# What finish for ash worktop



## Lons (12 Mar 2018)

I'm busy making up a small worktop 750 x 650 x 45 for a moveable island unit for my son. The last one I made from beech came up really nicely with several coats of danish oil however I'm concerned that ash might be too yellow. I want to keep it as light as I can and with a satin or matt finish rather than gloss.

The top won't have any food prepared on it or hot utensils but need to wear reasonably well and not too difficult to repair if damaged hence the oil preference. Would OSMO be better than danish oil?

Any suggestions?


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## Mrs C (12 Mar 2018)

Try Osmo Raw - Axminster stock it


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## custard (12 Mar 2018)

Two obvious options.

First is a water based Poly varnish. The problems are water based Poly is better as a gloss finish IMO, the flatting agents used in Matt or Satin versions make it a bit too soft. I've seen examples where the Matt finish was soft enough to become burnished in normal use, showing nasty differential patches of matt and satin.

Second option is using one of the specialist Osmo products for pale timbers. Here you can see three Osmo products on Birch. The "3044 Raw" version in the centre contains small traces of white pigment that almost perfectly neutralises the yellowing effect of the oil content. The other two versions add even more white pigment so it becomes noticeable (3111 on the left) and then very noticeable (3186 on the right). Personal choice really, but a lot of furniture makers I know are using Osmo Raw 3044 to get close to their gold standard modern finish, ie dead matt and non yellowing.


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## Lons (12 Mar 2018)

Thanks guys.
I like the idea of Osmo and have been looking for an excuse to buy some, didn't know "raw" existed but looks good to me.


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## ED65 (13 Mar 2018)

Osmo is just a maker Lons. There's no magic in any of their formulations and few unique products. There are comparable, if not better, products to most or all of their range made in the UK. Not saying this in a "buy British!" kind of way, but you do consequently tend to pay less. Sometimes a lot less.

So anyway back to the ash, are you filling the grain or applying finish as-is?


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## Lons (13 Mar 2018)

ED65":2j4q3pqc said:


> Osmo is just a maker Lons. There's no magic in any of their formulations and few unique products. There are comparable, if not better, products to most or all of their range made in the UK. Not saying this in a "buy British!" kind of way, but you do consequently tend to pay less. Sometimes a lot less.
> 
> So anyway back to the ash, are you filling the grain or applying finish as-is?


I wondered about that but thought it was a special formula as I certainly would have seriously considered one of the other brands. It's too late now as I ordered a 125ml tin of Omo raw from Hardwoodsales on ebay last night which should be enough and at £8.82 delivered doesn't seem too bad. Osmo seems to get a lot of praise on here and the internet in general or is that because they're good at marketing? Out of interest which other brands.
I've never used poly oil and always just the old ways of sanding sealer, danish oil, varnish, wax etc.

I'd prefer to fill the grain and I do have a tin of transparent grain filler but haven't used it for years so might have gone off. 
I'll be gluing up today so I'll dig that out today and check it. What would you advise if I need to buy some?

cheers
Bob


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## MikeG. (13 Mar 2018)

Lons":o2ju330y said:


> .........Osmo seems to get a lot of praise on here and the internet in general.........



Too much, in my view. I'm somewhat disappointed with PolyX, because it goes just as yellow/ orange as any other oil (other than Danish, the undoubted master of turning orange.......Trump excepted).


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## custard (13 Mar 2018)

MikeG.":wsqngk5r said:


> I'm somewhat disappointed with PolyX, because it goes just as yellow/ orange as any other oil (other than Danish, the undoubted master of turning orange



That's why Osmo make a version specifically to prevent this, "3044 Raw".


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## ED65 (14 Mar 2018)

Lons":31a1cl8l said:


> ...good at marketing?


I think that's part of it myself, and I had initially said something to that effect but edited it out. 

Obviously there's plenty of good word of mouth too but it was fairly obvious (to me at least :-" ) that much of that was the enthusiasm of early adopters, "Best thing since sliced bread!" And we all know that tends to get tempered over time.



Lons":31a1cl8l said:


> Out of interest which other brands.


Chestnut, Blackfriar, Johnstone's, Ronseal, Liberon, Mylands, Treatex.



Lons":31a1cl8l said:


> I've never used poly oil and always just the old ways of sanding sealer, danish oil, varnish, wax etc.


Which there's nothing wrong with in 90-95% of cases. 

