Replies

1. 
   CStanford_ | Mar 01, 2000 06:08pm | #1

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   Film forming finishes like varnish (whether tung oil based or not) show scratches badly. Repairing these scratches that are in the finish layer usually entails a complete removal of the finish and the application of a new one.

   I'll go against the winds of conventional wisdom a bit and state that if you want a table that will receive hard use to look good throughout the years then DO NOT use a film finish. Use linseed oil or tung oil with enough applications until you get just an "oh so slight" build up of a film. Varnishes of any kind put too much of a film on the wood. Make no mistake, a varnish finish can be astoundingly beautiful right after it's completed. They let you down, however, as they start to show scratches - the material turns whiteish right where the scratch is. If you want to see how a film finish reacts to heavy use then take a look at the top of most office conference room tables - you'll see lots of little WHITE scratches. After about a year of use, there is nothing that will help them except a complete stripping of the old varnish or lacquer and reapplication of new.

   Now, some people are going to read this post and start hollering about water rings, alcohol, and all that. Use tung oil and don't worry. Most of the damage one sees caused by water rings, et al. is damage to the FILM FORMING FINISH and not the wood. You actually should have less problems with water marks when you use a penetrating oil.

   Good luck......

1. 
   scott_bonder | Mar 28, 2000 02:38pm | #2

   *I disagree, but I'm not yellin. Tung oil is not a good finish. Tung oil finishes (which rarely contain any tung oil) are fine. But, for a table that gets lots of abuse, a strong varnish is about as durable as you can get. don't get glossy and the scrathes won't show much. If you aren't worried about heat and nail polish remover (and other actual solvents) then shellac is easy to repair and that might be a characteristic you want. Tung oil finishes are often linseed oil and varnish. Putting them on so you can build a film is tedious, IMHO. For a coffee table I built that gets lots of abuse I used a tung oil finish, but found that scratches went through to the wood too easily. (It serves as dinner table, craft table and junk table)

1. 
   John_Adams | Mar 28, 2000 04:30pm | #3

   *Having repaired finishes for 35 years, it is my recommendation that regardless of what finish you choose, lay it on over unstained wood if you want to make invisible repairs in the future. Lacquer would be the first choice, followed closely by varnish! Either can be lightly touch sanded, then several layers wiped on, 400 grit followed by 4/0 steel wool then rubbed out with pumice or rottenstone to match the gloss.I never had to deal with hammer marks and ice skate tracks; My children were encouraged to join me in the shop where they drove nails into scrap boards, leaving the hammer in their own toolbox, with their saw and later their chisels and brace & augers. We didn't ice skate here in the South, but roller skates and roller blades remained outside.Everything has its time & place.

1. 
   CStanford_ | Mar 28, 2000 08:05pm | #4

   *Most visible scratches that one can notice are scratches in the finish itself. Scratches to the surface of a project that has been finished with oil do not turn whitish. You can feel them better than you can see them, and you can repair them by sanding without necessarily sanding the entire project.Go look at a conference room table.........If you have small children, that's what your table will look like in time. I guarantee (!!!) that if you use a penetrating oil you will have fewer visible scratches. No film forming finish will stop a bad scratch that goes down into the wood itself. All I'm saying is eliminate the small scratches that show up in the finish itself... they'll never show up on the table finished with oil. The big, deep scratches will show regardless..........

1. 
   Mike_Taylor2 | Apr 09, 2000 07:45am | #5

   *I used Defthane poly on our cherry kitchen table 12 years ago and it still does not have a scratch. And we do not use a table cloth. The wife is real bad to use hot soap and water to clean it. That kinda upset me at first! Factory finish (Ethan Allen) was Lacquer and that didn't last but 6 years. I sanded down to bare wood, stained, and sprayed 2 coats of Defthane. I misted on the stain with a gun and did not wipe.

2. 
   Clay_Baker | Apr 17, 2000 08:49am | #6

   *I have to agree with John Adams. The finish I would choose would be lacquer. It's tough, but more important, it's really easy to repair. If you want a really tough finish use a two-part catalyzed lacquer. The most important thing to protect is not the finish, it's that beautiful piece of cherry in the top of your table. And oil finish is going to allow all sorts of damage to the wood itself. At least with a lcquer finish you'll have some barrier between the wood and the skates.

3. 
   Darren_Redetzke | Oct 27, 2000 05:06am | #7

   *I have just stripped a French country dining room table and chairs. The chairs are a solid maple and I think the table is a maple veneer. I wanted to leave it natural maple color so I sanded it to a fine 220 grit finish and then used a Danish natural oil to enhance the natural color. Now I have a table top that is a dark radish brown and chairs which have light maple parts and dark maple parts. So now what can I do to make the table a light natural color and make it consist ant? The original finish was a consistant dark coco brown. Would it work if I used an air spray gun to apply the stain, or do I need to move to a water based stain? I was thinking that the higher pigment level may cover the difference in the wood colors. I am not opposed to make it a pickled look or even possibly make the table top different then the chairs. Do you have any color suggestions? I have also seen French county furniture in an off white color. Do you know how to get this color?

4. 
   Phillip_Zuidema | Jan 16, 2001 09:44pm | #8

   *I recently completed a cherry dining table for my 23 year old son. I used a Tung oil (Woodcraft) finish, (no stain). I am planning to complete the finish with wax, but then wondered if it's possible to put something more durable over the tung oil, such as poly varnish? I realize once I wax it, it would get more complicated, as the wax would need to be removed. Does anyone have experience with this formula or something similar?Thank you.