Hello all. I am assembling a cherry dining room table purchased as a kit from the Shaker Workshop. I would appreciate any advice on what finish should be used. The following is a list of priorities that the finish should provide:
1. Resistance to stains. I have 3 small children and spilling milk, juice etc. will be a large part of this table’s future.
2. Ease of application.
3. Ease of maintenance.
Thanks – JW
Replies
There's a couple finishes that fit your needs JW; danish oil and wipe-on varnish. Varnish is the more durable of the two and has very good resistance to damage from water, heat, wear, stains and household chemicals. Danish oil is mixture of varnish and drying oil (e.g., linseed or tung oil) which makes it less durable, but it still meets your requirements.
Danish oils (oil/varnish blends) are penetrating finishes. Also known as "close to the wood," or "in the wood" finishes, they soak into the wood fibers near the surface; they don't form a protective layer above the wood. These finishes seal the wood, develop its natural color or enhance it, and preserve its texture. Penetrating finishes give the wood a warm, soft look with an even satin sheen. To repair the finish, sand very lightly with very fine paper and wipe on another coat.
Varnish, including polyurethane, is a film forming finish. These finishes build a protective layer above the surface of the wood. Film finishes are used when you want good durability or depth. For a 'natural' look, you can keep the film forming finish very thin, but then it won't provide as much durability as it would if you applied more coats. Sheens range from gloss to flat. For repairability, stay away from polyurethane and go with a varnish like Waterlox that can be recoated the same way as a danish oil.
Do a sample of the finish on the bottom of the table. Do a good size area, but leave room for another sample or two in case you're not happy with the first. You may find you don't care for the 'blotchy' look an oil-base finish produces... it's a matter of personal preference. If that's the case, an alternative approach is to seal the wood with shellac and then use a wiping varnish over it (not a danish oil). The shellac will limit the penetration of the oil-base varnish and reduce the blotchiness. There's more info on finishing cherry at this link - http://www.finishwiz.com/cherry.htm
http://www.finishwiz.com
Either an oil/varnish mix or shellac. Zinsser has a new product out that is french polish in a bottle, and I would recommend you try to find a bottle and pad it on. Check out how to pad shellac either on FWW or at Homestead Finishing.
When shellac is cured, it is quite hard, yet easily repaired if you ever have the need to do so.
Oil/varnish is easy to do, gives a great finish on cherry (and you can top it with wax), and is easily repaired. The downside is you will need to do a pre-treatment to avoid blotchiness.
Last choice is brushed on lacquer. Easy to repair, harder to apply, and the fumes are killer. But it looks great, and you can buff it to high gloss with abralon pads.
I tend to avoid anything that is polyurethane. It goes on easy, but it looks like plastic crap. And that's my scientific, not personal opinion!
Hello Pondfish,
Could you recommend off the shelf oil/varnish, wax and pre-treatment products.
Thanks,
JW
Minwax wood conditioner as a pretreatment;
Formby's tung oil is really an oil/varnish mix, or use Watco "Danish oil" for off the shelf stuff--but I always mix my own: 30-40% McCloskey Heirloom varnish + 30-40% tung or BLO + remainder MS;
Any furniture wax is fine, apply at least one week after your last O/V treatment. Buff with a car buffer+foam pad if you have one!Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
Thanks for your help.
JW
Shellac for a table top used as you are describing would not be advisable. It is not resistant to spills and moisture. A wipe on varnish will be very durable--8 coats. The cherry will naturally darken so a stain would not be necessary. Wax offers very little and on a table where wet glasses may be placed will give rings.Gretchen
Do I need to use a sealer? If so what? Could you recommend any off the shelf varnish.
Thanks,
JW
I don't know if you did this project or not but I have worked with a lot of cherry. The best way that I know to finish it is with Boiled linseed oil mineral spirit combo. No stain, no sealer. The BLO will darken the wood, and cherry darkens over time naturally anyhow.
Just take a coffee can throw some BLO in it with about a equal amount of mineral spirits. Slop it on, then wipe it off about 15 minuets later. Let it sit for about an hour than do it again. then you can do it a third time in a day or so. You can also add some poly to that mix on the 3rd coat if you want. equal parts. It doesn't really matter.
