Oak finishing

[Derek Tuchscherer]

Can someone please tell me an easy and foolprrof finish for an oak project I am about to start? It is a Murphy Bed so some oak ply and some solid oak. And keep in mind, I know little about finishing, so want something somewhat simple. I have read through numerous finishing posts but all they have been doing is getting me more confused.

Thanks
Derek

[Jim Becker]

The simplest finish would be to use a wipe on varnish. After thoroughly sanding your project and cleaning it off with a soft lint-free towel and mineral spirits, take the oil-based varnish of your choice and thin it 50/50 with mineral spirits. Wipe on with a soft, lint-free cloth or towel. 8-12 coats will provide a nice finish. Do note that oak is a very open pored wood and will not be "smooth" without grain filling...which is a more involved task.

Alternatively, you can use a brushable water borne finish, such as Minwax Polycrylic which is easy to apply with a quality brush and care to avoid over brushing. This will not provide as nice a color as the oil-based varnish will, however.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Derek......I finished my first piece of furniture...an NYW plan oak sideboard using the self made wipe on poly that Jim describes. It works well and is pretty well fool proof. The thinned varnish Jim describes went on easily with little or no problems. It does take multiple coats as Jim suggests. I'll use this again in the future.

[Derek Tuchscherer]

Gee, that sounds easy enough even for me. So would I have to sand that between coats? or...

[Matt Meiser]

I use wipe-on poly on almost all of my oak furniture projects. If you don't stain first, it make a very light, but pleasant color. I use Minwax wipe-on poly or more recently I just bought a can of regular Minwax satin poly and thinned it 50% with mineral spirits to make my own. I usually do 3-6 coats which seems to hold up quite well, but doesn't build a thick film. At first, I applied it with cheese cloth and "rubbed" it into the wood. More recently I've taken to using Scotts Shop Towels (the white ones) and folding them up into a niced sized wiper and just wiping it on, no more than about 2 passes, and one if possible over an area. I VERY lightly sand between coats, just enough to knock off any dust nibs. It seems to take a day or so to really harden and I haven't had any adhesion problems applying multiple coats about 3-6 hours apart with nothing more than a quick wipe with sandpaper. Make sure you hang the rags out to dry so they don't spontaneously combust.

If you want a somewhat darker color, to match our amish-made oak furniture, I've come up with concotion of three Minwax colors that matches what the Ohio Amish call "S-2" stain perfectly.

[Nancy Laird]

Derek, we build almost everything for our house from red oak - solid and ply. We have spraying capability, so we do a wipe-on stain in natural, just to pop out the grain, then spray one coat of sanding sealer, 400-grit knockdown, and 3 coats of lacquer. We are not using water-based anything for finishing. We tried it and the finish didn't stand up as well as we liked.

The nice thing about lacquer is that it is easily repairable--got a scratch? A little scuffing with 400 grit, spray another coat and voila!! It's fixed.

Nancy (105 days)

[Jim Becker]

But lacquer requires both the right equipment to spray and the right environment and protection gear to use safely. I can't recommend it for a beginner...

[Derek Tuchscherer]

Spraying is definitely out of the question for me. As nice as it would be to have the ability.

[Glenn Madsen]

The question about easy always leads me to the wiped on varnish.

I use Waterlox, if my last cans haven't gelled from exposure to oxygen, or McCloskey's, thinned 20 to 40% with VMP naptha. Sanding between coats is only for dust nibs and serious mistakes, in my shop. I seldom do it.

The 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 homemade mixtures people talk about for their projects, with great success have been failures for me. The thinned McCloskey's gloss has been the easiest, and best looking, on oak, maple and cherry projects.

Good luck, in the best possible meaning, with your project!