Finish for oak doors

[Big Fat Pig]

Dear all,

I have just bought 4 internal doors from B&Q which are oak veneered for what i think is a very reasonable 50 quid apiece. One of them is destined to be for the bathroom, two for bedrooms and the fourth is for the lounge. So, woodworking chums, what finish to use ? My initial thoughts were to use 2 - 3 coats of danish oil followed by a coat of Briwax or Liberon, but would this give adequate protection from water splashes or from our 2 moggies leaving mucky pawprints up them as they havent yet worked out how the handles work.
All advice apreciated.

Thanks,

Piggy

 

[Oryxdesign]

I'd use one of the Osmo products, either polyx or the specific one for doors.

 

[Ironballs]

When I did a bathroom door a while back I waxed it on the exterior and used a varnish on the inside, the bathroom was not well ventilated and the door was liable to get some splashes. Seemed to work well

 

[MikeG.]

The problem with most varnishes, and with Danish oil, is that they yellow over time. In fact, it is more like a browny orangy yellow colour........and it really isn't very attractive on oak in my view. It is worse on ash though. After using it for years I have shied away from Danish oil in the last 10 years or so, and now would suggest Liberon Finishing Oil as a better finish for oak. It is a better colour in years to come. So if oil is your choice, that is my suggestion, followed by a coat or two of wax. I sometimes use a dark brown wax on oak as it highlights some of the grain/ pores really nicely.

I have used olive oil on oak, and it certainly produces a nicer colour than Danish or Linseed.......but it isn't really a great finish. It never seems to set really well.

There are lots of fans of the Osmo Poly X here.....I can't comment from experience, but it certainly appears very attractive in some of the photos.

For a bomb-proof finish you could use Rustins Plastic Coating......nothing will affect the wood once you have applied that!

Mike

 

[woodbloke]

I used two or three coats of a matt acrylic varnish on a AWO door I made several years ago. It's very quick to apply (you could easily get three coats on in a day) I use a fine lacquer brush from Axminster so the finish is quite good and as it's acrylic there's been no 'yellowing' of the timber to date - Rob

 

[DangerousDave]

I used two or three coats of a matt acrylic varnish on a AWO door I made several years ago. It's very quick to apply (you could easily get three coats on in a day) I use a fine lacquer brush from Axminster so the finish is quite good and as it's acrylic there's been no 'yellowing' of the timber to date - Rob

I agree. I did our internal upstairs doors in acrylic varnish a couple of years ago and there's no discolouration at all. I applied it with a lint free rag folded up and held together with a bulldog clip, dead easy to keep a wet edge and very fast. Three coats with progressive sanding in between, job done in a day

 

[cornucopia]

either an acrylic varnish- dulux trade do one with polyurethane added to it called Quick drying varnish or osmo polyx oil or door oil- do not use wax it will go white where water splash's onto it
de-nib with 320 betwen cots and use a tack cloth- 2/3 coats should give a very durable finish for years to come.

 

[Marco]

Two components polyurethane lacker...it doesn't get any better.

 

[Big Fat Pig]

Thanks for the replies. I have done some genning up on Osmo products and spoke to them on the phone. Very helpful. I have green leanings and so will be taking the Osmo route rather than the acrylic varnish but nevertheless it was interesting to read what you guys had to say about it.And i shall have to bear it in mind should i need a quicker drying finish for something in future.

Thanks once again.

Piggy