Hi everyone,
I just put the 4th of probably 5 coats of Watco Danish Oil (natural) on the
cherry high chair for my 8 month old son. I was a little anxious about the
oil finish due to the words of woe regarding blotchy cherry finishes, but I
was NOT going to stain cherry, so I had at it. I must say, the results thus
far are awesome. The armrests and footrest, as well as a few places on the
legs and cross members, have some really neat wavy figure. The color in
general is pretty even, but more importantly to me, it looks really nice.
Anyway, I'm now debating how to protect the finish, since it will definitely
be exposed to a lot of moisture (in various forms, I dare say). I had been
planning to use a wipe on poly on the tray, and try some gel varnish on the
rest seat and arms. For the base I was going to try to get away with simply
waxing.
Does anyone have any experience putting protective topcoats on a oil/varnish
finish? Will the gel varnish provide much protection over the danish oil?
Should I do wipe-on poly on the whole chair?
Thanks for your help!
Mike
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 18:33:41 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Yeah, I wonder the same thing from time to time. The rationale seems to
>make sense, but probably is only necessary with particularly "thirsty" wood.
Hi again,
But that is just my point...
Wood finish is a surface matter. If the wood is "thirsty" we are
finishing the inside. That will have no benefit visual, or otherwise.
All the best,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:27:20 -0700,
[email protected] wrote:
>On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 15:11:49 -0400, Kenneth
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 18:33:41 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Yeah, I wonder the same thing from time to time. The rationale seems to
>>>make sense, but probably is only necessary with particularly "thirsty" wood.
>>
>>Hi again,
>>
>>But that is just my point...
>>
>>Wood finish is a surface matter. If the wood is "thirsty" we are
>>finishing the inside. That will have no benefit visual, or otherwise.
>>
>>All the best,
>
>
>not completely true. penetrating oils have the benefit of reducing the
>amount of grime that can penetrate into the wood. coupled with a
>topcoat, you have a very good working finish.
Howdy,
You lose me when you say "coupled with a topcoat."
Would not that topcoat keep out any "grime."
Also, are we talking furniture, or farm implements? I ask because it
would seem that the issues of "grime that can penetrate into the wood"
would depend on the actual use.
All the best,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
"Kenneth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 17:20:18 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I have seen those instructions also, but believe that they usually
> come from the manufacturers of the finishing products <g>. I suspect
> that they would suggest immersing the object to be finished if they
> could get away with that approach.
>
Yeah, I wonder the same thing from time to time. The rationale seems to
make sense, but probably is only necessary with particularly "thirsty" wood.
> In my experience, the "flooding" just wastes lots of material.
>
> Also, oil finishes of the sort you are using need time to polymerize
> (harden) between applications. Without that, many woods will just
> drink in as much finish as you would care to apply. I doubt that such
> an approach hurts anything (other than the wallet) but it surely does
> not help either.
>
Well, by flood coat I didn't literally pour the finish onto the wood and
walk away. I did apply a liberal amount to coat the surface, and waited
about 20 minutes and wiped off the excess, which wasn't particularly
plentiful. I then waited 16-24 hours and did the next coat. Maybe I didn't
emphasize that earlier, but I did wait what I felt was a reasonably long
time between coats. Each day I felt the wood to make sure it was dry, and
it always felt just fine to me. Not sure if that means it was fully
hardened or not.
> By the way, one of the great virtues of an oil finish is the ease with
> which it can be touched up at a later time should it become necessary.
>
Well, putting wax on isn't stopping the re-oiling is it? Wiping the surface
with mineral spirits or something would remove the wax and allow for
reoiling, or at least that's what I've always thought.
> Have fun, and enjoy your project,
>
Thanks, I am having fun. It's going to be a lot of fun to see my little guy
sitting in the chair, no matter what coating he's sitting on hehe.
Mike
"Toller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> One of us is confused.
> Danish oil IS a top finish. It does not make sense to put anything over
it.
> If you wanted varnish as your TOP finish, you should have started with
> varnish.
> Having three different finishes on your chair won't help it any.
> Or is there a deeper thought here that is going right over my head.
>
If there is anything going over your head it was unintentional, because I
have no clue about this myself. This is the first time I've used Danish oil
on it's own. I followed a recipe for an antique maple finish that involved
some waterlox over a dye stain, which was than sealed with shellac and then
a glazing stain was applied, and more shellac and finally some more waterlox
and wax. Since this was my only experience, it didn't seem to far-fetched
to put things over the top of Danish oil.
