Natural (vintage) finish

[dave bjornsen]

I have a set of drums that i am restoring, and looking for some help with the finish.

- The drums are currently sanded down to natural wood with no finish.

- The finish which is needed is called 'natural vintage', and has these properties:

"The Vintage finish is a special synthetic resin finish that is applied by hand on high-quality wind instruments. While enhancing the tone of the beech shell, the Vintage finish also provides a durable, waterproof finish that virtually eliminates the influence of weather and humidity on the drum. Over the course of time, the color of the shell will change to a deeper hue."

Does anyone have any knowledge on which synthetic resin is used in this case? Doing my research, i found that there are many types of wood oils, but none that does as described.

Here is a picture of the finish needed:


Thanks for any help!

[David King]

Whereas "Special synthetic resin finish that is applied by hand" and "Over the course of time, the color of the shell will change to a deeper hue" are part of the same ad copy I'd guess any gel polyurethane without UV inhibitors would fit the bill. If you wanted something even tougher then try to find a phenolic resin but I've never seen one in a gel form.

[Todd Stock]

Yup...phenolic or polyurethane wiping varnish...might just be thinned satin interior varnish. I recall some ad copy from Taylor that talked about the advantages of their high technology waterborne adhesives...turns out they were talking about Titebond.

[dave bjornsen]

Hm, thanks guys. Could you point me to where i can buy the gel? Which brand is best, and how many coats should i apply?
Thanks for your help!

[David King]

As someone on the internet pointed out "Gel varnishes are the answer to a question that nobody was asking".
There seem to be lots of choices out there and plenty of disgruntled users.
I've been pretty happy with the WB varnish I'm getting from General Finishes, it's not a sure thing but it might be a good sign.
https://generalfinishes.com/retail-prod ... eOaJumvNaA
There are significantly cheaper products out there so if price is any indication then you should be all set.

General says three coats.

[Todd Stock]

Gel varnishes are great for varnish-stains, where the gel format limits the blotching (primarily due to minimal staining effect), but for clear finishes, regular wiping varnishes like Watco, TruOil, or thinned standard varnish work just fine and avoid the lap marks that gel can have if applied incorrectly.

[Daryl Kosinski]

Pour-n-Wipe by Mohawk Finishing.
http://mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_bro ... ictNbr=215
I have used it on my banjo, kitchen cabinets, table tops, and over shellac.
Really hard to get a bad job. I buy mine by the gallon along with pint cans. When I get it I break it down to pints. that way it will not skin over and last longer.