I am currently working on a qs white oak mantel and overmantel that has square fluted columns, flat panels and a few carvings. Since my finishing skills are somewhat lacking I am already worried about it. I have read Jeff Jewett’s Mission Oak Finish article. He mentions using an aniline dye, sealing with shellac, glazing and finishing with lacquer. As an alternative he suggests aniline dye, sealing with Waterlox original(supposed to be idiot proof), glazing and finishing with Waterlox again. My concern is my ability or should I say inability to properly apply shellac with the amount of detail in this project. I am therefore leaning to the Waterlox finish. Will the Waterlox as sealer and finisher give as beautiful a finish(compared to Jeff’s shellac/lacquer finish)? Will it be durable enough to use on a mantel (It’s a wood burning fireplace that is used several times a year)? Any downsides to the Waterlox? Thanks.
Andy
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I think you will be happy with the Waterlox. It is a thinned varnish that has a medium gloss so it doesn't reveal every single defect like a high gloss finish would do. It also dries fairly rapidly, though not as fast as shellac of course. The phenolic resin may yellow over time but that won't be a factor in a dark mission finish.
Shellac is about as easy to apply however, since it can be padded on or brushed with a watercolor wash brush, such as those made with Taklon Gold, which gives a very fine bristle imitative of sable.
However, for a mantle shellac is more suceptible to heat damage. The threshhold is about 160 degrees F, so mantles shouldn't get that hot but its more likely in that applications that in most others.
Steve, thanks for the help. I am going to give the Waterlox a try. Any suggestions on how many coats of Waterlox to build up for a durable finish? I have seen as few as two mentioned and as many as ten.
Andy
If durability is the primary goal, more is better than less. I've never found two coats to be enough of just about any finish. With a thin finish such as Waterlox it depends a lot on how it is applied. If wiped on with excess wiped off you could easily use 6 coats. If brushed on or wiped on without wiping off three or four might be enough. Would I ever use 10 coats? Probably not, largely because I know how easy it is to apply a "freshing" coat or two if any wear does occur.
I recently tried a variation of Jewitt's article that may be useful to you. I dyed the QS oak with Mahogany Brown Transtint, then a sealer coat of varnish, followed by a walnut gel stain as a glaze to bring out detail in the piece, then more coats of varnish then rubbed with steel wool to a satin sheen. Worked well, relatively foolproof. The one trick is to remember to sand lightly after the dye, because the water-based Transtint raised the grain.
I was happy with the result: easy to apply, brought out the ray flecks in the wood, lots of depth.
One thing to remember, high gloss finishes tend to be harder than lower gloss. If you want a more durable finish, you can use high gloss, then use Scotch Brite to knock the surface down to the point that suits you. Use a fine pad and to keep from having to refinish the whole mantle, practice on a piece of scrap wood. The extent you want the finish to fill the grain will determine how much work between coats you will need to do.
I had a piece of white oak laying around when I was finishing my kitchen cabinets, so I dipped a Scotch Brite pad in the Minwax polyurethane and worked it into the wood. It was just a test piece, but I now know that I should have sanded the wood before putting the finish on. It looked really nice, with a soft matt surface, not as obviously knocked down as if it was dry beforehand.
I want to thank everyone for their assistance and kindness. I now have more confidence that I can pull this finish off. I plan to pre-raise the grain with water then sand hoping that will reduce the grain raising when I apply the transtint. Will experiment with reddish brown and mahogany brown then sealing with the waterlox. I like the idea of using a darker gel stain for contrast. I'm going to also play with mixing of waterlox original sealer/finisher with their satin to achieve the right gloss. Thanks again.
Please let us know how the Waterlox works as a top coat. I usually use shellac or lacquer as the final coat and Waterlox only right after the the analine dye stage, to bring the grain and flakes life. My one concern in your finish is that the Waterlox will act as a solvent to your gel stain, and remove at you apply the wiping varnish. Why not just get some aerosol shellac or lacquer at the hardware store? You will have a much more durable finish. By the way, after seeing many different finishes done by myself and others on quartersawn oak furniture, I would say that the lower the luster, the better. This would be if you are looking for an authentic finish. How you want it to look is your choice.
My concern with shellac as the top coat was the heat from the fireplace. I have never measured the temp above the fireplace and just may be overly concerned. I hope some of the gel stain will stay after the waterlox. Appreciate all comments and ideas...I have plenty of scrap to test finishes. Thanks.
Gel stain has a varnish like binder that once cured should't be vulnerable to the solvents in Waterlox. For that matter, lacquer has "stronger" solvents than the Waterlox.
But, you are not rubbing on the lacquer with a rag. You could be right about the gel drying though.
Edited 11/2/2005 6:41 pm ET by quartersawn
Thats true, you can sometimes get away with a sprayed finish that would lift the undercoat if it was brushed or wiped on. But I don't think thats the case here since it is commonplace to use oil based finishes over oil based stain. Of course you can't cheat on the timing and try to put the top coat on before the stain has fully cured. If you're still uncertain just try it on an inconspicuous spot.
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