What finish to use?

[bch47]

I bought a piece of big leaf maple burl. Was going to use it for a coffee table in the new family room, but could not figure a good way to add legs. It is now going to become a wall hanging since it has such a pretty grain. What would be the best finish on this. I'm thinking linseed oil to bring out the grain. Can poly be used over this to protect the wood and seal the bark that is still on the piece. Piece is probably 18" wide by 28" long.

[Stretch]

Yes, poly can be used over linseed oil, but in my experience poly "pops" the grain just as much when used alone. So for me, I have no use for linseed oil in these cases. I don't like having to wait for it to cure to put on the poly.

As for what finish I would use. Well the answer to that is almost always lacquer because it's what I use the most on my furniture and I keep it around. For a wall hanging though durability really isn't an issue, so if you wanted to do an easy finish, shellac would be a great choice. I'm assuming you'll want a high sheen so it would be relatively quick and easy to get a high buildup of shellac or lacquer by brushing, and thin rub it out to a high sheen and wax. The same method can be used with poly, but in my experience it's harder to rub out. Plus, with poly, it doesn't melt together like shellac or lacquer, so you have to be careful not to burn through the layers of it when rubbing it out.

[Joe Lyddon]

I think I would wipe on several coats (5-6) of blonde shellac topped off with wax.

The shellac would POP the grain very nicely... and as wiping it on it 'builds' the finish with each coat...

You can always spruce up the finish by removing the wax with Paint Thinner, merely wiping-on more shellac as desired, & finishing it up with wax again... no pain or strain...
Easily dusted.

Don't forget to show us when you're done.

[Ruffnek]

I'd use an easy oil finish...Danish oil or Minwax antique oil. Like Stretch said, durability isn't an issue.

[Gecko]

My favorite for Maple burl is to use an oil (I use Watco) then polish it with shellac and rub it out to a smooth finish.

[bch47]

Thanks for the quick answers. I would like a high sheen. I've used satin varnish on all of the furniture I have made to this point, so I am not familiar with the use of shellac. When you say polish with shellac and rub out to a smooth finish, just exactly how is this done?

[Stretch]

Apr 18, 2010 19:41:56 GMT -6 bch47 said:

Thanks for the quick answers. I would like a high sheen. I've used satin varnish on all of the furniture I have made to this point, so I am not familiar with the use of shellac. When you say polish with shellac and rub out to a smooth finish, just exactly how is this done?

The traditional way is by doing a French Polish, and there are those here that can coach you on doing it that way. I do it a different way that will work with either shellac or brushing lacquer. Basically you build up the finish fairly thick by applying several coats. Then if the finish is not glossy enough for you, you sand it with progressively higher grits of sand paper and finish off by buffing it with a buffing compound. I would start by sanding with 320 grit stearated concentrating on keeping your motion straight and even. When you've fully sanded the surface move up to about 600 grit automotive wet or dry. I lube with paint thinner to keep the paper from clogging. Move through the grits. 600, 1000, 1500, 2000. 1500 or 2000 grit may be glossy enough for you depending on what you're after, but if it isn't you can use automotive swirl remover to finish off your shine. Others have use pumice or rottenstone, but I haven't so I can't recommend that based on my own experience. After the swirl remover you can wax it to finish the finish. I like Johnson's paste wax dissolved in paint thinner. I mix it up for my furniture so I have it on hand.

[dcarter636]

Just to append a branch to Mark's sanding schedule:

After 600 grit wet sanding you can buff with soft cotton cloth (an old white T-shirt) and pumice powder in mineral oil plus paint thinner to tune the viscosity of the slurry and then move on to a rottenstone slurry for a glassed finish. You can buy the pumice and rottenstone buffing slurries premixed which improved uniformity of my results.

Those old-school polishing slurries also go around corners and across undulating surfaces a lot better than any sand paper I've used.

[bch47]

Looks like I will practice on a piece of scrap oak before working on the good stuff. Thanks again.

[Joe Lyddon]

Good idea... but it's not maple...

[bch47]

I picked up some natural Watco oil and a piece of maple with nice grain pattern to test my skills. The Watco really made the grain stand out. I'm going to get some clear shellac to see what that looks like on the maple