My next project is a “traditional shaker blanket chest”, roughly following this plan:
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2004/10/01/a-shaker-blanket-chest
I am thinking of using pine, not cherry. But I’m concerned about the finish. What are my options for finishing? I’ve read that paint was traditionally used, but I’m leery of paint for some reason.
All thoughts and opinions welcome. Would love to hear options other than paint and/or arguments to rid
me of my anti-paint bias.
thanks 🙂
Replies
It's really whatever you think looks best. I personally don't care for a project as large as this in pine that is clearcoated, or stained and clearcoated. And it dents easily. I'd probably use milk paint if it was pine. But, I'd likely use cherry or walnut.
That's just my personal aesthetic, and a lot of folks would disagree.
Take a look at what Peter Galbert does with milk paint topped with oil. Amazing stuff. He has some videos on Vimeo.
I absolutely hate stained pine, it just kinda screams "I should have used something else" to me. If you've got some really sweet looking pine an oil finish could work. If it's the species called "just" pine I'm on board with JC2's milk paint. Since the chest you linked to has visible joinery, a thin washcoat can add color without "painting out" the hard work on the fancy joints. I'm a fan of waxing over milkpaint and buffing out with a lambswool pad velcroed to a ROS. The wax deepens the colors a bit, but that's to my taste and the surface feels nice.
Paint certainly has it's place, but I'm not going to try to convince you to use it. And, I have no experience with milk paint. However, pictures of it used look interesting.
I will say that pine is very difficult to stain and make it look good. It does not absorb the stain evenly and usually ends up looking blotchy and streaky. I have had very good results (I think) with just plain oil based finishes on pine. It ends up with a very pleasant golden or amber glow.
If you want something with color different than that, I suggest that you experiment with shellac dyed with a dye similar to Transtint; one or two coats of that with a couple of coats of a clear finish like poly or lacquer or Waterlox, etc. Or, just stay with shellac if you like. Applying the shellac will work best if you have spray equipment. Also, for best results, be sure to thoroughly sand the pine through 220 grit before applying the finish.
In 30 years, and except for here, I haven't used the words paint & wood in the same breath.
Then again, I like pine. It's a nice complement to rosewood, among other darker exotics. And it's deserving of no less attention. Prepared well it can be striking. I sand the life out of it to draw the sap and resin out. Then I scrape it smooth and let it dry for a day, followed by amber shellac to color it slightly and seal it.
From there the finishing possibilities are only limited by the uses for the project & whether it's for indoor or outdoor use. Naysayers be darned.
Done correctly, pine looks great. Take a look at this article from 2007. https://www.finewoodworking.com/2007/09/01/best-finish-for-pine
Personally, I like to use Transtint Antique Maple mixed in shellac for finishing pine.
If you use pine, you may want to consider using an oil finish (especially Tried and True oil/varnish). I recommend that you burnish the wood though to avoid nasty looking blotches common to cherry and pine. Because it is pine and very soft, you should hand sand (to the groans of all you machine jockeys out there...) 400, 1000, then 2000 grit. The results with oil finishes are spectacular.
I would test this sanding and oil first on a spare piece of pine before you tackle a large piece. You may or may not like the sanding/oil finish on pine.
And although very soft, I find pine to be truly beautiful when done correctly. It is an extremely difficult wood to work because it is so soft. I applaud you.
Hal Taylor strongly recommends Mixwax Wipe On Satin Finish 50/50 mix with Mineral Spirts for rocking chairs.
People will be impressed with the joints and skill it took to make the chest.
You can always use a sealer to even out the pine affect.
I would not paint
Sorry Wood Conditioner - Not Sealer !
Please report back here, with photos, when you're done. I like pine, as long as there are no knots, but have not seen an attractive finish other than the amber shellacked pine you see in old house trim.
Will do. I haven’t committed to it yet. I like the look of the small tool cabinet I made from Garrett Hack plan (pic—pine with super blond shellac). The tool tray box is also pine with super blond shellac (might be platina). I’m not sure I like the high-contrast effect with the end grain on the dovetails. I didn’t use wood conditioner, maybe if I did it wouldn’t be such high contrast. Both of these are yellower than the pic suggests.
The blanket chest would be a big, long project for me. It’s the finish that gives me pause. Will post back if I tackle it.
I finished two tool chests made mostly of pine with garnet shellac. I like the way it looks and no blotching issues.
Thanks Joe, that looks great!
If I may, did you put any film finish on top, like poly? I usually use shellac followed by a thin coat of paste wax applied with 0000 steel wool but am wondering if a couple coats of poly makes sense.
And a question unrelated to finishing -- do you do anything to minimize dings and dents in the build process? With dovetails (by hand) I'll be handling the pieces a lot -- vise-ing and de-vise-ing, test fitting, etc. Other than being careful, are there steps to take to minimize the damage? I was thinking on taping the "non-working" edges but am wondering how others deal with it (if at all). I'm not a clutz but I'm not particularly gentle either.
After your glueup is fully cured and before planing or sanding you can go over the outside of the whole box with a wet rag. The shop rash will come up a bit and small gaps will close up a bit. Of course the whole thing has to dry well before hitting it with a plane or sanding.
Even if you get it perfect pine will get re-dinged in use so you might consider "perfect enough" as the target.
I’ve found having boxes to put parts in helps to minimize “shop rash”.
In fact, feeling a bit under the weather but not wanting to waste some available shop time this week, I built some plywood boxes just to hold project parts.
The garnet shellac looks great. If you like that look, you might try Waterlox (a wiping varnish) as your finish, its pretty tough and does add some color.
It might be a little ocd but I always put a piece of scrap between the project piece & the vise jaws. But that's not new information.
Mikaol
Just to close the loop, here it is. I hand sanded to 400, then a coat of wood conditioner which I let fully dry (as per Flexner book "Understanding Wood Finishing"), then 4 coats of Waterlox with at least a day to dry in between coats. I'll let this sit for a couple weeks and then do a light wax with x0000 steel wool to take some of the shine off.
Thanks for all your feedback.
Very nice! Thanks for the update. I was wondering, as I hadn't seen you post in a while.
You realize your next task is to turn your own Shaker knobs, right?
SUH-WEET! Congrats, it's beautiful.
The pine looks great! Nice boards, nice finish, nice joinery!!!
Really nice craftsmanship! I’ve always quite liked pine. After the latest STL podcast with Andrew Hunter and digging into his career a bit more, I’m starting to ask myself why I don’t use it more.
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