White gel varnish

[Rolf]

I sort of remember one of our Intarsia artists mentioning that they use a white gel varnish on parts that they want to remain truly white. I seem to think it was Kathy Wise in her seminar at Fox Chapel, but I can’t remember.
Any one know about this or use any white gel varnish?

[ragiarn]

Judy Gale Roberts also uses white gel varnish. In fact she sells it through her website. Kathy Wise is a little more liberal in staining wood when the appropriate color is not available for her projects. She discusses this in her book.

Doc

[Janette]

I believe Judy Gayle Roberts uses Old Masters. Personally, I use aspen or maple wood and leave it natural. The gel isn't really to "keep the wood white" per se- it's a stain so it's actually coloring/staining the wood. To me-the point is to use all natural wood colors whenever possible so if I used it it wouldn't be "all natural". I've seen a few pieces where it's been used and if the rest is natural, it looks "too" white to me. But that's just me - so if you need to have an area really white- I see no problem using it. There are also other brands I've seen you can use as well such as "milk paint" and quite a variety of things at Woodcraft store. Alternately- you can use aspen or maple and use a water based poly on it first, then your regular finish over top. This won't let the varnish yellow it like it might otherwise.

[thecopperfish]

I use aspen for my white parts and it works well. I agree with Janette, if you use the white gel stuff with the rest natural, it also looks too white to me. But, that's just my 2 cents. No reason you can't stain it if you want to.
Chris

[Rolf]

I do use the aspen and I use the Bartley gel Varnish and the aspen got a bit too yellow for what I wanted to do. I will try Janette's suggestion of sealing with the water base under the final finish.
I do preffer using all natural colors if at all possible.

Thanks for all the great input!

[Janette]

Originally Posted by Rolf

I do use the aspen and I use the Bartley gel Varnish and the aspen got a bit too yellow for what I wanted to do. I will try Janette's suggestion of sealing with the water base under the final finish.
I do preffer using all natural colors if at all possible.

Thanks for all the great input!

I had a similar quandry when I did my commission of the 3 Lhasa Apso dogs. I was using white hard maple and figured maple on the dogs. I knew the figured maple turned a golden color when varnish was applied. I tested several water based and other finishes before doing it, but I wanted the 2 woods to end up the same color once finished (as they looked before finishing). After trying several things - I ended up using a water based spray poly. Several light coats on the individual pieces before gluing the total thing together. Once those pieces were coated, I glued together with everything else and put my bartleys on the entire piece. The 2 woods actually stayed matching (thank goodness!).

One thing I noticed with Bartleys - is the older the can (the more air that gets in over time) the yellower it goes. If you start with a fresh can it hardly yellows the aspen at all. - not to say it won't over time, but during finishing - it keeps it much lighter than the bottom of a can does.

[Plaquerd]

Rolf
Have you tried Holly? It is one of the whitest woods there is. It stays white when finished too.

[Don Williamson]

The brand name is Old Masters Pickling White. When I want to retain natural maple, I use the gel and wipe; this helps seal the natural color from yellowing poly varnish.

Don

[Phantom_Phixer]

Janette;

Thanks for the tip. I have used the white gel and agree it is too white and can be tricky. I'll give that water based poly 'first coat' a try. And thanks for the tip about fresh gel varish too. I have seen that effect too. now I stick to buying small cans of the gel varnish and make sure I seal the lid tight.


Jack

[Janette]

Originally Posted by Phantom_Phixer

Janette;

Thanks for the tip. I have used the white gel and agree it is too white and can be tricky. I'll give that water based poly 'first coat' a try. And thanks for the tip about fresh gel varish too. I have seen that effect too. now I stick to buying small cans of the gel varnish and make sure I seal the lid tight.


Jack

Let me know how it works for you. Another tip I learned to help keep the Bartley's from drying out. I will use a piece of ziplock baggie cut in the shape of the lid to put on to the exposed gel and it keeps air from getting into what's left. An easier way - I learned by accident - if a skin forms, I'll cut it out and pull it out whole- when done - simply replace it. Over time it gets a bit thicker and acts as an air barrier on it's own.