I am in the process of building a blanket chest. The chest is made of Walnut with Cherry veneer plywoodpanels. The top will be sold Walnut. I have prefinished the cherry panels with Watco Danish oil prior to assembling the frame. I am considering usineg the danish oli on the whole thing and then just waxing it afterward. I am also considering finishing the top a little bit differently as I think people may sit on it to put their shoes on etc…. Here is the question. Can I put the oil on and then put another finish over the top of the danish oil, like a poly or a shellac. I am thinking about putting shellac on the top to get a super gloss finish. I suppose I would us a paste filler prior to shellacing.
Any thoughts will be appreciated.
Replies
Yes you can apply other finishes over danish oil.
But it’s a good idea to wait several days for the oil to dry before doing so.
Do some test samples on scraps from the project before starting to finish the piece.
I strongly suggest that you do not use oil on the inside your blanket chest.
The odor will linger for years. If you have already oiled the inside I would
rub it down w/ mineral spirits to remove as much oil as possible. Then apply
a few coats of shellack.
Good luck!
I made a blanket chest for my daughter a few years ago. Inside I used 1/4" x 3" aromatic cedar strips that I had resawn from wider stock. I did not seal or finish the cedar. I just left it raw. After 10 or 15 years a light sanding will bring back the cedar smell.
For the outside done in plain sliced cherry plywood, I used an almost black cherry stain and finished with 2 coats of dewaxed shellac and then several coats of sprayed on lacquer. The last coat of lacquer was smoothed with 0000 steel wool then buffed with a lambs wool buffer pad.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Edited 9/21/2003 10:55:27 PM ET by PlaneWood
Thanks John,
I have not finished the inside yet and was planning on oiling it so thanks for the tip. Another question. If I use a pore filler for the top can I use that and then oil and then shellac? Any advice on good pore fillers?
Thanks again.
Michael
Michael,
There are two kinds of pore fillers; oil based and water based.
Oil based is the more commonly used. It contains linseed oil so you
shouldn’t need to oil the top. Shellac can be applied over the filler after it dries, usually 3-5 days.
For walnut I’d use Bartley’s Dark, kind of Van Dyke Brown in color.
Definitely practice on scrap and i’d suggest reading a book or two on finishing
jk
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