I communicated this project before and got many good suggestions, for which I am grateful. But now we have a new wrinkle, and need more answers. I am about to complete building a holy water stoup of cherry with walnut accents. The water will be held in a onyx bowl set in the cherry table top, with a rim of cherry surrounding the bowl. All the other furnishings in the church (cherry & walnut) have been finished with multi-coats of Antique Oil Finish by Minwax or by Olympic, and I want the stoup to have the same finished appearance, but I am concerned that the spashes left on the antique oil finished cherry will affect the finish. Has anyone had any experience with varnish over an antique oil finish, with a spar varnish, or whatever? Will it adhere? Or is there another water resistant product that can be used over the antique oil that will withstand prolonged exposure to water spashes and not affect the appearance? Thanks in advance for your advice. Lou
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Replies
Minwax Antique Oil is nothing more than and linseed oil/varnish mixture. It is completely compatable with any oil based finish and it can be overcoated with any other finish as long as it has fully dried. Because of the type of finish that it is, it does not have much in the way of water and watervapor protection.
I would use a couple of coats of a good interior varnish or poly varnish. Use it only on the surfaces that may get wet if you want to maintain the look of the rest of the item. Do not use "spar" varnish. It offers no advantage and is a very soft and easily damaged finish.
Hi, Lou!
I've used multiple coats of Waterlox Original Transparent Tung Oil Finish on cherry kitchen countertops. (And on floors, etc.) It is my favorite finish. it combines tung oil with proprietary phenolic resins, so penetrates with the first coat and then starts building depth of color (but not a heavy surface coat) with later coats. In multiple coats, it is very water resistant, but does allow any water that does get in to escape as vapor. Poly type finishes don't tend to do this. Basic care would be to wipe up any major spills, rather than letting them sit on the table for hours or days. I just finished a 9' walnut dining table a year ago with this finish. It is relatively soft, but that means that it moves with the wood rather than cracking (which would let water penetrate.) This finish is also repairable; it can be recoated about any time.
To be honest, I am myself looking for a topcoat for this finish for a dining table for my daughter's family, that has two small children and two more on the way. They want something indestructable (of which there is no such thing!)
Anyway, if you decide to try the Waterlox, let me know and I can provide whatever of my experience would be valuable to you. If you have trouble locating it, call Waterlox at 1-800-321-0377. They keep track of who stocks it.
Good luck!
Harvey
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