i been commissioned to make a coffee table from a cross section of a ancient red oak measuring approx. 46″x 66″ and finally flattened out @ 3.5″. my question is : in order to maintain the lighter color of the wood when i finish sanding,before applying the finish would it be better to apply a glue size over the entire top or shellac to preserve the color? any ideas???? thanks v. much.
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Is it completely dry/cured from being cut? You can wet it with some mineral spirits and see if indeed it will still have that light color. The color when it is wet will be the color you will attain with a clear finish. It may just naturally darken.
If the mineral spirits test suggested by Gretchen is too dark for you, I suggest you use a waterborne acyrlic finish directly on the wood. There is a Video by Peter Gedreys that is currently available from the FWW home page that demonstrates this proceedure on maple. The waterborne finishes are not quite as resistent to spills and household chemicals as an oil based varnish, but still generally satisfactory--more like the lacquer that until recently was the standard furniture finish.
Using super blonde shellac would likely be your next lightest choice, but will have more of the wetting look that you get from the mineral spirit test.
Remember too that despite the finish oak will darken over time.
As others have noted, it is important that this big piece is thoroughly dry.
Assuming that it is dry, I'd prefer a blonde (clear), dewaxed shellac as the sealer. In my opinion, a glue sizing might work just as well, but its clarity is not as good as shellac's.
thank you for the insights. yes, the wood is dry... approx 7.5-8.0% over all. i have three of these pieces each ranging approx.6"-9" in thickness. i traded out making a cofee table for the original owner for the other two. this has been a great learning experience flattening one to finish sand. still have to make the legs/under carriage.
This is a cross section of white oak, finished with boiled linseed oil & waterlox. When finishing end grain, you'll need about 3 or 4 sealer coats before the end grain stops wicking away the finish. It helps to sand the surface to 800-1000.
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