I am installing some 6 panel interior doors in my home, which are made of clear pine. My goal in finishing these is to arrive at that beautiful honey amber golden color that comes after some years of exposure to air and light. I have seen it develop under natural tint Watco oil, and to a lesser degree under polyurethane varnish. I am seeking advice on how to finish pine to arrive at that color as quickly as possible. I prefer a top coat that is glossy and full. The main thing is to keep the finish clear and not muddy, like the color of orange blossom honey. There may be products on the market that I am not aware of.
Replies
Doug,
100% Tung Oil with amber/orange shellac as a top coat may give you the color you're looking for. You may want to try it on some pine scrap to see whether it meets your requirements.
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Tschüß!
James
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that...."
-- A.C. Clarke
James,I have always stayed from shellac because of its reputation for being difficult to apply, and smoothness of application means a lot to me. However, it has a fantastic color, and I have been wondering how to use that to my advantage. Now I have a much better idea of how to go about it. I have recently found some Zinsser aerosol shellac, which would be easy to apply, but only in clear (actually light brown). I'll try brushing some orange shellac and experiement with thinning it - on a trial piece. I have never seen garnet shellac for sale.Doug
Doug,
Two sources for garnet shellac.http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/shellac3.htm
http://www.shellac.net/
Rob
Garnet shellac is like instant age to any wood you apply it to. And it can be tinted to add even more color but this becomes a bit dicey as uniform application becomes critical.Ron
Doug,
Here is a link to an article that outlines exactly what you are asking about.http://www.johnjacobmickley.net/Shop%20Pages/Tips%20&%20Info/Finishing/Finishing%20Pine.htm
It involves using BLO, which I would recommend over tung oil because the results are, for all intents and purposes, identical. And tung oil requires about a month to fully cure, while BLO cures in a couple of days to a week. The BLO is followed by garnet shellac and finally alkyd resin varnish. The varnish isn't necessary to achieve the look you are after, but it would be a little more durable for a door.
The picture towards the bottom of the page is the same schedule with the addition of dye mixed in blond shellac and used as a toner. I have used the schedule without the toner and was very happy with the results on a pine corner cabinet. I would post a picture of it here, but whenever I try to attach a picture here I get a message saying an error has occurred.
Rob
Rob and Doug
If the boiled linseed oil darkens the wood too much, it can be reduced with mineral spirits or paint thinners like Varsol. JL
Rob,Thank you for this link. It was very informative. Pumpkin is exactly the color I was thinking of, and I have seen it on maple and birch as well. I was aware that wood oxidizes and also becomes light-struck, but I did not realize that some finishes oxidize and yellow too. This is very valuable to know.Doug
Rob,
What is the purpose of the BLO? Does it darken the color of the pine?
Does the BLO enhance the grain pattern of the pine, or even it out?
Thanks for your help. I have a new addition with some pine and douglas fir doors and windows to finish. I'm trying to get them to come close to the 120 year old (pine?) woodwork in the house.
Mike,
BLO will darken any light wood. But it also does a great job of accentuating the grain of any wood. I really wish I could post a picture of the cabinet I made and finished with this schedule. If you ask my opinion though, I would say that the garnet shellac is more important than the BLO in achieving the antique look on pine.
Rob
The John Jacob Mickley finishing schedule suggested by Rob look top-shelf. But for doors this is a lot of work. I've had good results on these same pine 6-panel doors with Minwax PolyShades. It's a stain and polyurethane in 1 step. Here are photos of my doors with two coats of the Pecan Satin #320. There are other shades.
It's relative easy to apply. Prep the doors. Stir well and often to keep the stain evenly suspended. Brush on, being really careful of runs and accumulation of too much finish in corners, routed surfaces, etc. The stain does highlite runs and uneven coating. Then sand lightly and apply a second coat the next day. I finished the doors after they were hung.
May not be good for fine furniture, but I'm happy with the doors and trim.
I saw your plea in the other thread about attaching pictures. Here are your pictures, re-sized. Will explain in other thread.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks Forestgirl. That's what I had in mind.Bart
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