Anyway, my main goal is to achieve the color and visual appearance of the
oil finish, but to have a very durable and water-proof surface. That's why
I am/was considering some wipe-on poly or other options on top of the oil.
At this point, however, I think I might follow Mike Hide's suggestion and to
just put several coats of wax on the piece and see how it goes. If I find
it problematic to avoid water spots or whatever else might happen, I suppose
I can think about other finishes at that point, right?
I think a high chair is analogous to moldings in a bathroom. Do you guys
just oil and wax woodwork used in those types of environments?
Mike
Just for informational purposes.
It is not unusual, when someone is going to put on a surface film finish, to
use an initial coat or two of oil to enhance the grain, the so called
process of popping the grain.
Applying five coats of oil for the effect would be excessive but not
harmfully so. One or, at most, two, would be sufficient.
My personal opinion is that, since oil based varnish already has oil in it
the same effect can be achieved with a thinned sealer coat of oil based
varnish. . What would befit from the application would be water based
varnishes.
I also don't like the effect on very light wood since the yellowing puts me
in mind of "yellow snow". Now, on a darker wood such as walnut or mahogany
it's a different story.
However, that is only my opinion/taste and not to be taken as condemnation
of those who may disagree. .
In general I'd say that the use of a surface finish over an oil finish is a
harmless exercise with some possible befits, but the use of two different
surface finishes, say varnish over shellac, is, at best, a non productive
waste of time, at worse, a recipe for disaster.
Note, when I say varnish over shellac I am alluding too a built up shellac
finish and not a sealer coat of thinned shellac.
Just some thoughts
--
Mike G.
[email protected]
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"Toller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> One of us is confused.
> Danish oil IS a top finish. It does not make sense to put anything over
it.
> If you wanted varnish as your TOP finish, you should have started with
> varnish.
> Having three different finishes on your chair won't help it any.
> Or is there a deeper thought here that is going right over my head.
>
>
"Kenneth" wrote in message
> About three years ago I made a bed for my (now) five year old son.
> There is little to it. It was made of stained fir 2 x 10s because it
> was to be a temporary piece.
>
> It means more to me than anything else I have ever made (and, more to
> him.)
Know the feeling ... same with the little "prototype" bedside table of pine
my youngest daughter and I did together a few years back. She's heading for
college this fall and just looking at the thing is going to cause a flood of
memories. This is the last one out of the nest ... and I am not ready for
it.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/13/04
Ensure the oil has cured before WB finishing.
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 11:39:53 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"B a r r y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Mike,
>> I've added thin, wiped-on coats of Waterlox Urethane over
>> Waterlox oil/varnish (original) with good results. I don't see why
>> you couldn't do the same over Watco, but I'd try it on scrap or an
>> inconspicuous place first.
>>
>> Barry
>
>that's a good idea, Barry, I'll look for it. I'm not sure if I've ever seen
>Watco Urethane, but I haven't ever tried to find it before. I have some
>wipe-on poly on hand and I tried it on some test pieces and it seemed very
>easy to work with. The water-based suggestion isn't bad, either. I used
>polyacrylic from General Finishes on some of the other baby furniture and
>was happy with it. Those were pickled, though, not oiled, and the finish
>was water-based as well.
>
>Mike
>
One of us is confused.
Danish oil IS a top finish. It does not make sense to put anything over it.
If you wanted varnish as your TOP finish, you should have started with
varnish.
Having three different finishes on your chair won't help it any.
Or is there a deeper thought here that is going right over my head.
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 14:29:53 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>to
>just put several coats of wax on the piece and see how it goes.
Howdy,
I would respectfully suggest that you are overdoing each phase...
There is no need for "several" coats of wax. Even one would seem too
much under the circumstances.
All the best,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
"B a r r y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mike,
> I've added thin, wiped-on coats of Waterlox Urethane over
> Waterlox oil/varnish (original) with good results. I don't see why
> you couldn't do the same over Watco, but I'd try it on scrap or an
> inconspicuous place first.
>
> Barry
that's a good idea, Barry, I'll look for it. I'm not sure if I've ever seen
Watco Urethane, but I haven't ever tried to find it before. I have some
wipe-on poly on hand and I tried it on some test pieces and it seemed very
easy to work with. The water-based suggestion isn't bad, either. I used
polyacrylic from General Finishes on some of the other baby furniture and
was happy with it. Those were pickled, though, not oiled, and the finish
was water-based as well.
