Finish for table board

[Dengue]

My son likes Northern Silky Oak, and has asked for a 250 x 250 piece to go on the dining table as a decorative piece. It would probably have their pepper, salt containers and other breakfast and dinner condiments sitting on it, and possibly the odd hot dish or cuppa.
What finish would you recommend that would really make the Silky Oak grain pop, and have some degree of heat withstand?

[elanjacobs]

My boss did his Kauri kitchen benchtops in tung oil and it looked fantastic, but you've got to have the patience to apply it properly; you'll need several coats with a couple of days drying time between each one. After that, the rule of thumb is once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year after that.

[Fuzzie]

Danish oil and wax has worked well for me on table tops. I have a (commercial) elm coffee table that was originally finished in nitrocellulose that quickly looked worse and worse for wear and I eventually refinished it with DO and I haven't had to touch it up again since.

[crowie]

G'Day Joe,
I've used my homemade wipe-on-poly on a coffee table that's used all the time and still looks as good as the day I coated it 4 years ago.
An old mate Ian, who's a master woodturner gave the recipe which I've shared with many folk.
The mixture is done in small jar as follows:
30% Tung Oil
40% Clear Satin Polyurethane
30% Mineral Turps.
Cheers, Peter

[double.d]

A oil finish is the best option as it will form a barrier under the surface and is easier to maintain where a poly will sit on top and be harder to fix if damaged or worn.
No finish will withstand heat.

[Chesand]

+1 for Crowies brew

[ubeaut]

I realise this is a bit late, but...

Just a bit of a warning about Silky Oak.

There are a lot of people who are allergic to it even when finished. I know of three. One will break out in a rash if there is silky oak in the same room. Members of his woodworking club were asked not to bring any silky oak work pieces into the club room including items that were fully finished.

In theory the best finish would be a fully coated finish. eg multiple coats of, Hard Shellac, Crowies brew, polyurethane, precat lacquer. I would avoid oils and waxes, as a rule many don't give you a full sealing coat.

[Dengue]

YIKES !! Well this is a real eye-opener, thanks Neil. I have never come across NSO as an allergy causing timber before, so will bear that in mind.
I’m very much tempted to try Crowie’s brew as an experiment.

[Dengue]

Hi crowie, many thanks for your recipe. Sounds an interesting brew. Would this be suitable for outdoor use too?

I have some pure tung oil and turps but no polyurethane. But I do have a tin of Feast Watson Spa Marine varnish. Could I use that instead of the polyurethane?

This Spa Marine Varnish cleans up in turps, and gives a very, very plastic finish after 3 coats, as recommend on the tin. I use it on any outdoor timber where I want to see the grain eg a top support board for wind chimes

[crowie]

Hi crowie, many thanks for your recipe. Sounds an interesting brew. Would this be suitable for outdoor use too?

I have some pure tung oil and turps but no polyurethane. But I do have a tin of Feast Watson Spa Marine varnish. Could I use that instead of the polyurethane?

This Spa Marine Varnish cleans up in turps, and gives a very, very plastic finish after 3 coats, as recommend on the tin. I use it on any outdoor timber where I want to see the grain eg a top support board for wind chimes

G'Day Joe,
I gave the receipe to an older gent I met through a Men's Shed Open Day.
He tried to make a mixture with varnish and it wouldn't stay mixed; so I made a phone call to my mate Ian about it who confirmed that it needs to be polyurethane.
On the outdoors application, I can't say as I've just used it on indoors and toys, sorry.
Cheers, Peter

PS - I always only make up small 200mls jars at a time as the tung oil will gum up after opening and closing a dozen time; it goes a long way.

[Dengue]

Hi crowie many thanks for chasing up the alternative mix for your brew. I will probably now just go for a few coats of Danish oil, which is a weak polyurethane according to Neil.

[mpot]

Hi crowie many thanks for chasing up the alternative mix for your brew. I will probably now just go for a few coats of Danish oil, which is a weak polyurethane according to Neil.

Crowie's brew is effectively just a DIY variation of Danish Oil - which is typically made with oil (BLO or tung oil) + polyurethane varnish + solvent (turps or white spirits).

[Lappa]

G'Day Joe,
I've used my homemade wipe-on-poly on a coffee table that's used all the time and still looks as good as the day I coated it 4 years ago.
An old mate Ian, who's a master woodturner gave the recipe which I've shared with many folk.
The mixture is done in small jar as follows:
30% Tung Oil
40% Clear Satin Polyurethane
30% Mineral Turps.
Cheers, Peter

Which Polyurethane do you use Peter?
Thanks.

[crowie]

Which Polyurethane do you use Peter?
Thanks.

Cabot's Satin Clear Polyurethane

[Chesand]

I use Haymes General Purpose Clear Satin in mine with excellent results. It is just my preference to support an Australian company