Chess board oil finish??

[Thedog]

Hello,

From off cuts of a previous project I have made a chess board from Walnut and maple.

I want to apply a good fish to it that will look great without it being too glossy, a nice satin finish perhaps.
I would like to use an oil and not varnish. Something that can be applied easily.

Liberon's finishing oil looks really good. Maybe a few thin coats and the buffed off with some sort of finishing wax.

Any thoughts on this or any advice or suggestions of what would be good?

Also, would it be a good idea to apply a sanding sealer first. I have some acrylic spray sealer and some brush on shellac sealer as well.
Or would this just cause more problems?

Thanks

 

[AJBaker]

Nice project, care to share a picture?

I'm old fashioned, I would stick to linseed oil followed by paste wax. It looks great, is easy to apply, is non toxic, smells nice, and gives a nice satin finish (or some shine if you buff).
I don't think you need sealer, especially not for walnut and maple which are both diffuse porous woods.

 

[alex robinson]

Any of the drying oils would work, however some leave more of a colour than others. I prefer tung to linseed, as it causes less yellowing for pale woods like maple. Use a quick drying version though unless you are very patient!

 

[Blackswanwood]

Chestnut Hard Wax Oil is easy to apply, attractive and hardwearing. There is a choice of gloss or satin.

No need for a sealer.

 

[rob1693]

Peri of this parish makes beautiful chess boards look up some of his threads I'm sure he's tried lots of finishes

 

[Eshmiel]

Hello,

From off cuts of a previous project I have made a chess board from Walnut and maple.

I want to apply a good fish to it that will look great without it being too glossy, a nice satin finish perhaps.
I would like to use an oil and not varnish. Something that can be applied easily.

Liberon's finishing oil looks really good. Maybe a few thin coats and the buffed off with some sort of finishing wax.

Any thoughts on this or any advice or suggestions of what would be good?

Also, would it be a good idea to apply a sanding sealer first. I have some acrylic spray sealer and some brush on shellac sealer as well.
Or would this just cause more problems?

Thanks

Hello The,

Before the spoon and bowl-making obsession got a hadden of me, just over a year ago, my last piece of proper furniture was a small games table and what will be the first of various gaming boards, a chess/draughts board - in maple & walnut, what else? (With a cherry and black walnut surround, punctuated by black iron nails - gothic, like the rest o' the hoose ornaments).

It's finished in Liberon Finishing Oil - 3 coats rubbed on with a clean and lint-free piece of cotton sheet then buffed when dry with a very soft brush before application of one coat of Liberon neutral wax. This imparts a shine but it's muted by the paste wax to a degree. It's not the toughest finish but unless the chess becomes violent, that shouldnae matter, eh?

 

[Thedog]

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

Eshmiel, what paste wax did you use? The Liberon Black Bisson was looks pretty good, not sure if it would be suitable over the finishing oil.

Also, what about a hard was oil as the last coat over a couple coats of Liberon finishing oil, would that work?
I could try a few thing, but it becomes expensive and time consuming.

Cheers

​

 

[Mike Fletcher]

I've made several chess boards over the years and I'm not looking forward to the next one only because they take so much time and render the bench unusable while being finished. I'll try to keep this brief. I have used ash and black walnut as I think it makes a good contrast. I always run the board through a drum sander (friend of mine has one) as the final bit of the assembly. Clean, and clean again. I then use oil based clear gloss varnish cut 50 / 50 with spirits, as this allows the varnish to flow out. I don't use water based as it dries too quickly. Apply it with a clean lint free cloth going against and with the grain. Wait 24 hours until the next coat, and sand lightly with 800 and spirits before the varnish. Use as many coats until you get the color you want. It usually takes three or four coats. I the use Aqua Coat filler (sort of filler). two, three coats until the board is smooth. Then a number of more coats of the varnish. I saw one board that was gloss on the board and satin on the surround, looked interesting. Have a beer and vow not to make another one, until someone asks you to make one!

 

[Thedog]

Thanks, Mike Fletcher. Thats interesting. Thats the main reason I posted, to see what woodworkers on here have used and experienced.
I was hoping to avoid the long process of many coats and drying time etc, maybe a quick wax and polish, job done! But perhaps thats just wishful thinking on my part.

My Dad and Grandad used to have their own business importing hundreds of tones of Raw shellac, then they used to process it into a fine powder before it was sold onto to paint and varnish manufacturers. So, I grew up seeing lorry loads of Shellac coming in from the London docks. I think I still have a couple of large pieces from the 70's knocking about.
It would be really good to use some sort of Shellac based finish, even if I mix / make it myself somehow. Or out of the bottle will do.

Anyway, I will have a look at what you said, maybe try this on a few test pieces of walnut and see how it comes out.

I only have a small workshop, so when its drying, I won't be able to do anything else which may cause any sort or dust or particles.

Thanks

 

[AJBaker]

I've never used shellac myself, but I reckon it would look great for a chess board. Isn't the drying time fairly quick with shellac?

 

[Eshmiel]

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

Eshmiel, what paste wax did you use? The Liberon Black Bisson was looks pretty good, not sure if it would be suitable over the finishing oil.

Also, what about a hard was oil as the last coat over a couple coats of Liberon finishing oil, would that work?
I could try a few thing, but it becomes expensive and time consuming.

Cheers

​

Yes, it was the Liberon Black Bison neutral wax that I used, on top of those 3 coats of Liberon Finishing Oil after it was well-dry and buffed with a soft brush, which did seem to introduce a very slight reduction of the gloss from the oil.

The tin of Black Bison doesn't give details of what's in the wax but I seem to recall reading, many years ago, on the Liberon website, that its mostly beeswax with a bit of Carnauba added. all in "hydrocarbons" which evaporate after application to leave the shine.

Neither the oil or the wax are recommended for tough-use surfaces, particularly those that may get wet. In practice I find it keeps its looks, with maybe a waxing every few months or once year, to build a good patina - on surfaces not suffering wear rubs or pollution-splashes. It will work on a dining table but that does then pick up marks of various kinds ..... which seems appropriate for a dining table patina. "Remember that Christmas!?"

How much wear does a chess board get? Not being a habitual player, I don't know. I imagine it'll depend on what the chess piece bottoms are made of and how those chess pieces are moved by those who most play on it. Even with a soft-felt or other bottom on a chess piece, its possible that tiny bits of grit and dust will eventually wear the oil & wax surface if players slide the pieces rather than picking up and putting down.

Can a hard oil-wax like one of the Osmos be put on top of Liberon Finishing Oil and/or wax? Not likely to take on top of wax (nothing will except another wax, really) but I have sanded off all of the wax and some of a Liberon Finishing Oil coating from a small table used in the kitchen then recoated with something else.

It was getting kitchen-splash of this and that so the grain eventually raised as the damper stuff got through the Liberon oil & wax. There was a remnant of the Liberon Finishing oil left after I sanded it back (but no wax remained) on top of which I put three coats of Osmo Top Oil (made for kitchen surfaces). This has been on for about three or four years now with very good protection against the kitchen splashes and no sign of any lift off the remnant of Liberon Finishing oil left beneath it.

 

[Eshmiel]

I've never used shellac myself, but I reckon it would look great for a chess board. Isn't the drying time fairly quick with shellac?

I suspect that shellac will scratch easily, unlike that varnish mentioned by Mr Fletcher. I've French polished a (very) few things but it's a tedious process to impart it and it is easily damaged. But doing just half a dozen pieces, as a novice, hardly qualifies me to say nae gud, eh?