HOWARD PRODUCTS (AUST)

Tel: 1 800 672 646
www.howardproducts.com.au

USING CITRUS SHIELD AS A WOOD FILLER

This is the method that I use to fill holes or gaps in wood with Citrus Shield. For years I used wax sticks made by a variety of manufacturers but I found none of them ultimately satisfactory. I love the way this product works and so do many professionals in the field.

Here’s how it works:

1. You get a tin of Howard Citrus Shield any way you can. Two, Natural and a colour, if it’s in your budget.

2. You spray your job lightly with Orange Oil to clean the surface and push some essential oil into it. This "sets up" the wood for the application of wax.

3. Wax the surface using Citrus Shield. Only a thin coating is necessary. Allow the job to dry or set for 15 to 20 minutes if you intend to hand buff. If you intend to buff with a mechanical tool leave it dry for much longer, hours or even days in fact. Then apply another coat and then a third if you’re keen. Allow each successive coat a good drying time. Then buff the resultant build-up using hard, positive pressure. A lambswool buffer on an electric drill is good.

4. Now, for the filling of holes or gaps take note: After the initial waxing of your piece scoop enough wax out of your tin to make a few small pencils or balls. Leave these pencils or balls in open air (in a garage, or even on the family sideboard in the home) on a piece of plastic or on a plate or in a plastic lid, whatever. Allow to dry for 2-3 weeks or more (sorry but be patient, it’s worth it) until it is like plasticine. When ready, push this hardened wax into the holes making sure that you overfill slightly. Allow to settle for a few days, then slice off the top of each filling with a sharp blade and then buff the entire surface using a cloth slightly moistened with Howard Orange Oil, so that the "fills" blend with the rest as well as possible. Blend away any built up wax that is excess to requirements. This literally means any wax that you don’t think helps the overall finish of the piece.

5. Always use a dark wax to fill holes, not a neutral wax. Imperfections in wood are almost always dark, seldom light. Here’s an important hint; To get a more natural look mix natural Citrus Shield with the coloured Citrus Shield that is the closest (but not necessarily perfect) match to the overall colour or tone of the piece you’re working on. Don't mix too much. Allow the mix to remain streaky. When this is put into holes it can be made to look just like wood, so much so that if you do it properly it’s hard to easily detect where the holes or gaps were.

6. Yes... this means that you will need to buy TWO tins of Citrus Shield. No … it’s not cheap. What is the job you’re working on worth to you? It’s a fair question. Yes... there are other cheaper brands of coloured wax. No... they will not perform the way I’m saying Citrus Shield will. Why? A lot of it is to do with the content of Carnauba in the formula.

7. Citrus Shield comes in the following colours:

Natural, Golden Oak, Walnut, Mahogany and Dark Oak. One size, 340gms: $45.00.

USING HOWARD TUNG OIL FOR OUTDOORS OR TRAFFIC AREA PROTECTION

A natural product from China, this Pure Oil tapped from the euphorbiaceous family of trees has been used for centuries for coating wood. It provides a very hard, traffic resistant finish but it takes up to four days to dry. This makes it difficult for the average person to deal with given dust fallout and insect activity.

By diluting the Tung Oil with Howard Orange Oil the drying time is dramatically lessened.

Instead of Four days it could take as little as four hours to dry depending on the mixture. A good rule of thumb is a 50/50 mixture. This takes from 4 to 6 hours to touch dry and about 20 hours before recoating. At least 2 coats are necessary but 3 coats are best.

Tung Oil, being thick, does not easily penetrate or feed wood. The Orange Oil mix allows the Tung Oil to easily penetrate the wood, filling cavities in the core of the wood and creating an even better finish in terms of traffic and weather resistance. Our Tung oil is 100% pure first grade. It is not gunky or full of foreign bodies. It is pure, clear and clean and is not like so many other Tung Oil style products, mixed with polyurethanes, dryers, solvents and/or chemicals. When you blend Howard Orange Oil into our Tung Oil it acts as a NATURAL solvent allowing the mixture to be controlled.

We sell Tung Oil in the following quantities:

500ml containers $18.50/ 2.5 litre containers for $69.50/ 5 litre containers for $115.00