Peter –
My latest project is out of butternut. It is a piece that won’t get too much wear and tear but I want to protect it as much as possible. The wood is living up to its reputation of being easily dented.
Can you give me your opinion on my plan for finishing and answer several questions?
My plan is to use Behlen’s Rockhard finish. I can’t use shellac because it is likely to get a wine glass or two left on the surface. I picked Behlen’s because it appears to be a shorter-oil finish than Waterlox or Watco (which on a test of 4 coats didn’t appear to give sufficient protection). I have done a test with Waterlox (leftover from the previous project) to test the color change caused by the varnish. I like the warmth that the varnish is giving the wood. I will rub out the finish to a a semi-glass. I don’t plan on filling the pores other than what will happen when I sand between coats.
My questions are:
1) Is Behlen’s the right varnish to use? You seem to recommend it for applications where there is significant wear. I was hoping that it would better protect the wood from denting. I don’t have spraying capabilities.
2) You recommend a wash of shellac in a couple of your postings. However, you didn’t give a reason for that. Butternut has a habit of fuzzing. Will the shellac help control that?
3) On the brushes, I get very conflicting advice. You have written that a foam brush is sufficient but others advocate a very expensive brush. I have a lot of corners and crevices. I am concerned that the foam brush will cause pooling and bubbles when I try to work it into the corners.
4) Thinning. A couple of sources recommend cutting the first two coats of varnish (first by 50%, second by 25%). What does this help with?
Thanks for your time and advice.
Anna
Replies
Anna,
You didn't say what it is just a new project. What is it?
A finish will not stop denting. Limiting the impacts it takes will.
When I recommend wash coats it is often to help control the penetration of stains. At what stage are you talking about when you say "fuzzing" If a wood has a raised or fuzzy grain, a coat of shellac and a sanding when dry will cure that in short order.
Concerning brushes and anything else you can think of, there are always multiple opinions. I use foam brushes all the time for varnishes. If I have a small area that I want to draw the varnish into like a crevice or corner, I'll use a small flat artist brush. Simple! Someone else may tell you to use a $50 badger brush. It's up to you. The foam brush will lay off a nice coat of varnish. After you've brushed it on, you may see some small bubbles. Varnish is a slow drier and those bubbles will dissipate.
Why not get a couple of these foam brushes and try them out? You can read everything there is on finishing, yet experience is the best teacher. The are certainly cheap enough and you don't have to worry about any cleanup.
As far as thinning, again it's just a matter of opinion. If you were to hit the wood with waterlox first for the color it lends, that would effectively do the same thing. You could then do your varnish over this.
The theory behind it is to seal the wood with the thinned material. You could seal it with shellac if you'd like and then varnish. Just another way to do it.
Try doing some of the various techniques you asked about on sample boards. This will help you develop a feel for what each can offer. Nothing beats practice and experience.
Peter
Peter -
Wanted to thank you for the advice. The finish turned out beautifully and the foam brushes worked well. I rubbed out the finish so the few uneven spots were leveled out in the final pass. I will post a picture in a few days after I get the piece installed.
BTW, I built a trestle style desk in the Macintosh style.
Several layers of the behlens gave the surface enough "toughness" to reduce the easy denting that the butternut suffers from.
Anna
It's always good to hear things worked out. Thanks for letting me know.
Peter
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