The subject of what finishes you should have in your arsenal gets brought up a lot now in the days of Internet discussions and many of the pros, writing for their largely amateur reader base, suggest that people keep it simple and stick to just three core finishes, master them and use them for _nearly _everything. 

Anyway, you've bought already but if this were mine I'd have been tempted to try one of two finishes, a pale shellac or soap. Both meet your requirements for reasonable wear resistance and easy repairability. Obviously the shellac would be glossy initially but that can easily be matted down as much as you like. 

To keep the ash as pale as possible I'd have gone with the soap finish. It gives a dead-matt surface (and keeps it that way) and is surprisingly durable on a hard timber. I was sceptical of this I must say when I first read about it but tried it out on a busy working surface in my previous kitchen and it did well enough there over a 2-3 years span that I'm quite happy to use it in less challenging applications.


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## Lons (14 Mar 2018)

Thanks ED65
Much appreciate the info to my questions.

I've never used a soap finish ( I assume you don't mean Camay or Dove :lol: ) so will look into that.
Doesn't matter that I've ordered the Osmo as I can always find a use for it.

I've just taken the clamps off the top, I'm off to play golf today and in hospital tomorrow so unlikely to do much with it until next week now.

Cheers
Bob


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## Phil Pascoe (14 Mar 2018)

Fiddes got left of the list, although I've used Fiddes and Osmo and prefer Osmo. I can't comment on the yellowing as I've used both only on dark woods.


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## Ttrees (14 Mar 2018)

Lons":r4h57qjt said:


> Thanks ED65
> Much appreciate the info to my questions.
> 
> I've never used a soap finish ( I assume you don't mean Camay or Dove :lol: ) so will look into that.
> ...


Here is a link to Chris Schwarz on youtube discussing the soap finish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiJ3qsdPTUo

I would love to see how it looks on ash, but I'm too lazy to find out yet.
I think I've seen it on a beech table before, with a lovely bright, light ,slightly chalky natural finish
This might have been due to cleaning rather than an intentional application, I don't know.

I don't dare plane off the varnishes on any reclaimed stock I have, which would be prone to furniture beetle attack ....which kicks off around Easter time.

I wonder can you get a selection box anywhere to try out a few different oils?
Once again Custard, thanks for your knowledge

Tom


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## Lons (14 Mar 2018)

> Here is a link to Chris Schwarz on youtube discussing the soap finish
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiJ3qsdPTUo



I've been watching videos on soap finish tonight Tom as I'd never heard of it, ( I've lead a sheltered life  ).
Very interesting, I can't get my head around it being durable enough for floors, I just have to give it a go but not the courage to try on anything important so will be on offcuts.

Bob


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## custard (14 Mar 2018)

Ttrees":24y4vrij said:


> I wonder can you get a selection box anywhere to try out a few different oils?



You can get sample size sachets of all the Osmo range for not a lot of money, great way to find out what works to your tastes on your timbers.


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## custard (14 Mar 2018)

Lons":1uawq172 said:


> I've been watching videos on soap finish tonight Tom as I'd never heard of it, ( I've lead a sheltered life  ).
> Very interesting, I can't get my head around it being durable enough for floors


Quite a few makers use it for that bone white, flat look. They all say the same thing though, clients call them up after a year or two because it looks grimy and grubby, great if they warned the client and pre-negotiated a refinishing fee, not so great otherwise. I've never tried it or even seen it on a floor, but you've got to be sceptical that it could ever have a happy ending.


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## Lons (25 Mar 2018)

2 coats of Osmo raw, and the kids are delighted. Hardly changed the colour at all. Thanks again for the advice guys.


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## Distinterior (25 Mar 2018)

That looks really nice Lons.

I was hoping you would post a picture of the finished result, as I have a couple of bedside cabinets I've made that are going to have Oak tops & a shelf on them. I really didn't want the tops to change colour or darken too much and that Osmo Raw looks just the finish I was hoping for....!

I'll get some ordered ready to finish my tops & shelves.

Cheers, Tim.


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## Lons (25 Mar 2018)

It's almost a matt finish Tim, just a slight sheen but that's what I wanted. I guess maybe another coat or some wax would be glossier. The ash looks better in real life than the cr*ppy iphone pics and no yellow tinge at all so well pleased.

The timber was salvaged from a couple of old church double door frames which I changed to PVCu for them a few years ago so I told the kids they have to say a little prayer very time they use it. :lol:


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