The sanding is finished. Tentative plans are Danish Oil and either varnish or polyurethane. My question concerns filling the pores. The look will be casual, but considering its a tabletop that people will be eating on, would filling pores be indicated?
If yes, should pores be filled on legs and aprons also?
Thanks for all the help with past questions!
Replies
I did a sample of white oak with poly and I used a Scotch Brite pad to work it in. The friction actually helped it dry faster and it had a really nice, soft look/feel but it also helped to fill the pores. I used satin but gloss is harder. I would use that on a table top and knock the gloss off with the pads or sanding. Something in the 320- 400 grit range followed by paste wax might look good. I would do some samples before finishing the actual piece. If it stays shiny, every little nick will show up and if it's more of a satin/low sheen finish, it'll be less noticeable.
So basically you are not using a true pore filler, but working the polyurethane in mechanically.
Why is gloss bad? Doesn't paste wax add gloss?
Sorry for so many questions. My original post could have been put under "New to Woodworking." Thanks for your comments.
The Scotch Brite scours the surface and creates/picks up fine dust, which mixes with the poly and when it's scrubbed into the surface, some of it is deposited in the pores. Some of the poly that goes into the pores will act as filler, too. With enough coats, the pores will be completely filled but you're looking for a more casual look, so 3-4 coats of poly, using the Scotch Brite pads to rough it up so it has some "tooth", and it'll have a nice, mellow look. Gloss isn't bad, if you want gloss. High gloss and casual don't really seem to go together, to me. High gloss finishes tend to be harder than low gloss, because that's their natural level of shine. Low gloss finishes get that way because of the additives. Now, we're getting into the definitions portion of the discussion. Not everyone uses the same words for what they're seeing. The best thing I can recommend is taking some scrap wood and making some test panels. They don't need to be large but it's best to use what you normally would build with. Do some with gloss and some with satin or maybe flat, left plain and with varying amounts of "adjusting" to the gloss. You'll find what you like and you'll learn what it takes to achieve that look with different starting levels. Satin poly that has had fine Scotch Brite will give a nice, soft glow. I used that on my kitchen cabinets and rubbed the paste wax in with fine Scotch Brite pads. If the finish is glossy like water, any little scratch and nick will stand out.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
The table is sanded to 220. Any practice panels should be sanded to 220 also I presume?
It'll change with the piece but for this one, 220 will be fine. Do everything the way you will on the table, so you get a realistic sample.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
With film finishes I prefer the look of having the pores filled on oak furniture. Otherwise you get a sort of hill and valley look that looks sort of "cheap", though this is especially true the glossier the finish gets. Oak is a casual wood anyway, full filling isn't really going to change that.
You don't need to do the legs and apron the same as the top. Top get truly full-filled on oak often takes two coats of pore filler. You certainly wouldn't need to go that faron the nether regions, only the top.
By the way polyurethane is varnish, not some dramatically different product. For single part products it's basically an alkyd varnish formulation with a bit of polyurethane resin as an additional ingredient. The polurethane resin adds to resistance to heavy abrasion--as in floors, but little else.
By the way, you'll get almost the same grain popping effect of the Danish Oil if you just thin the first coat of varnish by 20%, but you won't have as much "bleeding" effect while it cures. Alternatively, apply the Danish Oil very sparcely, not soaking it in and wiping off excess, but just applying the bare minimum to dampen the surface.
Do you think polyurethane is overkill? The table will be used in an office breakroom, so it shouldn't be abused.
Don't know nuthin bout no "bleeding." Maybe I'd better hit the Finishing book before I use Danish oil.
I'm wanting a mid-range color--rather golden--not too dark.
The surface has defects. The top is 14 boards glued together, and one of the boards reacted poorly to the smoothing process.
"Do you think polyurethane is overkill?"
There are two schools of thought on that. One says that tabletops get rough treatment, so you need to use an exceptionally tough finish, such as polyurethane. The other says that tabletops get rough treatment, and no matter what finish you use, it's going to get dinged up, so best to use something that's easily repairable, like Danish oil.
In other words, there's no right answer, just tradeoffs.
-Steve
I wouldn't use polyurethane even if I did decide to use varnish. But as Saschafer pointed out it's always a trade off of some sort. I'd think office breakrooms get pretty rough treatment. Spills that don't get wiped up and the like. I'd fill the top with pore filler--messing about trying to create slurries that mostly get wiped out of the pores is not very effective in my book--and then use just a light varnish film on top of that, with unfilled pores on the legs and aprons. A wipe-on varnish would be relatively easy and still give good service. Waterlox Original/Sealer works well and gives a mellow semi-gloss kind of finish.
I think I'll buy some pore-filler and some Waterlox and try it some sanded boards.
I appreciate your comments; thanks for taking the trouble to post.
Steve, would it be a good idea to tint the grain filler to match the staining on other parts of the table that don't get the pores filled? So as to give a uniform look for the entire table.
Jerry
Yes, that's a very good plan.
I have a QSWO dining table that was just finished with oil/varnish (4 coats, if I remember).
It is perfectly fine, imho, WITHOUT pore filling. Yes, there is minor texture, but overall, the only perception is flat and smooth.
Oak is oak, let it its character shine. Why do you want that plastic, artificial look? People have to pay extra to get that hand scraped "antique" look in flooring to show a difference between real wood and laminate, don't strive to LOOK like laminate!
z3peru,
option 3
shellac.. be done in a few hours and so simple to repair you'll almost want to damage it just to show off.. (when kids are around remember to say Abra Cadabra) Harder tougher finish than either Polyurethane or oils..
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