink to a blind wood worker. I have applied a lot of stain in the past but now I generally try to get a sighted person to do it. There is going to be dispute here about that but what I can tell you for sure is that stain is absorbed variably by wood, different parts will absorb more than others and some woods don't take stain willingly and will look blotchy and a blind person won't know that. I have discovered that few sighted people will be honest about it either particularly if they are close to you and very particularly when criticizing work you are justifiably proud of. One of the characteristics of a good stained wood surface is blending of the lighter often denser parts with the softer bits of the grain and I don't believe the blind can do this, probably many low vision can but the same caveat applies, lots of low vision people I know don't see lots of things as well as they think they do, I experienced that myself as my little bit of vision failed. OK, that is the colour and there are some ways around that too, things like Danish oil finish will colour the wood a little or even boiled linseed oil or tong oil rubbed thoroughly in and excess wiped off and you can repeat it a couple or three times. Danish oil also contains some varnish and it will turn the wood surface increasingly orange, This can be very attractive I understand to a point but too much and it really gets quite orange. My very favourite top coat finish is one or other variety of Hand Wipe Poly by Minwax. It comes in high and satin, maybe there are three grades I don't remember. What I buy comes in a square quart can with a pop-up lid, you apply it to a lint free cloth I tear up old ginch or sheets, something with a little cotton to absorb some of the liquid. You apply it in thin coats quite quickly that is important to get it on and you and your rags out of it so as not to get tracks in the finish. As a blind person you can then go around the edges, get into any routed profiles and be pretty confident you got full coverage.Because you will apply several coats the chances are darn good that any areas you didn't hit well one time will be covered next time and you get a good opportunity to evaluate your work between coats.Several coat of the high gloss makes a deep shiny clear surface which is quite durable and you are always free to touch it with 600 grit paper and wipe another coat over if it gets a little beat up. The trick is to start with a good preparation. Even after stain I recommend a little buff with very fine paper to knock down any fuzz the liquid might bring up in the grain and if more than one coat of stain will be applied then go over between the coats with a touch of fine paper. You will get little dust nibs, little flicks of something between coats unless you have a positive pressure air tight finishing room so they say I don't have one and I am not sure I believe them, I think somehow you will still get some of what I call fly shit in it even there. I usually vacuum and always tac it off after every application of buffing and as close to applying the next coat as I can. I may not use a vacuum cleaner too close to applying a coat of poly because the exhaust can kick up a load of airborne particles which will be attracted to your sticky finished surface. You can make your own tac cloth with a touch of solvent but it isn't all that expensive and I keep it in a zip closed sandwich bag between uses and hope I can find it next time I need it. I also might use a paint scraper very carefully and gently between coats to knock off the nibs but I try to get the surface as near perfect as I can before adding the next coat even if it means rubbing off most of the previous coat. I have some pumice and some rottenstone but I am disappointed in their performance. I do like something they call rubbing compound I get it in a can like a can of car wax and I get it from a hardware store made by several companies for polishing cars it actually lifts a very thin layer of the car paint restoring the original luster and colour. It does a similar thing to your poly finish, it goes on finely gritty and you buff it off like you would hard wax then tac all of the residue away . This really prepares the surface for the last coat or two. Wipe those last coats on particularly thin just to hide any scratches and because it is so thin it dries fast so those flies have to be really quick to leave their nibs in the finish. The gloss is pretty hard and durable. I have also brushed on a thin couple of coats of the high gloss poly they recommend for hard wood floors, at the last top coats, that can set up just like glass and if necessary you can rub even the final coat down once it is really well set up. Another beautiful finish you can happily apply as a blind person is french polish. This is done with shellac. The trouble is that it is not resistant to alcohol and some other products. You can however always restore it too. I recommend a careful sighted person to apply the colour to the depth and degree they find pleasing then you go to it with the Hand Wipe Poly. Hope this gives you help. There will be dozens of recommendations, one thing I have noticed is that each wood working magazine has an article of wood finishing secrets pretty well each month so there is disagreement among the sighted too. Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: David Sexton To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2007 7:18 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] furniture wood finishes What is the best finish for a piece of furniture like a dining room table that a blind person can apply independently? Sure I can find the answer of which finish is the best, but which one would actually look good if I used it myself? David [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