After that dries get some minwax wipe on poly, it's cheap, available everywhere, and just as good if not better than anything else out there. wipe on varnishes are easy to apply and are quick drying so you can put several coats on in a day, which is good because for a dinning table you will need to put 5-10 coats on. scuff sand lightly between coats of poly with 0000 steel wool or very fine sandpaper.
Rules of thumb for BLO is that the more mineral spirits you use in the mixture the quicker it dries. There is no right or wrong ratio, no reason to measure anything just guesstamate 50-50, 60-40,70-30 whatever.
This finish is cheap, easy, and you can get the supplies anywhere.
Hello Scott - Thanks for your response. I haven't started the project yet, What is the benefit of using the BLO + mineral spirits first? Is mineral spirits turpentine? Do I wipe on the BLO mixture? Do I sand in between coats of BLO.
Thanks,
JW
The BLO makes the grain in the cheery pop and darkens the color. In general it makes the Cheery look great. You have to use BLO mixture before topcoat because it is absorbed into the wood. I usually use more mineral spirits than BLO for the 1st coat so it dries faster, then I then add more BLO to the mixture for the second coat. But it doesn't matter, as long as you keep in mind that the more BLO in the mixture the longer it takes to dry.
Yes mineral spirits and turpentine are the same thing, as is paint thinner. Anyone of those things listed as turpentine, mineral spirits, or paint thinner will give you the same results.
Yes you would use a rag. You can also use a brush. I use a rag. Since you are just putting it on and then wiping it off it does not matter, the BLO will be absorbed into the wood so there will be no surface film. Heck on larger surfaces I just pour it on and then wipe it around.
No sanding is needed between coats.
Additionally,
when you initially apply the BLO mixture you may notice spots that quickly absorb the BLO, it's ok to and you should apply more of the Finnish to those areas.
If when wiping off the surface the finish is tacky, just take the rag that's covered in BLO and wet the surface again and wipe it off right away.
As one of the other posters mentioned if you put Cheery out in the sun it will darken quite a bit. I usually do this, the better part of the day is all that's needed
I'm with you, Scott. I use BLO on Mahogany and Cherry all the time..and get no blotching on the Cherry. If I want it a different color or darker, I tint the BLO with one of the Transtint dyes..it's sweet! Easy to use, hard to screw up and looks good to boot!
I also agree that one should finish tabletops with poly or some similar film finish that's more durable with lacquer or shellac.
I do all of my tables with the above BLO and then sprayed shellac/lacquer..and then do the tabletops with brushed poly for durability... The wiped-on poly film isn't as think, but it's much easier to use... Hell, I may try some wiped-on poly next table...
Good luck!Oh! See an attached picture of the last table I did...tinted BLO with lacquer and the aforementioned poly top...
lp
Just let me add a couple of points. Paul has the right idea, and his web site has excellent finishing information.
Polyurethane isn't really needed on a table that you don't walk on. Poly does have more abrasion resistence than traditional resin varnish, but thats a significant benefit for floors and only a minor plus for table tops. Any varnish can be turned into a wiping varnish by adding mineral spirits, or naptha (or turpentine if you can tolerate the smell.) Waterlox is an excellent wiping varnish, and as Paul says can be repaired easily. It will dry quite a bit harder than a oil/varnish mix, giving it a durability edge.
A polyurethane finish does not repair easily. It would have to be completely sanded and recoated. It is very difficult to fix one spot inconspicously, and it won't stick well to itself without sanding once it has fully cured. Waterlox can just be recoated without sanding. It comes in three flavors, Satin, Original/Sealer, which has a very attractive medium gloss, and Gloss, which is high gloss and may need thinning before using as a wiping varnish.
Although I do like Waterlox, any varnish can be turned into a wiping varnish by adding thinner. I like Behlen's Rockhard, and Pratt & Lambert 38, though my favorite is Ronan's Quick Rubbing Varnish. Manufacturers like like to sell wiping varnish, it allows them to sell paint thinner at varnish prices.
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