I made a bunk bed out of red oak. I’m looking for a finish that will hold up to the antics of two small girls and still show the grain and look attractive. Not too dark and not too light.
Steve Schoene, if you’re out there I could use your advice.
Thanks Jim
Replies
You have lots of choices. Personally, I would go with an oil/varnish "in-the-wood" finish. It is easy, gives red oak a pleasant, natural look. Oak is naturally hard and makes for durable furniture without needing lots of extra protection from a finish. And, with an oil/varnish finish if there is a ding that is visible it is easy to repair. (And dings that would do enough damage to the oak to need repair would also have done damage to any "tougher" finish.) You can use a tinted oil/varnish mix if you want to alter the color a little, but it's purely a matter of preference. For example a coat of walnut Watco will give a light to medium brown on oak, not nearly as dark as walnut. Test on some scrap.
If you go with a film finish, it takes a lot more effort and if there were damage is harder to repair. It's also easy to end up with a "cheap" look with a varnish that puts the pores into relief with rounded valleys. To avoid that you could fill the pores, which with red oak is a major proposition generally requiring at least two applications of pore filler, followed by a varnish top coat. The look is formal--more than I would like for a childs room, even for little girls--who of course don't stay small for long.
Thank you for the help. You've given me advise in the past and it was useful. I'll pick up some walnut Watco and see how it looks.Thank you again for the good information.Jim
my favorite finishing for sure......how did it go?
Ditto on the clear Watco, followed by wipe-on poly 3+ days later.
Just about as kid-proof as they come, and pretty easy to touch up later.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
Well, I gave my daughter several choices of finish for the bed and she chose tung oil. I put four coats of tung oil on it, buffed it to a nice satin and it looks good. At least she's happy and that's what counts.Thanks to all for the advice.Jim
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