Advice needed for finishing new projects

[Bruce Matasick]

I'm working on a couple different projects - shelves or shelves with lower drawers for bedrooms. I want to stain them a darker wood, maybe a chestnut or walnut tone, although choosing a color is not the issue. (My previous projects, limited as they are, have been painted.) I'd like suggestions on what products to use. These are for indoor installation, and I'm using birch or red oak veneer ply, with some solid wood drawer fronts of maple, and I want a satin or matte finish. Thanks in advance.

[Jim Becker]

Bruce, it's good you want to pick a general color to work with, but with the mix of species you mention, it's going to be nearly impossible to get all those components to look right together without significant work and refinishing all of them separately. Birch and red-oak are open grain species, but with a different starting color from each other. Maple is a closed grain wood and will react completely differently to coloring agents. A pigment stain can be effective on either birch or oak, but will look like, well...you know...on maple since there's nowhere for the pigment to go. Maple and similar closed grain species are best colored with dyes. You'll be better served by choosing a single species for both your sheet goods and your solid stock.

A satin finish would be typical for this kind of project. Matte would retain dust and dirt too easily and isn't typical for a clear coat finish, either. If you are going to brush or wipe your finish, you can use either an oil based varnish or a water borne acrylic, although the latter will not be as "warm" when it comes to color. I like Pratt & Lambert #38 varnish or Waterlox, but the Sherwin Williams Fast-Dry varnish is also a nice product and usually easy to find at your local SW store. If you are going to spray your finish, there are a number of excellent water borne products that give excellent results and are safer to spray in the typical home shop. I personally use Target Coatings EM6000 for most of my spray finishing. (And I usually warm things up with a coat of de-waxed shellac over dye to both seal the dye and add a little amber to the piece)

It's very important that you test your potential finishing regimen(s) on scrap from the project before you start actually finishing the real deal. Everything combines together and you want to be sure that your choice of coloring and top coat result in what you intend to create.

[Sam Hamory]

Quick and easy finishing. Spray with HVLP.
Two light coats of Zinsser Seal Coat 1:1 denatured alcohol. First coat before stain, second coat after.
General Finishes Exterior 450 - a waterbased top coat 3 or more coats.
Sand between coats. No Steel Wool!

[Scott Holmes]

Sam, why do you recommend an exterior finish for an interior project?

[Sam Hamory]

Why not? It's a great product that works eveytime I use it! Also, the project is a set of shelves, the extra protection offered because its exterior grade can't hurt. Now, I wouldn't use an interior top coat for an outdoor project, but I see no reason why 450 can't be used indoors.

[Prashun Patel]

For shelves, don't count out oil based polyurethane. It tends to get a bad rap because it can look 'plasticky' and is a little finnicky about what can be put underneath it. I have always had good experiences with Minwax plain old fast-drying polyurethane. I prefer to thin it before either brushing or wiping, though. It'll work fine over most oil based stains.

However, it's got good abrasion resistance which is important for shelves, and since it's satin, the visual distinction between this product and higher end alkyd/phenolic varnishes is minimal.

One thing to note is that birch veneer ply and maple can blotch with oil based products. You might consider a gel stain to minimize this, and to minimize the differences between the different types of wood. Gel stains are kind of halfway between stains and paints.

[Bruce Matasick]

Thanks for the suggestions - I appreciate the help. One more novice question out of curiosity - why sand paper vs steel wool? That was stated as a had and fast rule. Thanks again. Bruce

[Scott Holmes]

Exterior finishes are softer and more flexible; this is how they are formulaed so they don't crack as the exterior wood expands and cotracts with the climeate changes. If they cracked they would allow water into the wood thus compromising the finish... Since they are softerthey are easier to scrape and damage than a harder interior finish.

Note: exterior finishes are LESS water proof and LESS water vapor proof than interior finishes. but they work better because they don't crack as easily.

[Scott Holmes]

Bruce,

Here's why I say:

Never use steel wool between coats (or on raw wood)

Reason #1 you will leave shards of steel wool behind; then you will top coat it. Now you have steel wool IN your finish when water vapor get to it, and it will, it will RUST - IN YOUR FINISH.

Reason #2 Many steel wool products have oil to keep them from rusting so now you have oil on your surface... bad idea.

Reason #3 Poly does not stick well to itself or anything else for that matter that is why they tell you to sand between coats. Steel wool abrades the finish; it does not give enough "tooth" for poly to adhere well. 220 sand paper 320 at the finest.

[Harvey Pascoe]

I've done nearly all horizontal surfaces in my home with poly and that stuff just keeps getting harder and harder to the point where it seems next to impossible to scratch. Hyperbole, yes, but not too far off. Like Prashun says, the one drawback is printed materials such as glossy magazines and sometimes even box labels will stick to it.

[Prashun Patel]

I have not had any problems with 'blocking' i.e., sticking after the surface cures. But I only poly'd one set of closet shelves and a play table for my kids.

[Harvey Pascoe]

I have a nice coffee table twenty I made years ago finished with poly. If the wife puts a pile of glossy magazines on it, believe me, the bottom one will stick and its the weight that does it. one magazine alone won't stick. I don't think its the poly's fault, its the magazines. Paint thinner easily removes it. After twenty years of abuse, the damn thing still looks good!

[Howard Acheson]

Let me add this to Scott's reply about steel wool.

One of the hallmarks of a professional finish is that it is perfectly flat. The way to get a flat finish is to sand between coats with 320 or 400 grit sandpaper backed by a flat, felt or rubber cushioned sanding pad. This sanding flattens any uneven areas caused by an uneven film of finish. Steel wool or a non-woven abrasive pad (like Scotchbrite) will ride up and down over the hills and valleys without flattening them.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> If the wife puts a pile of glossy magazines on it, believe me, the bottom one will stick and its the weight that does it

It may be that the continual long term off-gassing of the oil based varnish is causing the magazine covers to stick. Oil based varnishes continue to off-gas for many years. Glossy magazine covers are over-printed with a lacquer or varnish as the final printing process. The off-gassing can cause a softening or partial dissolving of these printed coatings.