How do you finish hickory?

[jonathan snyder]

Hi folks,

I am working on a murphy bed, mostly plywood, with solid wood edging. I'm looking for finishing suggestions. I do not have spray equipment. I have used shellac on two other projects with good results. I have done some test boards using BLO then shellac, and just shellac alone. I'm leaning towards BLO and then a 50:50 misture of dewaxed orange and Zinsser seal coat.

I'm using the c side of the plywood as the friend I am making the bed for really likes the wild grain and color variations.

Can I tint shellac with anything other than alochol soluble dyes?

Any thoughts or other suggestions?

Thanks
Jonathan

[Jim Becker]

I believe you can use universal tints (like TransTint) in addition to the alcohol soluable dyes for tinting shellac...I'm sure that someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

You're doing a good thing by taking the time to work out your finishing "look" before committing it to the project!

[Steve Schoene]

Jim is correct that TransTint can be mixed directly with shellac.

I should note that if you are trying to emphasize the grain patterns of the hickory a pigmented stain in a somewhat contrasting color could bring even more dramatic emphasis.