Mike
Hi Tom,
Sorry I didn't respond to you earlier. I mentioned my experience with WB
topcoats (specifically General Finishes polyacrylic blend) and I was quite
happy with it. The one caveat is that I used it with water-based stain. I
realize if I let the oil/varnish completely cure that I should have no
problems with the water-based poly over it. At this point, I think I'm
going to try to go with just waxing the danish oil finish thoroughly and see
how that works. The main problem I would anticipate with a poly top coat on
something like this is the potential for severe scratching from the little
guy banging his utensils and bowls, etc. The ease of repairing the oil
finish is appealing to me.
Mike
"Tom Kohlman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 24 hours later I still say to try water based poly <G>
>
> It makes clean-up a breeze on anything that might need clean-up (like a
high
> chair or a kitchen waste basket surround).
>
>
> "B a r r y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:27:32 -0400, "Mike G"
> > <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > >but the use of two different
> > >surface finishes, say varnish over shellac, is, at best, a non
productive
> > >waste of time, at worse, a recipe for disaster.
> >
> > Unless you're using the shellac as a barrier coat for some reason.
> >
> > Shellac is a pretty much a universal barrier and is compatible with
> > just about anything.
> >
> > Barry
>
>
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 01:44:01 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Does anyone have any experience putting protective topcoats on a oil/varnish
>finish? Will the gel varnish provide much protection over the danish oil?
>Should I do wipe-on poly on the whole chair?
Mike,
I've added thin, wiped-on coats of Waterlox Urethane over
Waterlox oil/varnish (original) with good results. I don't see why
you couldn't do the same over Watco, but I'd try it on scrap or an
inconspicuous place first.
Barry
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:27:32 -0400, "Mike G"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>but the use of two different
>surface finishes, say varnish over shellac, is, at best, a non productive
>waste of time, at worse, a recipe for disaster.
Unless you're using the shellac as a barrier coat for some reason.
Shellac is a pretty much a universal barrier and is compatible with
just about anything.
Barry
The wax would mainly be used to give it a bit of luster and sheen. Isn't
this what wax is used for, as well as some protection (albeit minimal)?
I've only continued to add coats of the oil/varnish because the color seems
to be slightly affected with each one, becoming more rich and changing the
overall affect, albeit subtly. I'm really going by a few things I've read,
which suggest to do a couple of flood coats of the oil, then a third coat
with wet sanding using approx. 600 grit paper, and then a few more "surface
enhancement" coats to obtain the final color/properties. I was a bit
skeptical about the effect after the first two, but it has definately been
observable. The wet sanding made the surface extremely smooth and pleasant
to the touch. The last coats of oil were less effectual, but it goes on so
quickly and all that I didn't see why not. There were a few areas where the
luster changed noticeably, too.
Other than that, why wouldn't you wax the surface?
Mike
On Wed, 28 Apr 2004 01:49:13 GMT, "Tom Kohlman"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>24 hours later I still say to try water based poly <G>
>
>It makes clean-up a breeze on anything that might need clean-up (like a high
>chair or a kitchen waste basket surround).
I agree, but the water base I've seen give the wood an artificial
tone. Some of the better stuff is now available with ambering
additives that seem to make them look more like solvent based products
after curing.
I _love_ water base finishes on woods that I want to stay very light
and bright, like natural birch, light ash, and bright maple.
Barry
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 17:20:18 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm really going by a few things I've read,
>which suggest to do a couple of flood coats of the oil, then a third coat
>with wet sanding using approx. 600 grit paper, and then a few more "surface
>enhancement" coats to obtain the final color/properties.
Hello again,
I have seen those instructions also, but believe that they usually
come from the manufacturers of the finishing products <g>. I suspect
that they would suggest immersing the object to be finished if they
could get away with that approach.
In my experience, the "flooding" just wastes lots of material.
Also, oil finishes of the sort you are using need time to polymerize
(harden) between applications. Without that, many woods will just
drink in as much finish as you would care to apply. I doubt that such
an approach hurts anything (other than the wallet) but it surely does
not help either.
By the way, one of the great virtues of an oil finish is the ease with
which it can be touched up at a later time should it become necessary.
