Finish to mimic old mission style finish

[Brian Runau]

I was planning on using this process(see file), but using tung oil instead of a seal coat after the initial stain; then was planning on using Warerlox as the finish coat. Any problems using the tung oil instead of the sealer?

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Thanks.

Brian

[Andrew Seemann]

Ive done this finish before, although with a gel stain rather than a straight oil stain to allow a little more color control. It does make for a nice look.

My guess is that you will get better results with dewaxed shellac (Seal Coat) than tung oil; I suspect the ray fleck will come through better, plus when you sand the shellac, you will take out any grain that got raised from the dye (but do still raise the grain and sand prior to the dye). Also shellac dries in hours not days, so you don't need to wait as long between steps.

Shellac also eliminates any attitude issues between the water base and the oil base.

[Brian Runau]

Ive done this finish before, although with a gel stain rather than a straight oil stain to allow a little more color control. It does make for a nice look.

My guess is that you will get better results with dewaxed shellac (Seal Coat) than tung oil; I suspect the ray fleck will come through better, plus when you sand the shellac, you will take out any grain that got raised from the dye (but do still raise the grain and sand prior to the dye). Also shellac dries in hours not days, so you don't need to wait as long between steps.

Shellac also eliminates any attitude issues between the water base and the oil base.

Thanks Andrew. Brian

[Jim Becker]

I was planning on using this process(see file), but using tung oil instead of a seal coat after the initial stain; then was planning on using Warerlox as the finish coat. Any problems using the tung oil instead of the sealer?

471571

Thanks.

Brian

Since you're using Waterlox, which is an oil based product, as your finish...you really don't get anything from using the tung oil other than an extra step. The first coat of the Waterlox will provide the same benefit as the oil. And since Waterlox has a longer cure time anyway, skipping that tung oil step saves you time.

[John TenEyck]

If you want to get the maximum effect of the gel stain I would either use Sealcoat as the author recommends or Seal-A-Cell as the sealer. If the tung oil is really thin, or if you thin it so it is, then that would work fine, too. In any case, you want to seal in the dye but leave the grain as open as possible for the gel stain to get into. Then when you wipe it off the ray flecks will come clean but the color will stay in the grain. If you fill that grain with a thick finish you won't get much benefit.

And be sure to clean the pores out before starting the finishing process. Use compressed air and/or a brass brush to get the dust out of them and vacuum very well.

John

[Brian Runau]

Ive done this finish before, although with a gel stain rather than a straight oil stain to allow a little more color control. It does make for a nice look.

My guess is that you will get better results with dewaxed shellac (Seal Coat) than tung oil; I suspect the ray fleck will come through better, plus when you sand the shellac, you will take out any grain that got raised from the dye (but do still raise the grain and sand prior to the dye). Also shellac dries in hours not days, so you don't need to wait as long between steps.

Shellac also eliminates any attitude issues between the water base and the oil base.

Andrew: this is my first effort. In actuality it shows a little darker than the picture. Thought I might cut it a little more to make it lighter? thanks brian

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[Andrew Seemann]

I had to experiment a bit to get something that looked how I (my wife, actually) wanted. I think I did at least 8 different combinations of dye and gel stain if not more.

[Rob Luter]

The example you show looks nice. We're big fans of Mission/Arts & Crafts and I've used variants on the Homestead method (https://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/stickley.pdf). I've found that as long as you approximate the process (as your attached finishing schedule does) it's hard not to get good results. I've made alterations in the dye color and the stain in order to get variations on the theme (examples below). You might consider ammonia fuming as well as it's period appropriate.

https://live.staticflickr.com/2538/4080656293_840f041965_c.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/771/33227080646_8f743dcccb_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50966469231_a7cdfa24b7_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50857249111_01b991683a_c.jpg