Replies

1. 
   Rob_Millard | Jan 21, 2002 05:48pm | #1

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   You can oil the table to bring out the grain and follow with solvent based lacquer a few days later. I wait for at least 4-5 days in mild weather, before applying lacquer. Even a low gloss lacquer will be out of place on a shaker piece. I’ve never built a piece of shaker furniture, but someone I know does, and he uses waterlox as a top coat. He gets good results, but I’m skeptical of all wipe on finishes, for high use surfaces.

1. 
   Chris_Rudolph | Jan 21, 2002 07:44pm | #2

   *Hi Rob,Thanks for the reply. A followup questions if you don't mind. - Do you have recommendations for the type of oil?thanks,Chris.

1. 
   Howard_Acheson | Jan 22, 2002 07:13pm | #3

   *Using oil as a colorant is very effective on cherry. It makes little difference whether you use pure tung oil (don't use a "tung oil finish) or boiled linseed oil. Both will work. The tung is a little lighter and takes longer to cure.Just wet the surface enough to give you the color then wipe it as dry as you can. Using too much just makes you wait longer before you put the top coats on. Let it dry until it no longer has an odor and then finish it with whatever you want.The most durable would be a couple of full stregnth coats of poly varnish or 6-8 coats of a wipe-on poly varnish. You can make your own by mixing your favorite poly with naphtha in a 50/50 ratio. Wipe it on with either a lint free old cotton T-shirt or use non-embossed paper towels. Put on three three coats, let it dry and then sand lightly with 400 sandpaper. Then put on 3 more coats on the whole table and then 3 more coats on the top. Finish with an application of paste wax using a scotchbrite pad after the top has fully cured--about 3-4 weeks.Lacquer is best used as a spray and doesn't offer the protective qualities of varnish.

1. 
   Keith_Mealy | Jan 29, 2002 08:41pm | #4

   *Try a sample with General Finishes "Arm-R-Coat". It's a oil-varnish blend (heavy on the varnish) (as best I can tell, I'm not a chemist). It gives some of the depth of oil, but has the protection of the varnish resins. I think they even recommend this for floor finish. I used some on my dining table and it did a good job. You can put on a couple of undercoats of Danish Oil (or a more oil-based mix) if you want.