I can't finish worth a darn - help? Finishing schedule for desk top.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I can't finish worth a darn - years of practice, miles of reading, and I can still barely open a can without assistance. I'm trying to do something that ought to be simple - put a durable finish on a flat desk top (jatoba). I think I've screwed it up in every possible way, and have had to whip the belt sander out no less than 4 times to strip it back to bare wood and try again. Can one of you experts take a look at my plan and see what I'm doing so very wrong?

My planned schedule is:

1) Pop grain with BLO (flooding it on, letting it sit a few minutes, wiping excess off, then letting it cure for a few days). I know there are more modern ways to do this, but I've never done it any other way, so I'd like to stick with this.

2) Fill grain and seal the wood with several heavy coats of 2# amber shellac (wiping it on with a foam brush, letting it dry a few hours between coats, applying probably 4-5 thick coats or until the pores are no longer visible). Again, I know there are other ways to do this (clear pore fillers, etc), but I've never had much luck with those, either.

3) Sand the shellac to flatten any brush marks away. I suppose I'll wet sand this with mineral spirits and 320 grit paper, or maybe fake-french-polish away the marks with a alcohol-soaked rag.

4) Topcoat. I don't know what to do, here. I had tried using Behlen's Rockhard Table Top Varnish, but accidentally sanded through the first coat when trying to sand out dust nibs (which there were a LOT of...). I have a gallon of General Finishes' Enduro Water-based Lacquer, but I think this is only supposed to be sprayed? I've used wipe-on poly, in the past, but didn't find it to be very durable.

5) Rub-out. I was going to rub out the top coat using the Menzerna products.


Any thoughts?

Ultimately, I think my problem is that the project is a very large surface area, and I'm very inexperienced (and self-taught, at that), so minor imperfections are cropping up and ruining everything. My unheated, dusty garage probably doesn't help. Is there any schedule that is more forgiving in such a situation? Thanks in advance.

[Sam Murdoch]

I am not by any stretch the finishing expert on this forum. My expectation on table tops is different than one would see on a violin or a grand piano and so in very many many years of project finishing I rarely buff out. That being said - Jatoba is a very nice wood to finish. Speaking only for myself - (I am currently in the midst of another Jatoba project) I would not feel the need to fill the grain of this already dense wood. So, I would not venture into your shellac steps 2 & 3.

Working in an unheated dusty garage is certainly contributing to your issues. My favorite finish for such a project - Waterlox original sealer finish - would be unacceptable as would be most tung oil or varnish finishes that require 12 to 24 hour between coats. I would be inclined to use a pretty fast drying finish. Shellac may be your best choice - though it requires developing a touch to apply it properly to a big flat surface. Others will be better qualified to recommend brands or options for varnishes or wiping gels.

One thing that I learned the hard way when I was building and finishing half shell boat models many, many years ago was the importance of dusting myself off before applying finishes. These were finished to grand piano level (as a point of youthful pride). I would spend an hour cleaning all around and making certain that no air was blowing over my work and then fail pitifully as dust settled into my pristine, freshly strained varnish, as I applied it to my model.

The problem was me - the long haired, bearded, finisher hovering over the work hadn't bothered to vacuum my hair and beard or to take myself outside to shake off all the dust I was carrying like Charlie Brown's friend "Pigpen" :eek:. Anyway, when I finally figured out that oversight - now so painfully obvious - I became a much better finisher. :rolleyes:

Stay tuned - others will surely jump in to your rescue. Don't get discouraged.

[sheldon pettit]

Dan, to me what stands out most is your work conditions, even i could not produce excelent results with cold temps and lost of dust using slow dry coatings. I also agree with Sam, that it's really not necessary to fill Jatoba. I think you may be overthinking the writing surface part to much beleiving it will not be good, but if you use a writing pad for desks that would eliminate that concern if it is so ok?

Now, first thing i would do of course if i was in your position is to thuroughly clean the workshop as good as possible. Vacuum/wipe and eliminate all dust. and then start doing all my sanding outside away from the finishing area and blowing/brushing off or wiping off all the dust before bringing it in to finish. I think this will give you the most practical advantage of all you stated.

As to no heat, well if you don't heat, you will not be able to get good results either, just that simple ok? look into at least buying a ceramic heater and also if you can insulate your shop, both will help tremendously. with proper heat and dust control you will see a large improvement.

[Scott Holmes]

Let me take a shot at this for you...

1) Pop grain with BLO (flooding it on, letting it sit a few minutes, wiping excess off, then letting it cure for a few days). I know there are more modern ways to do this, but I've never done it any other way, so I'd like to stick with this.

I have no problem with this step; however there really is no need to flood it on Jatoba. I would just wipe it on and leave the wood "darkened" not wet. Then, I'd wipe it dry.


2) Fill grain and seal the wood with several heavy coats of 2# amber shellac (wiping it on with a foam brush, letting it dry a few hours between coats, applying probably 4-5 thick coats or until the pores are no longer visible). Again, I know there are other ways to do this (clear pore fillers, etc), but I've never had much luck with those, either.

As stated, no real need to fill Jatoba... and I would not use shellac that was not DE-WAXED as a filler. It's much softer than de-waxed shellac.

3) Sand the shellac to flatten any brush marks away. I suppose I'll wet sand this with mineral spirits and 320 grit paper, or maybe fake-french-polish away the marks with a alcohol-soaked rag.

All you need a is light coat of shellac to seal in the the BLO. A quick spray or wipe is all that's needed.

4) Topcoat. I don't know what to do, here. I had tried using Behlen's Rockhard Table Top Varnish, but accidentally sanded through the first coat when trying to sand out dust nibs (which there were a LOT of...). I have a gallon of General Finishes' Enduro Water-based Lacquer, but I think this is only supposed to be sprayed? I've used wipe-on poly, in the past, but didn't find it to be very durable.

Wipe on varnish (poly is a type of varnish) should be very durable... 3 or 4 wipe-on coats have the same build as one brush on coat. So for wipe-on you need 12 or more coats. I would not sand before about 9 wipe-on coats of NON-poly varnish. Poly needs the sanding for adhesion the non poly varnishes like Waterlox don't HAVE to be sanded between coats.

5) Rub-out. I was going to rub out the top coat using the Menzerna products.

Great product I use it all the time... you need to give the varnish a least a few weeks to cure before rubbing out.

FYI Poly varnishes are too "tough" and not "hard" enough to rubout to a high gloss.


Ultimately, I think my problem is that the project is a very large surface area, and I'm very inexperienced (and self-taught, at that), so minor imperfections are cropping up and ruining everything. My unheated, dusty garage probably doesn't help. Is there any schedule that is more forgiving in such a situation? Thanks in advance.

Wipe-on varnish is a good way to fight dust bunnies and a clean shop... I think I saw a clean shop one-time, wish it was mine. :)

[sheldon pettit]

LOL, good reply Scott. :)

[Alan Lightstone]

LOL, good reply Scott. :)


Ditto.

I had a long, painful process finishing a table top a few months ago, and would never have gotten it done without Scott's help (and many others here too).

Choose steps that will maximize your chance of success, and before you know it, you'll have a beautiful table top. Skip approaches that need perfect technique in an imperfect shop (dust, cold, etc.) They just won't work in the real world.