finishing a red oak Mantle and need advice

[jeff Doubleu]

Hello first post. Experience with finishes is limited.

I am putting the finishing touches on a red oak, hand hewn barn wood, mantel. Dimensions are 8 x 8 x 78"

Thus far I have:
fumed it with amonia to darken it a bit and to kill what was living in it
3 to 4 coates of BLO to get that rich color
the last coat i rubbed it in with 400 grit pad (dont know why just seemed like a good idea)
Wiped with danish oil to further darket the veins and pores
scuffed with 400 grit
1 application of garnet Shellac mixed from flakes with 10 drop of red tint

My issue that i have is that the first face that i applied the shellac was really too glossy. So on the next face i applied with a brush and then wiped it with a tshirt that was a little damp with shellac that gave me the oil rubbed matt finish that i like but i am wondering if i am just rubbing it all off?

the other issue is that in the areas where there are deep axe gouges the shellac dries glossy. Is there a way to make it dry with a matt finish? or if i top caot it with something will that take care of the gloss?

[Todd Burch]

Normally, I would suggest steel wool to flatten a gloss finish, but that won't work too well on rough hewn wood. Perhaps you could try an equivalent abrasive pad instead.

You probably didn't rub off all the shellac. That stuff dries pretty fast, but your build may be small (thin).

Sounds like the shellac pooled in the deep areas, and getting in there to matte-it-out might be tough for you. You could, however, dissolve it with alcohol.

Putting a finish on that type of lumber is a tough nut to crack.

It is, however, a romantic notion to have that type of mantel, but I pity the poor soul that has to keep it dusted. For this reason alone, I avoid all temptations to decorate in rough lumber.

[jeff Doubleu]

may i could use a q tip or a tooth brush get the shine off. the abrasive pad gets caught in the axe hacks. ononce the dust fills the cracks that will take care of it too. Maybe i should have stopped at the danish oil I do like the color it is now however. Ill post some pics when i hang her back up. thanks

[Scott Holmes]

There is a product called Shellac Flat (a flattening agent for shellac) Shellac is gloss without the flattener.

[Steve Jenkins]

If you used dewaxed shellac you could spray it with dull or flat lacquer

[jeff Doubleu]

Thanks for the input. I ended up scuff sanding it with 400 and then I went back to the waterlox danish oil flooded the surface and took to the cracks with a toothbrush and rubbed the smack out of it. looks nice so far. The axe marks darkened back and i got that rubbed look back. I might go after it with some wax or something later but i need to get it up for a party tonight.....if you know what i mean.;)

[Prashun Patel]

I'm not sure why you even need the shellac. If yr getting all the color you need from the Watco Danish Oil (I assume you meant Watco -not Waterlox) and you want it hand-rubbed, then I would have just kept applying the Danish Oil until you get a soft even sheen. On a mantel this should be adequate protection.

[jeff Doubleu]

Yea i am a rookie. i following somebody els's schedual i should have done run an option. would have been perfect for furniture, but not on the mantle. and yes it was Watco.

[Howard Acheson]

Basically, you won't get a non-gloss finish using shellac. The only way to reduce the sheen of shellac is to scuff sand or rub it will an abrasive material after it has dried. Try using a green Scotchbrite abrasive pad.

If you want a non-gloss finish, apply a non-gloss lacquer, non-gloss oil based varnish or a non-gloss waterborne acrylic.

So far, you have gone through a lot of steps that were not needed. One application of BLO is all you needed. One application will provide all that's needed to "pop" the grain. It's the amber color that highlights the grain and figure. Danish oil is nothing more than BLO with a little varnish added so, in effect, all you did was put on another coat of BLO.