Another typo : you CAN'T find any of these products in the Valley. Zar (UGL) products you probably can, including Wipe-On Tung Oil and Ultra Zar Max (the Max is important, otherwise you get a hard polyurethane).
Another typo : you CAN'T find any of these products in the Valley. Zar (UGL) products you probably can, including Wipe-On Tung Oil and Ultra Zar Max (the Max is important, otherwise you get a hard polyurethane).
Hardly a premium finish, even back then, even less so now.
Lacquer just dries fast and clear. I asked Ries if they could sell me a raw tripod so I could finish it myself. They couldn't. They use aerosol can water-based ext Varathane, a worthless product if ever there was one. But they don't have the climate or exhaust controls in their facility to use anything serious, and it does temporarily prevent the blonde maple from fingerprinting. I just let it wear off. Maple is quite water resistant even bare. My first job right after college was driving a delivery truck for a paint wholesaler. I pick up big drums from Flecto (Varathane), DuPont, and MacLac and deliver them to the furniture mfg. When the owner of Flecto wanted something for his own yacht he brewed up some darn-near deadly illegal moisture-cure urethane, but it held up incredibly well.
Some people can't admit when they're wrong, they're always right and will go to all lengths to justify it. They just don't know when to shut up!!!! The OP asked what finish did Deardorff use in the 1950's-60's, not what is the best finish on the planet to use on a camera, a violin, a yacht or whatever. It's been answered by a number of people who know. Jac@stafford.net posted my sentiments exactly on page 3, but then deleted it. Seven pages of this? Really? You can lead a horse to the well, but you can't make him drink! I guess everyone else who responded is just wrong.
Last edited by Luis-F-S; 5-Feb-2018 at 10:13.
I'm also interested, but if the info is to be recorded here for posterity, could it be on a new thread please.
I wasn't aware that Deardorff stained their Mahogany? All the 'dorff boards I refinished I sanded down to bare wood and the lacquer or tung alone brought out the color which matched the color of the camera's body
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
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