Have fun, and enjoy your project,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 20:20:52 -0500, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Kenneth" wrote in message
>
>> About three years ago I made a bed for my (now) five year old son.
>> There is little to it. It was made of stained fir 2 x 10s because it
>> was to be a temporary piece.
>>
>> It means more to me than anything else I have ever made (and, more to
>> him.)
>
>Know the feeling ... same with the little "prototype" bedside table of pine
>my youngest daughter and I did together a few years back. She's heading for
>college this fall and just looking at the thing is going to cause a flood of
>memories. This is the last one out of the nest ... and I am not ready for
>it.
Howdy,
Well, you are getting ready for it...
Writing the sort of words above has to help. Thanks for posting it.
All the best,
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
"Mike in Mystic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> At this point, however, I think I might follow Mike Hide's suggestion and
to
Sorry, should've been Mike G.
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 11:39:53 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"B a r r y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>that's a good idea, Barry, I'll look for it. I'm not sure if I've ever seen
>Watco Urethane, but I haven't ever tried to find it before.
Woodcraft in Manchester has both the Waterlox Urethane, and Watco's
Wiping Poly. The Waterlox stuff has to be cut with mineral spirits to
make it wipable, but I think either gives a better finish than
Minwax's versions. I'm not sure if it's in the Woodcraft catalog.
The Manchester store carries quite a few items that are not franchise
items.
Waterlox includes the idea of adding a thin coat of poly over their
"Original" finish in a data sheet I also picked up in the finishing
dept. at Woodcraft.
Barry
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 18:33:41 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"Kenneth" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 17:20:18 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> I have seen those instructions also, but believe that they usually
>> come from the manufacturers of the finishing products <g>. I suspect
>> that they would suggest immersing the object to be finished if they
>> could get away with that approach.
>>
>
>Yeah, I wonder the same thing from time to time. The rationale seems to
>make sense, but probably is only necessary with particularly "thirsty" wood.
>
>> In my experience, the "flooding" just wastes lots of material.
>>
>> Also, oil finishes of the sort you are using need time to polymerize
>> (harden) between applications. Without that, many woods will just
>> drink in as much finish as you would care to apply. I doubt that such
>> an approach hurts anything (other than the wallet) but it surely does
>> not help either.
>>
>
>Well, by flood coat I didn't literally pour the finish onto the wood and
>walk away. I did apply a liberal amount to coat the surface, and waited
>about 20 minutes and wiped off the excess, which wasn't particularly
>plentiful. I then waited 16-24 hours and did the next coat. Maybe I didn't
>emphasize that earlier, but I did wait what I felt was a reasonably long
>time between coats. Each day I felt the wood to make sure it was dry, and
>it always felt just fine to me. Not sure if that means it was fully
>hardened or not.
>
>
>> By the way, one of the great virtues of an oil finish is the ease with
>> which it can be touched up at a later time should it become necessary.
>>
>
>Well, putting wax on isn't stopping the re-oiling is it? Wiping the surface
>with mineral spirits or something would remove the wax and allow for
>reoiling, or at least that's what I've always thought.
>
>> Have fun, and enjoy your project,
>>
>
>Thanks, I am having fun. It's going to be a lot of fun to see my little guy
>sitting in the chair, no matter what coating he's sitting on hehe.
>
>
>Mike
>
one thing to consider when using very heavy oil coats, such as
immersing the part: hardening oils need oxygen to do their thing.
because of the cellular nature of wood, there's plenty of oxygen
inside of the wood for the oil that penetrates to cure. however, if
you completely saturate the wood (and it takes a *lot* of oil to do
so) it can take a very long time to dry.
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 18:33:41 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Thanks, I am having fun. It's going to be a lot of fun to see my little guy
>sitting in the chair, no matter what coating he's sitting on hehe.
>
Hi Mike,
I neglected to read that last comment of yours...
I have made furniture on and off for about forty years.
About three years ago I made a bed for my (now) five year old son.
There is little to it. It was made of stained fir 2 x 10s because it
was to be a temporary piece.
It means more to me than anything else I have ever made (and, more to
him.)
Enjoy!
--
Kenneth
If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."
24 hours later I still say to try water based poly <G>
It makes clean-up a breeze on anything that might need clean-up (like a high
chair or a kitchen waste basket surround).
"B a r r y" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:27:32 -0400, "Mike G"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >but the use of two different
> >surface finishes, say varnish over shellac, is, at best, a non productive
> >waste of time, at worse, a recipe for disaster.
