Hi guys
I’m building a coffee table out of quarter sawn red oak which is quite porous. I plan to use bullseye seal coat shellac to seal the pores next oil stain and top coat with poly and rub out with OOOO steel wool and wax to get a satin finish. I have done this before without the shellac and it comes out pretty good but I have read that the shellac will pop the grain better so I thought I would try it. Do you think this will work? Or should I stain first and then seal with shellac.
Thanks ZABO
Replies
You might want to re-think your finishing schedule. Applying a coat of Sealcoat will seal the pores of the wood and and very little color. Sealcoat is a light colored, blond shellac. Once you apply the shellac, a stain will not be able to penetrate the surface and be absorbed onto and into the wood. You will get little if any additional color.
As oak is a wood that stain easily and well with no uneven coloring, I would just go with what you have been doing before.
Certainly, before you commit to something new, you first step is to prepare a sample board to see how it will come out.
You'll hear varied opinions but the problem with typical oil based stain over top of a sealant is two fold.
First, the stain never really cures because it contains no curing agent, and the pigments lay on the surface instead of going into the wood or into the grains of the wood. Second, the stain re-dissolves when you go to put another final finish on. This makes a mess. If it were me, I'd do my staining first. Then put on your shellac.
If you're worried about blotching, then use one of those sanding sealers that you put on, and while still wet, then stain. I'm not crazy about them but under the right conditions, they can work.
There are additional options, too. But as I describe in the second paragraph, is a good place to start.
Edited 3/24/2008 3:32 pm ET by blewcrowe
Red oak is not a wood that is prone to blotching, so no pre-stain conditioner is needed. Generally on blotch prone woods dye is the way to go if you need more than a very light shading. In my opinion, red oak isn't a wood that benefits from having grain popped. That makes the most difference on diffuse porous woods such as maple or cherry.
Stains do contain a binder that cures. It does not redissolve in ordinary solvents once it has cured. However, stains, in particular junk stains such as Minwax, have a very weak binder and if you leave excess stain on the surface it is more prone to bleeding into the top coat, but that is mostly a mechanical action not redissolving.
For oak, I'd be inclined towards an oil/varnish in-the-wood finish. Watco is one example that does offer a number of tinted versions. The problem with a varnish on oak is that the grain is so prominent that when coated with a film it gives prominent valleys that tend to look cheap to me. If I needed a film finish I would consider filling the pores before applying a varnish.
Yes Steve. My experience at stain never curing on a surface is that of Minwax, and to a lesser degree, Zarn. Maybe they would cure in a month or two, but not in the practical scheme of things.
No need to seal the pores. If you want to fill the pores, then use a filler for this purpose. I have used a combination stain and filler that is solvent based.Not sure if it is still available with solvents.I imagine you're considering a wash coat of shellac. Like the other posts said it isn't needed on red or white oak.
mike
If you are looking to enhance or modify the color you might try a "glaze" on top of the seal coat.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
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