{"id":589,"date":"2010-01-17T02:47:38","date_gmt":"2010-01-17T07:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/?p=589"},"modified":"2013-04-19T23:27:09","modified_gmt":"2013-04-20T04:27:09","slug":"my-starting-lineup-of-finishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/17\/my-starting-lineup-of-finishes\/","title":{"rendered":"My starting lineup of finishes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I enjoy sawing, chiseling, and planing wood more than finishing it. However, with few exceptions, the Yogiism of woodworking holds true: the project ain\u2019t done till it\u2019s finished.<\/strong><\/p>\n

An earlier post<\/a> discussed the importance of considering finish options and testing them in the design stage of a woodwork project. Here I will present an overview of the finishes I use most. This is by no means to suggest that these are the best finishes or what you should use, but is simply a list of one person\u2019s preferences<\/strong> which might be useful to others.<\/p>\n

Plastic, oil, and wax are less attractive than wood so I view their role as enhancing what the wood has to offer. I like relatively low key finishes that enliven the wood\u2019s assets without being obtrusive. In this way, one is struck by the beauty of the wood and not the finish itself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So, while there are always bench players and new draft picks to consider, here is my starting line up of finishes, complete with capsule scouting reports:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Bartley\u2019s Gel Varnish<\/strong>, Satin. Very easy to apply, good solids content, warm sheen, over 15 year track record of durability on my projects. The player most likely to take the shot in crunch time.<\/p>\n

2. General Finishes High Performance<\/strong> Polyurethane Water Based<\/strong> Top Coat, Satin. I use this when I want to minimize the color change to the wood. I usually pad it on quickly, use two coats, and add a final rub out with Mirlon 2500 pads or Fibral fine “wool.” A role player, but the best in the league at this position.<\/p>\n

3. Shellac<\/strong>. Blonde flakes (Behlen\u2019s\/Rockler) or Zinsser Sealcoat. I usually pad on a one-pound cut, maybe thinner, and build it until it looks right which for me means not too much. Wax over it. This is the finesse player with a style like no other.<\/p>\n

4. Oil-varnish blends<\/strong>. Watco Danish Oil is a bit lighter in color than Minwax Antique Oil Finish. This is a workhorse player. However, it should be used thoughtfully for an intentionally modest finish and not by default just to get the job done. Beware of blotching some woods.<\/p>\n

5. Renaissance wax<\/strong>. Quality player but only rarely can create his own shot. For using over some finishes, especially shellac. Use a darker wax on woods such as walnut.<\/p>\n

6. Minwax Wipe-on Poly<\/strong>. Comes from Home Depot U. so doesn\u2019t get a lot of respect but can sometimes get it done without taking up much cap space.<\/p>\n

7. Nothing<\/strong>. Sometimes that\u2019s all you need and a tie gets you to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Stains or dyes rarely make the cut.<\/strong> Occasionally a black pigment stain is useful to ebonize small accents such as beading strips, and some oaks seem to respond well to some dyes and stains. Sometimes a brush-on varnish is useful for a table top that needs extra protection.<\/p>\n

Coming soon will be some photos to demonstrate<\/strong> the value of choosing finishes early on in planning a project. Game on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I enjoy sawing, chiseling, and planing wood more than finishing it. However, with few exceptions, the Yogiism of woodworking holds true: the project ain\u2019t done till it\u2019s finished. An earlier post discussed the importance of considering finish options and testing them in the design stage of a woodwork project. Here I will present an overview […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[22],"class_list":["post-589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wood","tag-choose-a-finish-at-the-start-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2304,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions\/2304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}