A bit confused about finishes

[*Kev]

Hi all,
I've almost finished making my first coffee table (pine) and am now trying to decide how to finish it. The problem is the more I read about different finishes the more confused I become.

Some say Danish oil gives a good durable finish and is easy to apply. Others say the opposite. Some say poly - some say not to use it. Some say wax - others say not.

What I'm after is a durable, water resistant, mahogany coloured finish that looks and feels attractive.

This question has probably been asked a 100 times but can someone please advise me which way to go.

Thanks, Kev

[Wongo]

Oil and wax offer very little protection to wood. People use them because they are very easy to apply and they look better.

Are they durable? No, not against water, heat and scratches. To me, I would never use oil and wax for dinner tables or coffee tables. My equation is very simple. I use satin wipe-on poly for heavy duty table tops. I use oil/polyU mix then wax for everything else.

[RufflyRustic]

For a coffee table, you can't go wrong with Wipe on Poly, as Wongo said. And it really is easy to apply. If you want to stain the coffee table, you can use water-based stain or look at the stains Minimax sell.

cheers
Wendy

[Groggy]

Young family? - poly
Entertainers? Have frequent guests? - poly.
Retired and able to look after your furniture - consider oils and waxes perhaps.

I have just completed a coffee table and used a gloss poly. My personal choice would have been the same as Wongo's, satin poly.

[*Kev]

Thanks for replying.

Stain and wipe on satin poly it is then.

Cheers, Kev

[golf_relic]

This response it great - thanks. I'm working with NG Rosewood and making a nest of tables. I read earlier that sanding sealer should be applied to fill the grain which confused me. I'm sanding down to 1000 grit and intend, based on reading above, to apply a Poly finish without any sealer. Am I on the right path?

This is my first project with really nice timber and I don't want to stuff up the finish.

[ubeaut]

NG Rosewood will probably need filling with either a grain filler of a complimentary colour, ro with sanding sealer. I would recommend the grain filler. available from most hardware and paint shops. I prefer water based but oil/turpentine based is fine. Follow instructions to the letter.

If you don't fill the finish will have many little holes in it from the pores of the timber. If you don't mind that then you don't need to fill.

You will however wnat to wet the surface down with warm water or methylated spirits to raise the grain from sending. Then sand lightly with your finest grit to get rid of that raised grain. If you don't do this the finish will feel like someone has thrown a hand full of sand on to it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers - Neil

PS using the graim filler can also double as the stain to even out grain colour.

[golf_relic]

Helps a lot - thanks. I'll head to Bunnies to get the water based filler. I presume that using the Water or Metho is prior to application of the filler?

[ubeaut]

Yes but not really important when using a water based filler as this will give much the same result. More important if youre applying the finish to raw timber than to grain-filled timber.

[Bluesy]

This response it great - thanks. I'm working with NG Rosewood and making a nest of tables. I read earlier that sanding sealer should be applied to fill the grain which confused me. I'm sanding down to 1000 grit and intend, based on reading above, to apply a Poly finish without any sealer. Am I on the right path?

This is my first project with really nice timber and I don't want to stuff up the finish.

I am making a guitar from NGR and have just finished a test piece of wood with help from people here. I used two coats of Feast & Watson Sanding sealer first. This sealer seems to be full of something like talc, and it does fill the grain. I sanded, then just brushed on polyurethane gloss. I ended up with 3 coats of poly, sanding lightly between each. The last sanding I did with 1200 grit and then 0000 steel wool, before applying the final (3rd) coat. The result is very nice ! As I am looking for the best possible finish, I intend to try a polish on top of this.

I also tried 2 coats of poly straight onto NGR, but the result has huge holes where all the grain is. Proved to me that sealer/filler is required

[golf_relic]

Yes but not really important when using a water based filler as this will give much the same result. More important if youre applying the finish to raw timber than to grain-filled timber.

Some quick feedback and thanks. With respect to my NG Rosewood nest of tables, I finally (and nervously) chose not to use a gain filler, sanded down to 1200 grid and have applied a tung oil with wax to follow shortly. With the Tung oil on, it already looks fantastic. I love the natural timber without the grain filler. The metho worked a treat to smooth the timber. Thanks for the help and I'll keep coing back.