Thanks to everyone with the advice and suggestions so far on how to finish my current project – a QS White Oak Stickley (Priarie Post) bed. Finishing has always been a weaker area for me and I have learned a tremendous amount the last few weeks on the knots forum.
I believe that I have come to a final decision on the finish and was just looking to see if anyone had any technical objections ie. they don’t mix well or, “that will look like crap. FYI I WILL be making severl test samples fully finished before this touches the bed. Here it is:
- Fume w/ aqua ammonia (I already have it and all the applicable safety equip. – amonia cartrige respirator, ventless goggles, gloves, etc…)
- Thin wiped on coat of Boiled Linseed Oil.
- Thin wiped on coat of Zissners Shellac seal coat. Perhaps tinted for a more orange/red color.
- 2-3 coats of gloss wipe on poly.
- Final coat of satin wipe on poly.
I am not looking to replicate a contemporary Stickley color but I do want a rich color and a pop to the ray fleck. I am under the impression that the linseed oil and shellac will give it a bit of a “shimmer.” Thanks everyone.
Replies
This is not "fuming" exactly but produces the identical result. I have had success with household ammonia brushed on. You don't need any special equippment or safety gear at all. Commercial ammonia is nasty stuff and very dangerous. One whiff will stop your breathing and if you get the second you better have someone to drag you out of the area. I once had a job dolling up army rifles as presentation gifts for visiting VIPS and had one experience of getting a whiff and never used it again without a respirator.
Try brushing (flooding) household strength and just leaving it to work. You will raise some grain of course but in my opinion it is better than workiing with full strength. You can do another bath if the colour does not suit or redo any area that does not please you. As you probably know, the colour wil be similar to a stain job and you have to wet it to see the colour.
Try this before you lay in the real stuff. I am sure you will like it, will avoid danger and save money. Have good ventilation and do it where the kids can't breathe it.
Good Luck
John
Thanks John,I appreciate your concern. I have already puchased all of the saftey equipment and the amonia. I got everything for less than $30. I am fuming the bed in an unattached garage so the fumes will not be an issue for anyone else. I will try your method on some scrap and perhaps use it in the future.
Your schedule will work, but it is somewhat contradictory. You want to pop the fleck, but at the same time choose ammonia fuming. The basic purpose of the fuming was to achieve an even color that did not pop the fleck.
Don't use polyurethane varnish--that's for floors and really hard wear applications. Bed's just don't need that kind of protection. Myself, I would just continue with the shellac, with a final rub out with steel wool if I want satin.
Alternatively, if you must have a varnish at least use a better looking varnish. By that I mean one based around traditional resins, either alkyd or phenolic. These are clearer than the single part poly's available to consumers, and offer sustantially the same protection in your application. Behlen's Rockhard or Pratt & Lambert 38 are just a few. You can thin them yourself to wipe-on consistency.
Steve,Thanks for your reply. I have been deliberating over this for some time. I realize that fuming will color everything but I just want it a touch darker so I'm hoping it won't darken the flecks too much. I had great result with the "pop" with just the linseed oil on unfumed pieces. So you think just Shellac will work? How many coats? I guess I was just thinking that a poly would give it a little more of a chance through the years with kids and such but I'm open to the notion that its unnecessary. I would like to give it depth and clairity but I also don't want to give it that look of "encasement" in some sort of plastic.Do you have any suggestions on colors and types of tints to give the shellac a little bit of a amber/red hue or can I use a regular shellac that isn't dewaxed since I'm not putting anything over it?
Steve,
I saw the other thread with the cherry table. In addition to the questions in my last post, whats your opinion on a bed with a Shellac only finish and would seal coat stuff work with enough coats or should I use regular. I am taking your varnish recomendations into consideration and you convinced me that polly is out of the question.
Shellac should be fine for a bed. My wife makes sure I take my shoes off, and there is no place to set a martini.
Seal Coat is a basic dewaxed shellac, with a fairly light color. It is as "regular" as you can get, and the two pound cut is easy to work with. It doesn't have the negative properties associated with sanding sealer for lacquer.
Zinsser's marketing decisions with respect to shellac have been pathetic, trying to associate shellac with sanding sealer. The dangers of having a 90%+ market share.
The number of coats is, past the first 2 or 3 pretty much a pure esthetic decision. When you think you are getting close to how much you want, let it harden overnight, sand it lightly to remove any "artifacts" from the application. Wipe on one last thin coat to bring back the shine, and rub out the shellac to any degree of gloss you want. I usually sand from 600 to 1500 grit, and then shift to rottenstone on felt, lubricated with paraffin oil. You can get glossier, but rottenstone gives a nice shine without looking artificial.
Thanks Steve,What grit do you sand with in between coats? Would 0000 Steel Wool work to get a Satin Arts and Crafts finish (maybe a little semi-gloss)? And finally would you recommend a full shellac (heavyer cut) for the 2nd and 3rd coats or will the "seal coat" work ok for all. I will be wiping it on.Thanks again.
You don't need to sand between coats unless you have some defect in application that you want to remove or you want to fill open pored wood with the shellac. Then I would use 320 grit. Each coat of shellac melts into the ones below it so there is no adhesion problem without any sanding.
Two pound cut is as much as I would use, and often 1 1/2 lb cut is more pleasant to pad on. When brushing or padding the cut is not a critical measurement. (Spraying is different since beomg consistent aids adjusting the set-up) There are some who advocate just applying one or two coats of a heavier cut, but I definately disagree. Heavier cuts make application more difficult and finicky, in my opinion. With light cuts you can just keep moving and any gaps or overlaps will be dealt with in additional applications. The secret, if there is any, is stopping the instant you feel the pad start to drag. Then just let it dry for a while longer before resuming the process. In fact you don't really need to think in terms of coats, just "sessions". Drying time between sessions gets longer as the film gets thicker. You don't need massive thickness, but the choice is an esthetic one.
Steel wool--I almost always use the synthetic variety--works fine.
Thanks,
I really appreciate all the advice. Many people I've talked with don't give very difinitive answers which leads me to believe they are not all that confident with their advice. I can't wait to post some pictures. I should start the finish in a week or two.
"Steel wool--I almost always use the synthetic variety--works fine." Steve, you might have told me before, but what brand and where do you buy it? I'm about to do some orders and would love to know. Thanks.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I think the Mirka brand carried by Jeff Jewitt at http://www.homesteadfinishing.com works well. I found it somewhere local too, but since that puts it about a continent away from you it doesn't matter that I can't remember where.
2nd the Mirka. I have the grey and maroon both and find them indispensible. The rolls are only fractionally cheaper than the pads too (but I find the width to be perfect for my needs / hands so I get them that way). Plus it'll never spoil.
Michael
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