Which Finish To Use

[David Quayle]

I am in the middle of building a bed from Tassie Blackwood, I want a finish that doesn't colour the wood (or as little as possible) and is not a high build finish, probaly with a matt to satin finish, any suggestions? I have just used Feast & Watson Satin Proof on my lounge refurb and it did colour the wood and was a higher build than I would like.

David

[Afro Boy]

All finishes will change the colour of the timber. The colour of the wood will even change over time regardless of what you do.

If you wet the wood, you will see the colour it will be when finished.

One of the better finishes you can use that won't change the colour of the timber beyond what it looks like when wet, is Dewaxed White Shellac. You can get it from U-Beaut (sponsors of this forum).

I've used it to great effect with Huon Pine. For the piece below, I brushed on a few coats of this shellac which I thinned out first by around 50%. A light sanding by hand inbetween each coat, and then "rubbed" it out in the end.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2484/3982637851_330c1f1670.jpg


These two vids will give you an idea of the method I used to apply it:

Brushing shellac
Rubbing out shellac

Cheers,
Af.

[Wardy]

Hi David
you could try 1/3 satin poly
1/3 boiled linseed oil
1/3 turps
mix together, apply generously with brush, leave for 10 mins to soak in, rub off excess with lint free cloth. Old singlet, old bed sheet will do the trick. Finish wiping with the grain.
leave for 24hrs or until dry, light rub with worn 600 wet and dry, follow this until desired look is achieved.
cheers

[Christos]

I like the Shellac finish.

[David Quayle]

Hi Guy's thanks for the assistance.

DQ

[Horsecroft88]

Or failing or the other excellent suggestions, you could try Feast Watson's floor seal (which is a Tung Oil, Poly mix), and while it is perhaps used mostly for floors, I have used to excellent effect on bench tops, vanity unit tops etc (including blackwood, aged oregan, baltic, huon and celery pine, as well as tassie oak),

If you apply two coats it shouldn't have a high gloss and you could always cut it back with steel wool and bees wax it and this will give a nice soft (satin finish). However, the more coats you apply the deeper the shine or gloss you will get.

[SynergyInte]

For absolute greatest durability I recommend, a simple old fashioned Urethane.