Replies

1. 
   Westchester | Feb 11, 2010 10:43am | #1

   Don't know what the Rodel
   Don't know what the Rodel color looks like -

   but I have stained oak with raw umber and it seemed similar to a fumed color.

   SA

2. 
   SteveSchoene | Feb 11, 2010 09:12pm | #2

   What aspects of the multistep schedules don't appeal to you? There are, for example, two schedules by Jeff Jewitt--an early one in the Badger Pond articles section on http://www.woodcentral.com, and a recent version on his web page, http://www.homesteadfinishing.com.

   As near as I can tell from the Rodel web pages, his most common finish is a fairly light brown oak flavor. I suppose the pores are relatively dark as they generally are for Arts and Crafts. This ought to be fairly straight forward to get close to with a dye, seal, and then glaze to color the pores kind of approach. He does have some darker pieces, including some with light wood inlays, that would be very much easier to accomplish by fuming or other chemical stain, but you didn't mention that.

   The key is to make lots of samples on scrap--try out different color combinations. Top coats could be a thin wiping varnish or shellac.

1. 
   gonethinking2 | Feb 11, 2010 11:23pm | #3

   Steve - the multi-step schedule is fine and I have read/looked at the online samples - I was just wondering if anyone had a recipe for a Rodel finish similar to the cover of FWW. I was just trying to avoid making the sample board but if I do it to keep with recipes on the back then it is a one time effort that will serve well for future projects - Cheers Bill

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Feb 12, 2010 12:13am | #5

   You really need to make your own samples. Your wood is different that the wood in the magazine. You may apply materials differently. Different batches of dye or stain may be slightly off from those used by the author. Published or especially on-line pictures can be off significantly from the reality. The best a publsihed finish schedule can be is a starting point. Remember, your ultimate goal isn't to match the picture, it's to create a finish that you like.

3. 
   cowtown | Feb 11, 2010 11:42pm | #4

   Bill:

   There are so many finishes seen at a distance on Rodels website, but here's one yu might wanna try...

   Dissolve a dollop or two of roofing tar in varsol, srir well and run it through a coffee filter. Then wipe it on some QS white oak....Ain't dark enuf, use two or four dollops, or 4 or 8 dollops...etc.

   Cheap, and oh so exquisitely retro, and quite possibly steeped in history (if the refinishing folks ain't mislead me...)

   Eric in Calgary