Hello everybody, I’m new here so sorry if I sound stupid. I am looking for a Easy finish for a cherry coffee table that I built, It probably will take some abuse as I have a 10 year old around the house. I was thinking of boiled linseed oil or danish oil(natural) and let dry for a few days and topcoat with some type of wipe on poly. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks in advance.
Joe
Replies
That will work, though a better varnish may have some appearance benefits if you intend to build enough of a film to be really protective. A non-polyurethane varnish --such as the Waterlox Original/Sealer or thinned Behlen Rockhard varnish can be a bit thicker without developing the plastic look of polyurethane. If you choose one of these there will be very little additional benefit from starting with the coat of linseed oil, but nothing would be hurt.
You might also want to scroll down on some of the prior threads of a few weeks ago for a good discussion of the benefits of a dye schedule to liven the color of the cherry. .
Cherry dye and finish
Joe, I second Steve on this post. Learned a lot myself. Coffee tables being what they are, repositories for all kinds of drinks, wear and abuse, varnish would be my vote as well.
Here is the discussion on the Cherry that Steve mentioned.
http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fine-woodworking-knots/finishing/dying-cherry-0
Post a pic when you finish!
AZMO
Cherry coffee table
AZMO, can you suggest a good wiping varnish? waterlox or other. I am sort of new to finishing, all I ever use is wipe on poly after danish oil. Thanks
Joe
Wiping Varnish
I use a shop made version. It came from FWW, and is called Hot Rod Varnish. It builds a very nice thin even film, but does not really build much thickness, and I would not use it for the top. Full varnish for the top, 2 to 3 coats, which takes time to cure and a place without dust etc. Pretty much Danish Oil Finish, Min Wax Tung oil finish are wiping varnish materials. I have a chest of drawers I am refinishing from 25 years ago. It was done with Min Wax Tung oil. Completely wore away and down to bare wood without hard wear! it is going to be done in varnish. I have pieces I finished in Varnish that are now 45 to 50 years old and they still look great. So it depends on the project and the lifetime you want from it doesn't it?
AZMO, perhaps Steve has a product he likes better as well.
Hot Rod Varnish isn't varnish, it is a mix of oil and varnish, and should be used like other oil/varnish mixes--applied, allowed to penetrate a few minutes, and then have all excess thoroughly wiped off. Danish Oil (all the brands I know, including Watco and Deft are oil/varnish mixtures, not wiping varnishes. So is Minwax Tung Oil Finish. But other tung oil finishes are wiping varnishes and contain no oil, except as a raw material for the manufacture of the varnish. These include Formby's Ting Oil Finish. Waterlox is a wiping varnish in it's Original/Sealer variant. The Satin and Gloss Waterlox are also very similar varnishes but have a higher solids content than most wiping varnishes. You can turn any oil based varnish into a wiping varnish by merely thinning with mineral spirits.
Varnish, which builds a film on the surface, offers much more protection to the wood than oil/varnish mixes which should not build a film and are just in-the-wood finishes. However, the oil/varnish finishes are very easy to repair and refresh, while damage to the varnish finish may require stripping and recoating except for very superficial scratches which might be buffed out.
Personal preferences make most of the difference as to which is "better"/ Varnish gives a more formal appearance wile oil/varnish gives a more casual appearance. It depends on the style of the furniture, and the use you expect it put the coffee table. Traditional style livings rooms may call for one thing, family/playrooms quite another.
Hello everybody, I'm new here so sorry if I sound stupid....
I am old here and I GET STUPID ALL THE TIME..
I mostly use Danish oil and hardly ever use poly (Not that it is a bad thing to use). My home is for children and I let them 'Do whatever' as long as I feel that no trip to the local emergency room will be required. For a child, I would suggest NO poly overcoat. Stay with the oil and wax buffed finish.. Easy to fix once the wax is removed... Mineral spirits or Acetone will remove the wax...
As my experiment, some time ago, I applied new Danish oil over a waxed and cleaned old surface.. Guess what.. The finish held up well? I always apply my oil with a gray/grey? 3M pad.
Poly will just make a re-do harder....
And a child just wants to do fun things.. He/She could care less about the finish of the wood!
Great Finish
Here is the real deal -- 1/3 poly, 1/3 linseed; 1/3 turpentine -- wipe it off (make sure the rags are soaked in water and thrown out - I use paper towels and soak and throw) repeat 10 times sand in between with 220 sp
Yes, standard oil/varnish or Danish oil mix
The equal parts formula is pretty standard, though proportions aren't critical at all. Any oil based varnish works equally well as polyurethane varnish, the linseed oil should be Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO), and mineral spirits works just fine. Ten coats is probably excessive and if you are wiping off all excess, you will be wiping almost everything off after about the first three coats. And, finally, to be picky, I'd go with a finer grit for sanding coats, or between coats--probably about 400 grit. If wet/dry paper, you can sand in the second or third coat while wet--though still being sure to wipe off excess thoroghly. Not needed for pore filling on cherry, and if you wipe off excess as you should, not terribly effective for filling pores on open pored woods.
As far as safety, yes rags or paper towels used with Danish oil are hazardous. Just wetting isn't a good idea, if the place where you throw them out, will let the water dry before the oil/varnish has finished curing. It is much better than just throwing out, where spontaneous combustion is a very real threat. I believe best is to spread on non-combustible surface where heat won't accumulate until the oil/varnish has cured. Then you can throw the stiffened paper or rags away.
Steve - you are right on on all of your advice -- on the rags -- I had a fire a few years back so I am religious about the water step - so far so good
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