I built a desk of red oak and would like to give it that tawny color found on a lot of contemporary Mission style furniture, which is a medium brown with a pronounced amber/orange cast. I’m trying to avoid shellac, beause I plan to finish with wipe-on poly. A base of Min-Wax golden oak followed by red oak or chestnut seemed like the right direction, but both were too red. Any ideas?
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Replies
watco English oak. thin to suit.
Expert since 10 am.
shellac can be topped with anything
Shellac can be topped with anything if it is dewaxed shellac. This can be found my mixing from dewaxed flakes or by using Zinsser SealCoat, but not Amber or Clear.
Oak generally takes stain quite well. If you want to see a very good schedule for finishing mission oak, check on the articles on Jeff Jewitt's site http://www.homesteadfinishing.com. It is a multi-step process and is likely to give a look that is very rich and deep compared to just a single step wipe on/wipe off of one stain color.
Try an English Oak stain. Jackplane suggested Watco and I've been pleased with Minwax followed by an oil based poly.
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