Walnut Coaster Finish Idea

[Jaylan Sears]

Hi all, this is my first post here. I have been into woodworking for the past 6 months or so, and I've learned a new finishing schedule for almost every project I've done, so I'm beginning to understand what works and what isn't as good for different applications. My next project is some walnut drink coasters I'm making for my groomsmen. I'm wanting a zero (if such a thing exists) or low maintenance finish.

After doing some reading (here and across the internet), I'm thinking about doing a danish oil like Watco (or oil/varnish homebrew) to enhance the grain and color of the walnut, followed by spray lacquer for some added water resistance. Does this sound like a good idea?

For the homebrew oil-varnish blend, I have an idea. I have both oil-based poly and spar varnish to work with. I'm thinking if I use the spar, that would also give some added water resistance. Would playing around with the proportions help any (such as more varnish, less oil)? Or will that be negligible because of the lacquer topcoat?

Am I on the right track?

Thanks -Jaylan

[al heitz]

My choice for toughness, etc. would be 3 or 4 wipe-on coats of GF Arm-R-Seal varnish - satin (or gloss if you prefer). Easy peasy and holds up in virtually any situation. Can also give it a coat of sanding sealer or rattle shellac as a sanding sealer, but not really necessay - just extra work. Denib with light buffing out before final coat using white synthetic scouring pad or just a piece of brown paper bag. No need for waxing.

[Melvin Feng]

For as low maintenance as possible, I would be tempted to do an epoxy finish. I've only done this a little bit, and it is definitely messy! I've tried Total Boat's high performance and their table top. I think it is at least worth looking into.

[David Kreuzberg]

Lacquer is NOT water resistant.

[matt romanowski]

I'd use Waterlox. I used it on my walnut dining table 5 years ago and my (now) 8 and 6 year old kids are doing things on it all the time. Painting, crafts, dinner, and spills. Some scratches, but no water marks or anything else. We never use a table cloth and place mats maybe half the time. I think it would hold up well on coasters and would be easy to reapply more later.

[Jaylan Sears]

Thanks guys for all the advice!

[al heitz]

When you're all done, let us know what you chose and how it turned out. Pics too if possible.

[Jaylan Sears]

Finished them up last week after a long hiatus from shop time. Will be downsizing soon (moving in with my soon-to-be-wife after our wedding in May), and so I'm trying to use supplies I already have on hand to keep the load down. I ended up doing a home-brew oil/varnish blend and a topcoat of 50% thinned polyurethane. Pretty happy with the results, and holds up well against water with the light testing I've done. I also had some scrap curly and ambrosia maple, so I made my fiancee a set as well! Thank y'all for the suggestions, and those are all things I'd like to try in the future once I have my workspace re-established!

Program I used:

Oil/Varnish blend:
1 part BLO
1 part gloss polyurethane
1 part mineral spirits

-Sanded coasters through 220 (320 on end grain)
-1st coat of oil/varnish blend applied with foam brush, wipe off excess that comes up with rag every few min or so
-waited 24hrs
-2nd coat oil/varnish blend applied by rubbing in with 600 sandpaper, wiping off excess across the grain
-waited one week
-wiped on 1 coat of thinned gloss polyurethane (1 part poly, 1 part mineral spirits)

The bases are red oak (poplar for the maple set, she prefers lighter tones), I just did two coats of the oil/varnish blend with a foam brush for them, only did the 600 grit sandpaper application for the poplar.


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