Over on the Luthier's Forum, Michael N. posted some good information on his use of UV to cure Tru-Oil and other varnish finishes. This advice got me going on putting together a UV cabinet. It turns out that a 30 gallon garbage can is an easy way to make a suitable enclosure. It's the right size for ukes up to the baritone and has the additional advantage of good internal reflectivity without having to add reflective material. The tubes are 24" BL350 fluorescents that are readily available on line but probably won't be found at your local hardware store. Ready-made fixtures that incorporate ballasts are available but it's less expensive to buy the end sockets (called "tombstones") and ballasts separately and just screw them to the walls of the can. This also lets the ballasts be mounted on the exterior to keep heat on the outside. I found ballasts that drive two bulbs and that also saved some money. Without ventilation, the internal temperature stabilized at 88F, which seemed a little warm so a quiet, low-volume muffin fan was added along with holes at the bottom of the can to allow air to be drawn. A filter was added to keep dust out. It plugs into an inexpensive mechanical timer so that I can leave it unattended.
So far, I've found that it cures both Tru-Oil and poly. As Michael says, it really does speed up the finishing process. Here is the link to his comments:
http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=49036&hilit=michael+uv
And, please hold your fire about "garbage can ukuleles."
So far, I've found that it cures both Tru-Oil and poly. As Michael says, it really does speed up the finishing process. Here is the link to his comments:
http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=49036&hilit=michael+uv
And, please hold your fire about "garbage can ukuleles."
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