Finishing
There are many ways you can finish a material and most importantly every material can have a finish applied to it. Although there are various finishes you can apply there are two main reasons for completing this as a process. In some respects these would be common principles between all of the techniques and materials used when finishing. These two are:
Common finishes used in schools with materials
Common Wood finishes
Common Metal finishes
Common Plastic finishes
Common concepts with Finishes used in schools:
Common Misconceptions with finishes used in schools:
Below is an example of me trying to make a decision as to what finish I can use for my Design and Make project. My choices were paint or varnish.
- Whatever finish you use, the underlying concept is to preserve or protect the work to some extent. For example Finishing a piece of outside furniture made from wood- to protect it from bad weather and so forth.
- It also often allows the material to be much more attractive in appearing which overall enables the the work to look finished to a high and professional standard.
Common finishes used in schools with materials
Common Wood finishes
- French polish
- Oil
- Wax polish
- Varnish
- Paint
- Wood stain
Common Metal finishes
- Polish
- Emery cloth
- Paint
- Etching
- Blue and oil
- Fluidisation
Common Plastic finishes
- Abrasive and Fine Polish
- Fluidisation
- Wet and dry paper
Common concepts with Finishes used in schools:
- You would always prepare the material before you apply any finish - For example cleaning and sanding the material down
- The material will be dust free and cleaned
- All surrounding areas such as work benches and floor will be free of dust
- Paint brushes and cloths will always be clean before finishing any material
- If painting would for example you would need a few coats to obtain the best possible finish
- Primers or a first layer is always used on metal and wood to get good coverage and density
- There are different primers for woods other materials
- Different water based paints and spirit based paints
- When painting/varnishing you would not use too much paint and use the tip of the brush
- Generally speaking protective clothing would be worn not to damage clothes - For example apron and gloves
- Health and safety would always be put into consideration if using a harmful paint or spirit - For example a well ventilated area, mask to avoid hazardous fumes, and gloves to avoid skin irritation
Common Misconceptions with finishes used in schools:
- Dirty brushes can create bits of dust and dirt on your finished material
- Students can often apply the wrong finish to the material which can damage the material and often it is irreversible
- If you do not prepare the material properly then you can see marks within the material - blemishes in wood, where the joints are for example. Sanding down in wood is important
- If your painting a piece of wood some students will not apply enough coats of paint to it meaning you do not get good density and coverage
- It is important to go in stages when finishing any material if the stages are completed incorrectly then it can lead to a poor finish. For example with Metal and Plastic polish finishes it is essential to go through grades this means start with a coarse grade of abrasive paper to remove deep scratches, then go onto successively finer grades removing fainter scratches. Wet and dry abrasive papers are usual. When the finest grade paper has been used a metal polish can be used to give the final highly polished effect. A buffing wheel can also be used for the final stages where a calico wheel coated with an abrasive soap removes scratches and polishes the surface
- Often students think that using a bigger brush when paint for example will make the process faster, but it could lead to silly mistakes and cost you more time in fixing it. Always use appropriate sized brushes
- Often students stain their clothes, their hands, work benches, or the workshop floor if they have not protected surrounding areas when applying a finish- Newspaper is really good to lay down when using something which is prone to drip
- In some cases students can become impatient and not wait for the finish to dry properly which could leave finger marks on the piece of material.
Below is an example of me trying to make a decision as to what finish I can use for my Design and Make project. My choices were paint or varnish.