Varnishes

​Brian, 

The response you gave me is a starting point for me. 

For years I had mixed Carnauba wax (highest grade, light amber) with beeswax (bleached) in proportions of 3 parts carnauba was to 1 part beeswax. The wax is supper hard. Should one drop a stick it shatters like broken glass. After polishing the hardwoods turned up to grit 600 the wood apeares like mable. All sanding is performed on the lathe in motion. I would press the hard wax stick against the wood and then buff it with a soft  cotton cloth. This application yielded a high gloss surface. But the finish doesn’t hold up over a short time of handling. The wax would dull. I am seeking to produce a mirror finish (high gloss) on the exterior of the turning that is more durable to handling with bare skin.hands.

The link you gave me about violin finishes is a good start. I will experiment with some of the formulas presented. I did not have any recipes. Given the time and expense I did want to proceed without any glue as what should be the ingediants and amounts. 

Any finish has to be flexible that is why I mentioned kiln dried wood verses air dried woods. 

You mentioned that the furniture restoration conservators may have their own formulas. If you can offer a link to them that would also be something I would investigate. 

Any finish I apply should seal the wood from moisture changes and offer a hard durable gloss that hold up. 

Thank you for responding to my initial inquiry. Everyone’s time is limited and I don’t want to waste any bodies time. Thank you.