Burr Elm Dining Table - Finishing

[jkljosh]

Hi Folks,

I'm making a dining table from some beautiful burr elm. It is going to end up in a very light room, although not in the direct sunlight. I've been wondering about finishes and would welcome your thoughts. Obviously the wood will mellow and darken over time, but I thought that an oil finish would perhaps slow that process as well as offering a solution that can be "refreshed" periodically to keep the wonderful figure in the burr to the fore. With those things in mind, any thoughts from the collective experience on which oil to use to achieve best effects. Also, is it worth "finishing" the oiled surface with a coat of wax, or would that compromise my intention to refresh the oil finish periodically?

Thanks in anticipation

John

 

[longinthetooth]

What about 2 or 3 coats of Osmo Polyx, each rubbed out really thin & denibbing between coats of course. Forget the wax.

It's a mix of oils and relatively soft but easily repairable. For aesthetic reasons I would avoid anything with a high, plasticky gloss.

 

[marcus]

Obviously the wood will mellow and darken over time, but I thought that an oil finish would perhaps slow that process

An oil finish will in fact speed the process up, as the oil goes dark over time as well as the wood! Still it takes a long time to go really dark, it will look good for many years.

The best traditional oil finish for a table is tung oil, as it resists water spills better than any other natural oil. Liberon do it. In the old days they would do upwards of ten coats, leaving to dry for several days in between each one. Danish oil is quicker.

Yes, you should wax it! It's another layer of protection, and makes a big difference to the longevity of the finish. Then if you redo the wax frequently you shouldn't have to re-oil for a long time (so long as you put on enough in the first place).

Osmo is good, very practical and long lasting (for an oil finish) and looks fine, and easy to repair, but not quite as good looking as proper oil finish IMO. A bit less clarity. Depends what you are after. If you use osmo no need to wax, obviously, as it has the wax already in it!

 

[custard]

Any kind of oil or varnish will not just darken the wood, it'll also add a yellow or orange tint (some manufacturers describe this as an "amber glow", but no matter how pretty the description the effect is just as nasty and artificial). On darker woods it's not too intrusive, on lighter woods it's horrible. Maple, Ash or Sycamore are definitely lighter; Mahogany, Cherry, or Walnut are definitely darker. In the middle there's Oak and Elm, individual boards can fall in either the darker or lighter camps.

One option for a non-yellowing finish on a lighter wood is a water based acrylic. But even here you need to be careful because some manufacturers add an "amber" tint, in case that's what their customers actually want! General Finishes (sold in the UK by Rutlands or direct from their website) have a non yellowing version called PolyAcrylic, they also sell a more expensive version called High Performance Poly, that has UV inhibitors as well, but it's only worth it if you have a fugitive stain underneath and the piece will sit in a sunny room, it sounds as if you won't have a stain so it's probably not needed.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Any kind of oil or varnish will not just darken the wood, it'll also add a yellow or orange tint (some manufacturers describe this as an "amber glow", but no matter how pretty the description the effect is just as nasty and artificial). On darker woods it's not too intrusive, on lighter woods it's horrible. Maple, Ash or Sycamore are definitely lighter; Mahogany, Cherry, or Walnut are definitely darker. In the middle there's Oak and Elm, individual boards can fall in either the darker or lighter camps.

I hope you're not trying to speak for everyone custard. Granted, there are many situations-- possibly the majority, where the desired end result of polishing a pale timber is to keep it as pale as possible, and to maintain that pale appearance for as long as possible. Then there are occasions where some instant aging is considered desirable by the designer, and one way to do that is to apply boiled linseed oil or pure tung oil to maple, sycamore, ash, etc, or indeed simply polish up the job with an oil based varnish. Coats of boiled linseed oil or pure tung oil may be the end of the finishing regime, but a single application of either oil might be the base over which some sort of film finish might be applied, eg, shellac, pre-cat lacquer or post-cat lacquer, etc. I've done exactly this, and seen others do it many times over the years. Slainte.