What next?

[Eric Mims]

I finished a white oak side table and I finished it with Olympic 'Dark ebony' oil stain. It looks really, really nice. I'm rather unsophisticated when it comes to finishing, so I tried some poly semi-gloss varnish on the underside of the table top. It looks ok, a tad bit thick maybe, but I noticed it causes the stain to move around a bit while I'm brushing it on. (I let the stain dry for a day).

I thinned the varnish about 15-20% with gum turpentine and applied it to the legs but had to be very, very careful not to 'thin out' the stain too much when brushing. I realize turpentine is a solvent, but I didn't know what else to do to get a more natural looking, thinner finish.

So, do I need to put another coat on the legs, or would you guys typically leave them with the one thin coat? How do you keep the dark stain from thinning when applying varnish? And how do you sand later (for the table top) without killing the dark stain?

thanks

[James Phillips]

Put a coat of dewaxed shellac on before the poly as a seal coat, or just use several coats of shellac and forgo the poly all together

[Bert Johansen]

I agree with James, but suggest you apply several coats of poly for the final finish--mainly because it is a table, and the top needs protection from water. Shellac will show water rings (and alcohol will dissolve it), so better safe than sorry--use the poly.
For future reference, you can apply an oil-base finish over stain if you spray several light coats. Wiping can smear the stain, as you discovered.

[Eric Mims]

so when I do it again, I should stain and wipe the excess, let dry for a day, apply coat of dewaxed shellac (with what?, never applied it before), then a few coats of poly (maybe just for the top)?

I've applied poly over oil stains many times, but the stain color and wood color is always much closer and therefore never noticed the thinning effect.

[James Phillips]

Thin the shellac to about a 1lb cut and apply with a quality brush. Do not be afraid to spend $30-$50 on a bruch for shellac. It will last forever and you do not have to clean the brush. The best way to care for a dedicated shellac bruch (IMHO) is to let the shellac dry in it and redissolve it in shellac or alcohol before the next use. You will also find that for high quality finished shellac is very handy as a finish or just a seal coat between layers of finish.

Good Luck

[Eric Mims]

thanks for the advice. I will keep it in mind. I noticed that the stain seemed to smear in areas that I must not have sanded the wood well.. areas that were super smooth from the planer. I must have missed some spots and it's clear the stain didn't take quite as well. In areas that were sanded thoroughly, the varnish didn't have such a big effect. I'm still kind of scared to sand though before the next varnish coat..gotta keep a light touch!

[Jim Becker]

If your stain is running, could it be that you didn't let it cure long enough? There shouldn't be much "smearing" if the stain has dried fully and after the first coat of your varnish dries, there shouldn't be any further alteration. That said, there is no harm in a barrier coat of de-waxed shellac, but even then you should let the stain fully cure.

BTW, you can make your own wiping varnish by mixing a 50/50 ration of varnish to mineral spirits. (And it will not smell as bad as the turps!) You can use any oil based varnish you prefer, even the "evil polyurethane". Personally, I see no reason to use a poly formulation on most furniture. You lose clarity and don't really gain much benefit other than a slight increase in abrasion resistance at the cost of a softer finish. An alkyd or phenolic varnish would be my choice if I were going to use an oil based product.

[Eric Mims]

thanks, I have no real reason to use the poly.. I just had it. I let the stain dry for a day but maybe it wasn't quite enough. The final table looks great regardless.. I just want to make sure I have more knowledge for the next time. I'll try a different finish next time. :)

[Jim Becker]

Eric, oil based stains need to go a number of days, maybe up to a week, to fully cure. That's likely why yours was wiping off when you started to apply your top-coats. "Dry to the touch" isn't a good indication of curing.

[Eric Mims]

ah, thanks Jim!