socalgranny

Just a note of clarification on my previous post. Each section of the test board got 3 coats. The sanding I describe was as follows: 220P after the first coat, 400P after the second and 600P wet/dry moistened with mineral spirits after the third coat.

I discovered that the kind of wood makes a difference when choosing a finish. Keep this in mind before following the advice of any articles posted in FineWoodworking.

I needed to refinish a red oak bed frame. I wanted to keep the finish light in color. And I also wanted a very smooth but moderate gloss in-the-wood look. I also wanted to be done with the project in less than two weeks and I wanted a technique that matched by low tech, inexperienced skill level.

I read pretty much every article posted on FineWoodworking about finishes and finishing techniques twice. I followed up on the different opinions in several articles posted here and the advice of my brother who has a lot of wood working experience (see links below) by buying a 6'x4" length of red oak to use as a test bed. I sanded both sides well with 220-P grit. On one side I put a coat of Zinsser Seal Coat diluted to a one pound cut with denatured alcohol (1:1 since Seal Coat is a 2 lb cut out of the can). This was my brother's advice for use on a ringporous wood like oak. This was applied very thinly with a home-made french polishing cloth. Once this dried, I sanded lightly with a gray synthetic steel wool pad (rated as 000 or Fine) and vacuumed all dust away and then wiped with a clean, soft cloth. Then I divided the board into 3 2' sections with masking tape. I now had 6 test areas. To each side, I applied three different finishes. Minwax wipe-on poly gloss, and 3:2:1 and 2:2:2 homemade varnishes made by thoroughly blending mineral spirits:fast-drying Minwax gloss poly:Rockler pure tung oil. The original article for 3:2:1 recommended linseed oil but I did not like the strong smell so I opted for Tung oil. The homemade blends were sanded in as the video instructs and then wiped off repeatedly with a clean cloth till no more bleeding was seen. The unshellacked side had a lot more bleeding out. The Minwax wipe-on poly was applied with a french polishing cloth set up and then wiped off with a clean cloth to leave a thin coat. After 48 hours drying, every section got a light sanding with first 220-P, then 400-P and finally 600-P wet/dry moistened with mineral spirits. After sanding, all dust was vacuumed off and then the surface wiped clean with a soft cloth. I repeated this three times.

The results are in: Minwax wipe-on poly is the hands down winner. Of the two sections done with the Minwax, the shellacked side stayed lighter in color and helped seal the grainier sections. All sections looked better with the Sealcoat, but the 3:2:1 was a real dud on red oak. The finish looked dull and lifeless and the oil seemed to spot out. The 2:2:2 was somewhat better but also gave an uneven finish and took a lot longer to dry. It would need many more than 3 coats to look decent. I have now applied the winning finish to the bed frame. After one coat of the Sealcoat and three coats of the wipe-on poly, the bed looks great - the finish has a sheen but not a high gloss. It has an in-the-wood look, not a film. It is silky smooth to the touch and still quite light in color with a definite warm, red tone. I am going to do one more coat of the wipe-on poly and finish with a coat of Renaissance wax (after I test it on my test board.) I will write back with the final results.

If you are working with cherry or another type of wood, you may see different results since the basic structure of the wood is different. I recommend a test board for an important project to be sure you are satisfied with the results. You will feel less stressed out if you know for sure the kind of look your chosen finish will have.

LINKS:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/subscription/skillsandtechniques/skillsandtechniquesarticle.aspx?id=34065

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Materials/MaterialsPDF.aspx?id=24153

http://www.finewoodworking.com/fwnpdf/011207051.pdf

http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=30593

http://www.finewoodworking.com/Materials/MaterialsArticle.aspx?id=28833