My kids are framing around a wall air conditioner with some pine molding. They want a light stain and then natural wood finish. The finish should be able to withstand some moisture of course. I was thinking several coats of progressively richer Danish Oil/Mineral Spirits mixture followed by a coat of oil based polyeurethane. But I am pretty new to woodworking so I’m not at all sure which is the best way to go or even if those finishes are compatible. So I place the question to you of greater experience and knowledge. TIA.
Ken
Replies
Ken,
Your proposed finish should work just fine. A couple things to be aware of, though. First, the Danish oil is gonna need to be completely dry before applying the topcoat. The fastest way to achieve that will be to make sure that each succeeding coat of Danish oil is dry before applying the next coat. Second, you'll want to put a good coat of the Danish oil on all surfaces (including the backside) to seal it off against moisture. That said... unless your air conditioner is actually a swamp cooler or something like that... moisture shouldn't be a problem as air conditioners actually remove moisture from the air. This is a known issue with commercial fixtures that are going into an air conditioned environment. If the moisture content of the wood in the fixtures is too high, the wood can warp or cup as the air conditioner draws moisture out of the environment.
Regards,
Kevin
Concur, and would add (perhaps you already know) that with pines deep-rooted desire to blotch like all get out, some form of pre stain conditioner might have your finished result looking a little more satisfactory.
"The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb " lyrics by Roger Waters
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