Well here’s my first post….
I’m building a small coat & shoe storage area in an alcove in our garage & making the panels by glueing up some red oak boards I had in the shop. I’m kind of new to using red oak & not sure of the recommended process to finish it given that the oak has so many differnet pores & grain structures than a wood like cherry or walnut.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks – Tom
Replies
Red Oak is a very opened grain wood, so if you put a color on it, the grain darkens while the "new wood" takes the intended color. It actually finishes pretty evenly and there really is no fear of color blotches. I stay away from commercial oil stains because they tend to look clouded and muddy,and usually mix my own using Artist Oil colors, Mineral Spirits, and Japan Dryer.
Water based dyes offer fantastic color ranges and finish very nicely. I would recommend those over say, Minwax. They deliver brilliant color and do not cloud the grain and beauty of the wood. Any photos?
Adam
No photos right now - although I could soon as I"m almost done glueing up the panels.
It's pretty hard to screw up when staining red oak. Even the minwax finishes look fine; wipe on, wipe off and let dry. The color "Golden oak" is easy to apply and always looks good.
I have used a ton of red oak over the years & my favourite stain is any of the Watco Danish Oils, from natural to Dark Walnut. They are really idiot proof & can be top coated with anything - I use a pre-catalyzed, high solids content lacquer with a low sheen (20 degree I think). Sand lightly after first coat, tack off & spray another coat. If everything has gone in my favour 2 coats is enough.
Do I need to use anyghing to fill the pores first before applying the stain?
I have wet sanded the oil while applying it & let the slurry remain in the open pores, but have never used a grain/pore filler to try & achieve a glass smooth finish on oak.
Personally, I would never use a filler on Red Oak
I think something may have gotten lost here. The recommendations are generally fine for red oak. The only problem is that this sounds like a fairly closed in space. Oil based finishes tend to have lingering odor that could permeate coats left in them. I'd recommend a shellac or a waterborne finish to avoid that problem.
Steve - thanks for the reminder about smell... It would not be a good thing to have a strong oily smell right around the hanging coats & jackets & hats... Tom
Tom, I've never finished anything quite that large in red oak, but my favorite method of finishing that wood is by wetsanding in the finish. The slurry produced by sanding with the finishing product helps fill the pores and, if you're using a Danish oil as I did, reduces the bleeding problem. It leaves a really nice surface behind, smooth and natural without the prominent pores just slopping the stuff on does.
You can (actually should) try it out on a scrap board or two. Click here for a post I made long ago on the process I've used. You will find everyone has a variation, stops at a different grit, etc. When it is well-cured, you can top with poly or whatever. Wait at least a week to be sure. Two is plenty.
PS: You didn't mention how dark you plan on finishing it. If you don't want the pores to stand out, but you want an overall darker stain, try using the neutral or other light Watco on the first go-round, then go to a darker stain after that.
I was making a piece for a client the first time I tried wetsanding, made a dozen samples for them to look at, lots of variation you can get into.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 1/31/2008 12:04 pm by forestgirl
I work with a fair amount of red oak. Here's what I do.
If I'm gonna stain it, I sand to around 220, then apply dye or stain. With stain I let this cure out a few days as I'm usually using oil based stain, or if I'm in a hurry, slap on a washcoat of Zin. Sealcoat shellac. Then, I get that transparent grain filler and fill the grain. It dries hard in a coupla hours or so. Sand it back and then finish with a surfacing material like Waterlox. Comes out pretty, and smooth.
Hello,
I am new here. I have a red oak project. Making a hook hanger board to be mounted on the wall for coats etc. I have next to no experience finishing red oak with the exception of a red oak long bow I made 10 years ago. For that I just did one coat of tung oil then hand rubbed it with beeswax for water resistance.
I have been working with Pine for a number of years. Building custom bedroom furniture.
I use Danish oil a lot as well as solvent based pigment stains, coloured lacquers and NGR varsol based dye type stains.
With Pine, dark and light danish oils apply very well on untouched mill finished wood. You get a nice grain revealing finish. If you sand pine and apply dark walnut danish oil, it basically colours the wood consistently but very very dark. Almost as dark as the raw oil in the can.
My question:
How does Red Oak react with danish oil, sanded wood surface too straight from the mill unsanded?
Basically I'm looking for an idea of what will happen so I don't need to start over.
Also, any suggestions on a finish that will showcase the oaks natural beauty?
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