>
> Unless you're using the shellac as a barrier coat for some reason.
>
> Shellac is a pretty much a universal barrier and is compatible with
> just about anything.
>
> Barry
"Mike G" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just for informational purposes.
>
> I also don't like the effect on very light wood since the yellowing puts
me
> in mind of "yellow snow". Now, on a darker wood such as walnut or mahogany
> it's a different story.
>
Do you consider cherry a light wood? I've been extremely satisfied with how
nicely the watco oil/varnish has darkened the cherry. I'm sure this can
vary quite a bit depending on the board or even within the board, especially
with cherry. The main reason I've added more coats of oil is that I've been
able to see subtle effects from doing so. You're probably correct that if I
want to put a urethane or something on top, 5 coats might be overdoing it,
especially since the overall appearance is likely to be affected anyway.
Anyway, I'm curious about your suggestion for "3 coats of wax". Another
poster questioned the need for ANY wax, let alone multiple coats. I admit
that when I've used wax, I only put one coat. What's the rationale for
multiple coats? Do you put one on and wait a day or just
wax/buff/wax/buff/etc. without appreciable waiting time?
The maple bed I made that had oil/varnish as the top coat was waxed over a
year ago (one coat of antiquewax) and it has held up wonderfully without any
additional waxing.
Mike
If you have five coats of Danish oil on the piece and it looks good I
wouldn't bother with anything further.
Just put about three coats of a good paste wax on it and be conscientious
about cleaning up the tray. The nice thing about an oil finish is that it
can be rejuvenated by a new application of wax.
Good luck
--
Mike G.
[email protected]
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"Mike in Mystic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:BVijc.12717$A%[email protected]...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I just put the 4th of probably 5 coats of Watco Danish Oil (natural) on
the
> cherry high chair for my 8 month old son. I was a little anxious about
the
> oil finish due to the words of woe regarding blotchy cherry finishes, but
I
> was NOT going to stain cherry, so I had at it. I must say, the results
thus
> far are awesome. The armrests and footrest, as well as a few places on
the
> legs and cross members, have some really neat wavy figure. The color in
> general is pretty even, but more importantly to me, it looks really nice.
>
> Anyway, I'm now debating how to protect the finish, since it will
definitely
> be exposed to a lot of moisture (in various forms, I dare say). I had
been
> planning to use a wipe on poly on the tray, and try some gel varnish on
the
> rest seat and arms. For the base I was going to try to get away with
simply
> waxing.
>
> Does anyone have any experience putting protective topcoats on a
oil/varnish
> finish? Will the gel varnish provide much protection over the danish oil?
> Should I do wipe-on poly on the whole chair?
>
> Thanks for your help!
>
> Mike
>
>
Hi Mike
About the cherry all I can say is that I'd have to have the wood in front of
me so I could test it with some oil. Cherry can have enough color to get
away with it but not always. But please, make your own judgments on that. It
is just a personal opinion of mine and depends greatly on the wood tone I
have to work with.
In matters of taste in styles, colors, etc do tests on scrap, please
yourself, and hang everyone else. That is, of course, unless everyone else
is the better half or someone paying for the job.
As for wax. My opinion is that all finishes benefit from wax in more then
just looks and I consider three coats optimum. Actually, after three coats
your wasting your time putting more on because by then all the little
imperfections have been filled and you are pretty much, well, to steal a
quote, doing "wax on/wax off"
While wax itself offers practically no protection to wood by itself it does
do a fair job of protecting a finish. It acts as a lubricant protecting a
finish from the day to day action of collecting scratches as items are slid
over the surface of the finish. This helps minimize wear and tear of the
finish itself and the build up of micro scratches that will eventually dull
a finish. It fills pours in open pored wood finished with an oil finish or a
surface finish that has not had the pores filled. This keeps crud from
building up. It collects general house hold grunge. It acts as a temporary
barrier keeping moisture from the finish long enough so it can be wiped up.
And, after it's done all that you can remove all the collected gunk and
rejuvenate the sheen by simply rewaxing. Since wax never cures hard, new
coats of wax dissolve previous coats and the gunk gets wiped off as you
rewax. Eventually, depending on conditions, the initial coat of wax and the
rewaxing reaches a point of diminishing returns and the wax has to be
stripped and a fresh clean base coat added but you're only talking once or
twice a year, maybe less.
