Need finishing recommendations for old workbench to be used as ‘furniture’
I have an old workbench that my great- or grandfather built – my wife would like it finished pretty much ‘as is’ and used as a table/display piece in our family room.
By ‘as is’ I mean not restored and finished to smooth furniture grade (sanded, planed, etc.), but cleaned up and sanded then finished to bring out some character. It has the numerous small holes and dings and kerfs and stains, and they can stay. It’s been stripped and sanded to remove most of the stains and rougher spots to allow whatever finish to be applied to achieve the desired look.
The question is what finish? I don’t know what hardwood it’s made from – the support frame is different from the top, so of course will finish differently. We would just like it to look nice in the new setting, but no shiny & heavy poly coats of any kind – just nice, weathered wood but with some added character from a finish.
Thanks.
Replies
finish
Check out sutherland wells they have some interesting selections that would be useful for your project.
re: Need finishing recommendations for old workbench to b
thank you - will do
display workbench finish
Typically, benches are finished with nothing more than some thinned boiled linseed oil. If the bench has a maple top however, that light maple will become quite yellow withe addition of BLO. If the bench has a dark patina however, you'd be ok with some BLO thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits.
You could always try wiping on a coat of waterlox just to give it a bit of general protection but I wouldn't add too many coats, as it sounds like you don't want to build up any sort of sheen.
Post a photograph - might help others see exactly what wood species you're dealing with.
Cheers,
Ed
a (very) belated thanks for this - time flies...been meaning to get back to this subject and project, but extra busy with work after the latest merger
I couldn't remember the mfg or product name the first reply mentioned, so finally found my post (after mistakenly searching fine homebuilding) to refresh my memory and saw that I issed a second reply
I'll see if I can post a pic soon
Can you post a picture of the bench?
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