I’ve got my simple oak bookshelf striped & sanded. It has the grey look of amonia fuming. A little paint thinner on a rag really made the figure pop & the color is there. I am not staining. I was going to use Minwax gloss varnish, probably two coats with light sanding in between, wet sand 400, & rub out with rottenstone. How does that sound? I want to try to keep the old, dark oak look of the mission style. It’s just a beat up little shelf but it looks like the real thing. I’ll wait till I hear from you pros. I’de hate to wreck it.
Thanks, Jerry
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Will not ruin anything, though I would usually recommend either a traditional resin varnish such as Behlen's Rockhard in preference to a polyurethane varnish. Traditional resin varnishes cure harder than poly and consequently rub out more easily. Unless I had a lot of dust or imperfections I would probably start at 600 or 1000 grit instead of 400 and then go to 1200 or 1500 before shifting to rottenstone.
Using shellac as a top coat would also be quite nice, and rub out even more easily. I like the gloss that rottenstone gets. Quite shiny, but not plastic.
Thanks Steve. I like the idea of tradition. I didn't REALLY want to plasticate a nice old piece. I also am not looking for a real high gloss. I thought the rottenstone might knock the gloss back a click. Can I find Behlen's at Home D?Jerry
No, Behlen's is available at Woodcraft and online.
If it's truly old and truly a mission style, you would be more accurate to steer clear of the higher gloss finishes. Mission finishes have historically been satin or semi-gloss.
Good Luck.
Thanks. That was what I was aiming at. I wound up using General's semi gloss wipe on. Got the look!Jerry
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