As for someone saying wax not needed. I have to wonder if they wax their car
to protect the finish. I know an awful lot of people who do, even people
with expensive custom jobs.
Hope it helps
--
Mike G.
[email protected]
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"Mike in Mystic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Mike G" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Just for informational purposes.
> >
> > I also don't like the effect on very light wood since the yellowing puts
> me
> > in mind of "yellow snow". Now, on a darker wood such as walnut or
mahogany
> > it's a different story.
> >
>
> Do you consider cherry a light wood? I've been extremely satisfied with
how
> nicely the watco oil/varnish has darkened the cherry. I'm sure this can
> vary quite a bit depending on the board or even within the board,
especially
> with cherry. The main reason I've added more coats of oil is that I've
been
> able to see subtle effects from doing so. You're probably correct that if
I
> want to put a urethane or something on top, 5 coats might be overdoing it,
> especially since the overall appearance is likely to be affected anyway.
>
> Anyway, I'm curious about your suggestion for "3 coats of wax". Another
> poster questioned the need for ANY wax, let alone multiple coats. I admit
> that when I've used wax, I only put one coat. What's the rationale for
> multiple coats? Do you put one on and wait a day or just
> wax/buff/wax/buff/etc. without appreciable waiting time?
>
> The maple bed I made that had oil/varnish as the top coat was waxed over a
> year ago (one coat of antiquewax) and it has held up wonderfully without
any
> additional waxing.
>
> Mike
>
>
Hi Mike
In regards to flooding and letting an application cure. Kenneth pretty much
hit the nail on the head.
You may notice that when you apply the first coat of oil that some parts of
the wood looked glossy and wet while some went right to dull and
uninteresting. It's more noticeable on some woods then others.
However what you are seeing is the different densities of the wood and how
quickly the different parts soak up the oil. As and alternative to flooding
and wasting the finish you can get good results by observing the phenomena
and, during the set and soak time applying more oil to those dull areas.
What happens after the manufacturers suggested wait time till more is added
is that the oil cures and seals the cells which prevents the new coats from
penetrating any further into the wood.
If you don't give it enough time to cure the wood will be like a sponge and
will continue to soak up the oil like a sponge.
Good Luck
--
Mike G.
[email protected]
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 15:11:49 -0400, Kenneth
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 18:33:41 GMT, "Mike in Mystic"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Yeah, I wonder the same thing from time to time. The rationale seems to
>>make sense, but probably is only necessary with particularly "thirsty" wood.
>
>Hi again,
>
>But that is just my point...
>
>Wood finish is a surface matter. If the wood is "thirsty" we are
>finishing the inside. That will have no benefit visual, or otherwise.
>
>All the best,
not completely true. penetrating oils have the benefit of reducing the
amount of grime that can penetrate into the wood. coupled with a
topcoat, you have a very good working finish.
Think it might be time to try water-based poly if you haven't used it
before...a little more $$$ but it goes on nice, dries quick allowing more
coats than oil based in the time allowed, low fumes and pretty good self
leveling even with the throw-away foam brushes. Have used it (Minwax brand
which I think also owns Watco) on top of Watco with no problems. Realize it
looks pretty crappy when first applied (milky) but that goes away so don't
sweat it.
Good luck!
"Mike in Mystic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:BVijc.12717$A%[email protected]...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I just put the 4th of probably 5 coats of Watco Danish Oil (natural) on
the
> cherry high chair for my 8 month old son. I was a little anxious about
the
> oil finish due to the words of woe regarding blotchy cherry finishes, but
I
> was NOT going to stain cherry, so I had at it. I must say, the results
thus
> far are awesome. The armrests and footrest, as well as a few places on
the
> legs and cross members, have some really neat wavy figure. The color in
> general is pretty even, but more importantly to me, it looks really nice.
>
> Anyway, I'm now debating how to protect the finish, since it will
definitely
> be exposed to a lot of moisture (in various forms, I dare say). I had
been
> planning to use a wipe on poly on the tray, and try some gel varnish on
the
> rest seat and arms. For the base I was going to try to get away with
simply
> waxing.
>
> Does anyone have any experience putting protective topcoats on a
oil/varnish
> finish? Will the gel varnish provide much protection over the danish oil?
> Should I do wipe-on poly on the whole chair?
>
> Thanks for your help!
>
> Mike
>
>