Gloss Osmo or Ronseal - an experiment

Andyjr1515 · January 2022

Many thanks, @impmann ;

Yes - still looks delicious!

But also yes - browner than when first varnished! And interestingly - although the light had gone by the time it was dry enough for me to photo it...mine is too. In fact, from freshly sanded and with a first coat of Ronseal I would say that it is almost identical to this in colour.

Fascinating!

Thanks so much, @impmann ; - lovely to see it again

Andyjr1515 · February 2022

Two thin coats of Ronseal Hardglaze so far:

This below was with the Osmo 3011 Gloss

Observation 1
The colour change from when it was first done is most definitely the timber because these above are almost identical even though the top has been sanded right down to 'fresh' wood.

According to the Wood Database, Camphor Laurel is generally brown, but is quite variable and can include reds, blues and olive greens. Both @impmann 's and mine when first done in their respective finishes certainly included those kinds of colours - but now they are both very similar

Observation 2
The light is slightly different in the two photos (look at the carpet) but, regardless, the Ronseal is showing up much more of the figuring in the wood, The Osmo, as I perceived when I first applied it, has an opaqueness that has muted the figuring.

As we have said above, it's OK in its own right - indeed, I am sure there are some folks who would prefer it - but it is most definitely different.

Let's see how it goes as more coats of Ronseal goes on - I suspect the figuring will enhance even further.

impmann · February 2022

I can already see more detail in the grain.

ThePrettyDamned · February 2022

I think on that raw wood look, I prefer the osmo - it's subtle but looks more tactile.

Daft, I know.

Interesting testing!

Andyjr1515 · February 2022

ThePrettyDamned said:

I think on that raw wood look, I prefer the osmo - it's subtle but looks more tactile.

Daft, I know.

Interesting testing!

Not daft at all.

As I said in my comment, "it's OK in its own right - indeed, I am sure there are some folks who would prefer it - but it is most definitely different."

Vive la différence, as they say in Wolverhampton

ThePrettyDamned · February 2022

So what is it do you think that has changed? Has the wood aged underneath?

Really interesting to see such a vast difference over time. I wonder how many other guitars change so much and we never realise. Reminds me of a near-natural finish PRS I saw second hand, and if you looked closely under the hardware you could see it was once either red or pink!

WezV · February 2022

ThePrettyDamned said:

Reminds me of a near-natural finish PRS I saw second hand, and if you looked closely under the hardware you could see it was once either red or pink!

Probably purple.

PRS have had real issues with some blues they have used... they now do a finish called Blue fade, which distracts the google searches for the issue

Andyjr1515 · February 2022

ThePrettyDamned said:

So what is it do you think that has changed? Has the wood aged underneath?

Yes - the wood.

I can't find reference anywhere to Camphor Laurel being particularly susceptible, but certainly some timbers do change colour over time. Purpleheart is probably the most well known - I gather that progresses from its initial deep purple to dark brown the older it gets and it is certainly a different colour when freshly cut to when the light/air (not sure which) gets to it for a bit.

Camphor is, of course an aromatic oils rich timber (famed for its smell) - but that is why I think it surprised me that the colour of the Camphor didn't revert to original once it had been sanded right back down to fresh timber. Any oils would still be there, sealed in.

It's no problem, mind. As the gloss coats increase, that figuring is becoming as knockout as I hoped it was going to be when I originally made it. And the colour is different but just as good all the same

I'll dig a bit deeper - presumably there is info on some of the furniture makers' forums and blogs.

Just as an aside, the single cut bass I made a year or so before the above two, is the same species of Camphor, albeit probably from a different country and quite a different look.

This is when it was first made - and it hasn't changed colour at all:

Andyjr1515 · February 2022

OK - I think this is done in terms of re-varnish. It will now sit a week or two before being polished with Meguiers Ultimate Compound and then a tidy up of the wet sanding drips in the sound hole and fretboard.

This is much closer to how I wanted it to look than how it did with the Osmo gloss

axisus · February 2022

Interesting thread!

GSPBASSES · February 2022

I use Osom 1101 extra thin translucent, I find it’s easier to apply then they’re thicker ones. What I found over time using Osom, if I add one of there tints to the clear or translucent versions, it does stop it changing colour or going slightly darker. Osom offer about half a dozen different tints to mix with the clear, they come in little packets with 5ml in them. When you mix them there’s a very subtle change in colour, but not enough to distract from the natural colour of the wood. I have found that this does stop Osom going darker, but it doesn’t stop certain woods from naturally going darker of their own accord. If you want a strong colour with Osom you can mix Winsor and Newton artist oil colours, which is very effective, but it does slow down the drying time of Osom.

The two photos below are of a bass I built 13 years ago, you can see there is virtually no change in colour. I used Osom 3032 with a honey tint.

Photo taken 13 years ago.

Photo taken today, 13 years after it was finished.

Roland · February 2022

This is fast becoming one of my favourite threads

Andyjr1515 · February 2022

GSPBASSES said:

I use Osom 1101 extra thin translucent, I find it’s easier to apply then they’re thicker ones. What I found over time using Osom, if I add one of there tints to the clear or translucent versions, it does stop it changing colour or going slightly darker. Osom offer about half a dozen different tints to mix with the clear, they come in little packets with 5ml in them. When you mix them there’s a very subtle change in colour, but not enough to distract from the natural colour of the wood. I have found that this does stop Osom going darker, but it doesn’t stop certain woods from naturally going darker of their own accord. If you want a strong colour with Osom you can mix Winsor and Newton artist oil colours, which is very effective, but it does slow down the drying time of Osom.

The two photos below are of a bass I built 13 years ago, you can see there is virtually no change in colour. I used Osom 3032 with a honey tint.

Photo taken 13 years ago.

Photo taken today, 13 years after it was finished.

I've always liked the 1101, but hadn't even considered that aspect! Great info (and lovely bass!)

Andyjr1515 · February 2022

OK - done. And in terms of a gloss finish, this is closer to what I had originally intended:

Now to do some tests with some of the newer trade water-based glosses mentioned above...but I'll do that on some test pieces. This one just needs playing now

Thanks for the interest and input, folks

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Gloss Osmo or Ronseal - an experiment

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