Hello guys. I have a small wooden handle brush that belonged to a Great Uncle of mine. I put a new knot in it a little while back. Here is a thread across the street about that. http://theoriginalsafety2.com/thread/2336/family-brush-restore My question is how to fix the little crack in the handle. The longer looking one is actually just a stain. My second question is how to protect the brush. It has no coating at all that I can tell. Is there away to seal it without changing the color?
If I was doing it, I'd probably use epoxy, with maybe a dab of paint with a close match to the color of the wood. Even if a color is not used, it'll still seal the crack. Let dry and lightly sand it smooth and apply a coat of something like polycrylic or similar clear coat.
It will deepen the color slightly, but anything you apply will darken it slightly. It will not be as dark as a stain, think natural.
Using an acrylic clear coat, as made by Microscale for modeling, won't change the color or deepen it's shade, especially the flat clear coat. The gloss coat might enhance the look of the grain, but that's it. I've used it on the brush handle for @Drygulch to conserve it so it won't degrade any more and keep it's original color. It also works great as a sealer and stays clear without yellowing.
They should. I usually put some in a used plastic bottle cap, add a couple of drops of water to thin it. This way it'll soak into the wood better and put on a few coats until you see an even finish.
Flat clear will help to keep the vintage look while sealing out water. Several coats may begin to gloss up. Most any product you apply to seal the water out will darken it to look like it's wet. You may wish to pull the knot so repairs and sealing clear coats might get under the knot. Being a wood handle it's going to absorb water when the knot gets wet. That might cause further cracking and will let moisture in under the repairs and clear coat on the visible areas.
If it was enough to ride up the sides, it should be ok. Besides, it would be a mess to take it apart once epoxied, would need another knot.
That's one reason I like to thin it out some, soaks in and seals better and doesn't build up for any discoloration.
Good point! Getting the product to penetrate into the wood should prolong it's effectiveness. After the seal is made the rest of the product sets on the outside as a skin. Paint doesn't penetrate, but a thinned product, stain, or an oil finish can get into the wood.
