Finishing for dummies.

[sacha83]

Afternoon all, please forgive my naivety as this is my 1st post and I'm new to this.

I have built a bookcase out of pine, I know nothing about finishing it, I'd like a matt finish. I guess I'll be looking at buying wood stain? Can anyone recommend a good one? We want a traditional look.

Also I've seen something called Shellac do I need to add this afterwards?

Thanks!

Sacha

 

[AndyT]

I'll try to help. There are loads of choices, each with their pros and cons.

"Stain" is used to mean different things - something to change the colour but not provide any protection OR combined colour change and protective layer. If you are happy with the colour, you don't need stain.

I assume you want something fairly tough to keep the surface clean. You could use shellac, but it's not very tough. You could use a water-soluble polyurethane - you'd need to get the bookcase sanded and dust-free, then paint the poly on with a decent brush.

Much easier to use are the oil-based finishes - you wipe them on with a rag, wait a bit, then wipe off the surplus. Quick and easy. A good all-round choice is Danish Oil, which dries reasonably quickly. Use between one and three coats depending on how you want the piece to look. If it's too shiny, go over it lightly with very fine wire wool.

 

[sacha83]

Fantastic Thanks!

 

[sacha83]

Ok, just so I'm sure, I don't need a stain I can just apply Danish oil that has a colour in it? and that's that?

Regards

Sacha

 

[AndyT]

Danish oil doesn't have an extra colour added. It will darken the surface a little - not much on pine. About the same as the darkening you'd see if you slightly dampened the wood.

With any finish, it's always a good idea to try it out on an offcut first.

 

[sacha83]

I see, could I get away with wood dye covered with Danish oil? We're going for an antique pine look.

Thank you so much for your advice

Regards

Sacha

 

[woodmani]

Hi,

Maybe i can help. I have done a few projects myself and novice in this area so hope i can be of help. always went with colron stain if you want to use that and used a polyurthene varnish afterwards but it can be a bit messy if you don't know what you are doing with it. if you choose to go this route then i best apply 2 or 3 coats of stain to build up the dense colour of Indian Rosewood. at one point i found the stain was too much for the wood to soak and wouldn't dry after 2 days so i went over it with a cloth with white spirit to start again but that helped bring out the grain of the wood and maintained the dark brown colour i wanted, discovered this by accident and it dried up 8) . 1st coat of varnish wait to dry and maybe rough to the touch and then sand down with 700 paper, wipe dust clean with white spirited cloth and repeat until you get a shiny finish. always apply along the grain and sand along the grain and don't use too much on the brush as you may end up with runny marks :mrgreen: as i found out a few times.

or instead use a hard wax oil , mentioned by Shane :idea: in my post. I am using this at the moment and i am impressed with the first coat. its a satin finish but i think i saw somewhere you can get gloss. you can do the staining and when completely dry its the same method of apply with lint free cloth and wait to dry and buff with a clean cloth and re apply until you're happy with the end result. it provides a nice even finish and after using this i think i might stick with this and stay away from polyurethene.

hope this helps

 

[sacha83]

Thank you for your help, just one final question, with the hard wax oil and the wood dye, is it necessary and or possible to finish it with Danish oil?

Regards

Sacha

 

[woodmani]

Hi sacha,

I have never used danish oil, i have only ever used polyurethene varnish as its what i always observed my dad using quite often. Hard wax oil is hard wearing so i assume it will last a very long time and as its wax it may seal the wood so i'm not sure if danish oil will work to give a better finish or not maybe someone else can clarify. best thing to do is get some scrap wood peice and practice on there and see what works best for you. My only reason to use hard wax oil is that i wanted something that was less messy than poly varnish, to bring out the dense grain of the mahogony and keep the natural colour of the wood with a smooth flat surface finish.

I have given the gift box i made a third coat last night and this morning without a buff it was shining with a gloss finish. just given it a buff and i'm completely happy with the end result other than a final Mr sheen polish and i won't go any further. 8)

if you want to use polyurethene then ensure you only sand as much so that you get a smooth surface and nothing more otherwise too much and you'll go down to the wood and dye. #-o

My only issue with hard wax oil is finding a shop that sells it and no one locally did :shock: so i had to order from the net, taking a week for the delivery

 

[AndyT]

Thank you for your help, just one final question, with the hard wax oil and the wood dye, is it necessary and or possible to finish it with Danish oil?

Regards

Sacha

The Hard Wax Oil is a recent alternative to other established oil finishes such as Danish Oil, which is available from several manufacturers and should be quite easy to find.

Oil finishes have the advantage that you can build up as many coats as you want, to give more protection against dirt and spills - not that a bookcase would need much - and are easy to renew with a fresh coat if ever needed.