I am finishing a bed that I built from cherry. I have used some Watco Danish oil which looks okay, but I am not getting where I want to go. I had considered shellac over this oil and a test piece looked pretty good but a king size bed is a lot of acres to rub out. Maybe I’m lazy or something.
Anyway, I want a more built up finish than the oil is providing. I am not a fan of polyurethanes so I tend to avoid them. One exception being Laurel Mt. Forge Permalyn finish that I use on gunstocks. But perhaps there is another type of varnish that would work well. Any suggestions?
The search for the perfect finish seems to never end. But, I just wish I could get a little closer the destination.
Thanks for any and all suggestions.
Brent
Replies
A wiping varnish, such as Waterlox Original/Sealer would give you a mellow shine, and not too horrendous a rubbing out process.
oil & ?
Brent,
On cherry I have been using General Finishes, Arm R Seal, oil & urethane topcoat.
http://www.generalfinishes.com/retail-products/oil-base-top-coats/arm-r-seal-urethane-topcoat
Oil brings out the grain and character, urethane protects it. I like it.
Alan - planesaw
Despite the marketing language, Arm R Seal is also just a wiping varnish, though it is an alkyd resin modified with polyurethane. It has no oil, except of course the oil used in the chemical reaction that creates the varnish. The oil, along with the resins, are converted into a different material, varnish, which is thinned to be used as a wiping varnish. The varnish does bring out the grain, largely because it is amber colored and does "wet" the wood. Waterlox will do the same. Of course, applied after the Watco, neither product make dramatic changes to the visibility of the grain--the Watco has already done that. Both will build a film that will alter the sheen.
Thanks Stever for the info on Arm R Seal. To clarify, I don't use it over Watco.
Any advantage to using the Arm R Seal over Bush Oil or Tried & True? Or any other recommendations for cherry in general?
Thanks,
Alan - planesaw
Tried & True
I did a king sized bed in cherry with tried & true and have no regrets. I know there is a lot of controversy over T&T but I have used it on lots of projects and as long as you use THIN coats, wipe again in one hour and buff out in 24 hours it works. I put three coats on some parts of the bed and 4 coats on other parts. Remember that it is almost impossible to make the coats too thin.
Here's one more vote for Waterlox original.
Waterlox
My Brother suggested waterlox for my first cherry piece and it turened out better than I had hoped. It's tough and does not give you that plastic look. I used the satin finish and I use their sealer. I'm doing a couple of cherry wine cabinets right now and will be using it again.
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