1/4 sawn white oak

[Jim Dunn]

In the true "shaker" tradition what is the right way to finish qtr. sawn white oak. Not that that question is answered, what is the best finish/easiest finish?

Building a rolling art storage cart for my wife and it is trimmed with oak and raised panels out of MDF. She has decided she wants to paint the panels then distress them. Hey she's an artist don't ask me how she's going to do it. I may take some pics of her with a chain beating the he-- out of em

[Steve Schoene]

Best and easiest aren't always the same thing. In this case, if you don't expect a lot of spilled water--and the MDF would suggest that you don't, I would use a wipe on varnish--Waterlox Original/Sealer is very good. It would take about half a dozen coats, or more, to give a mellow sheen and provide a decent amount of protection. You can make other varnishes into wiping varnishes, and at lower cost by adding thinner. While lots of advise says to mix varnish and thinner 50-50, you will build protection faster if you start with 75% varnish and 25% thinner, adding more thinner if you find that it drags too much when you wipe it on. Good varnishes include Behlen's Rockhard, Pratt & Lambert 38 and McCloskey Heirloom. Notice there isn't a polyurethane varnish in the bunch--that's because you are not finishing floors, which is about the only place where a poly varnish might be a good choice.

[Don Baer]

I've used the Maloof wipe on Poly, the same one he uses on all his fine furniture and found it very easy to use and a very nice finish. I have never seen him use this POLY on floors.

[Steve Schoene]

But, the Maloof is an oil/varnish mix, and is not allowed to build up on the surface, it is used as an in-the-wood surface. Poly won't hurt there since there isn't a film to look cloudy. But, I strongly suspect--on exactly no evidence--that the poly came about when the product was to be licensed and the manufacturer's marketing department said poly would help sales, and since it didn't do any harm (nor benefit either) it was quite OK with Mr. Maloof. He didn't develop his reputation using poly in the mix, of course.

Poly isn't all bad, just not very desirable for 99% of furniture applications as a film finish. As an in-the-wood finish it can't hurt much.

[Don Baer]

Steve My point was that Poly is not just for floors. I happen to use poly as a wipe on much the same as others use other varnishes. I thin it 50/50 and build the coats. The Maloof poly is diluted to 1/3 poly, 1/3 tung oil and 1/3 BLO. You can make it yourself. His other finish is 1/3 carnuda wax, 1/3 Tung oil and 1/3 BLO. I I used to by it but now mix both of them myself.

As a side note I prefer wipe on finishes to spray on since I don't have the proper area to do it in and don't like the chances over spraying. HVLP will minimise over spray but there is still some. If I were a production shop it might be different.

[Steve Schoene]

But my point is that a similar formula with traditional resin varnish would look absolutely as good. Therefore, there is no particular reason to use poly.

Poly is just a varnish with a particular kind of resin in addition to the traditional resins, usually alkyd. The polyurethane resin adds abrasion resistance. but does that because it is softer, tough rather than brittle, like rockwell 56 chisels, versus rockwell 62 chisels. The abrasion resistance is the very same thing that makes it hard to rub out, which afterall is just a process of abrasion.

It comes with other baggage as well. It is more susceptible to damage from UV light than the other common resins, alkyd or phenolic. It doesn't adhere as well to certain substrates (wax contamination that traditional resin varnish shrugs off can make poly fail to adhere very well, for example.)

If it is allowed to build to a point where it is protective, poly looks less clear than similar thicknesses of traditional resin varnishes. And how important is poly's extra abrasion resistence? Remember the standard finish for manufactured furniture is (or has been until very recently) lacquer. Lacquer is brittle, and rubs out well, and also scratches more easily than either polyurethane varnish or traditional resin varnish. Either type of varnish is far superior to lacquer in water and heat resistance.

There would be absolutely no harm to making the Maloof mix with traditional resin varnish. Poly is only a particular kind of varnish, there is no magical benefit, at all, in furniture work, especially not when used as part of an even softer oil/varnish mix with little protective qualities in the end, poly or no poly. Consequently, I see no reason for keeping poly around since tradional resin varnishes will do everything poly does in mixes, and looks better when used by itself.