simple finishing question

[Artemisblossom]

Hi  I am pretty new to scrolling and i have a question. I am making Reindeer Stocking holders out of walnut. I want to leave them the natural wood color but i am unsure how to finish them. Should they be dipped in some kind of oil such as tung oil, blo, danish oil,etc and then after they dry spray or brush on some kind of gloss finish? I guess i am just not sure what the oil does for the wood. Or should i just spray some kind of clear  finish on them? I have watco laquer, krylon clear gloss finish, and brush on Saman waterbased varnish. Any help would be greatly appreciated 

[fredfret]

Test your finishes on a piece of scrap to find the look YOU like. I would  use a clear spray finish After testing on scrap.

[Bill WIlson]

The first question to answer is;  What do you want the finish to do?

A finish can perform several functions.  It can protect the surface of the wood.  It can seal the wood.  It can enhance the appearance of the wood.  If you just want to enhance the appearance, then you may well choose a different finish than if you also wanted to protect it.  

Film finishes, such as the Watco, Krylon and Saman are topcoats that provide surface protection to the wood.  They typically have different sheens (Satin, Semi-gloss, Gloss).  These can be used in conjunction with oils or as stand alone finishes.  

The oils and oil blends you mention are primarily used to enhance the grain of the wood.  They impart an amber tint to the wood that helps pop the grain in dark woods like cherry, mahogany and walnut.  They too can be used as stand alone finishes.  BLO alone offers the least surface protection and no sheen.  It will darken and pop the grain, but may grow to look dull, over time and need refreshed.  Most Tung oils, Danish Oils, Antique oils, etc are some sort of oil/varnish blend or perhaps even just a thinned varnish.  These will offer the benefits of an oil, in that they will darken the wood and enhance the grain, plus they provide a minimal amount of protection due to the small amount of varnish/polyurethane that is in the mix.  They will have very little sheen, but some people prefer this look.  Depends on the project.

Now, a waterbased varnish is a different story.  Essentially, with any finishing product that contains oil or is oil based, you will get the benefits of grain enhancement.  There is no practical need to apply BLO, then apply an oil based varnish/polyurethane topcoat.  The oil in the varnish/poly pretty much accomplishes the same thing as the BLO would have.  If you want to use a waterbased varnish, but want the darkening, grain pop of an oil, then you need to consider applying an oil first, as the waterbased varnish will not serve this purpose.  I recommend that if you use oil and topcoat with a waterbased product, that you make absolutely sure that the oil has cured.  Give it several days, even a week, depending on drying conditions.  Personally I avoid applying waterbased varnish directly over an oil or oil/varnish blend.  I use a barrier coat of shellac in between the oil and varnish. 

I don't want to drone on too much longer, but of the choices you presented, I would only use the Saman product, if you did not want to alter or darken the walnut at all.  Personally, I don't like the look of a stand alone waterbased finish on darker woods, but that's my opinion.  Whatever finishing schedule you choose, make sure to test it on a piece of the walnut scrap, to see if you are satisfied with the look.

[Artemisblossom]

Thank you so much for your answers. the pieces are purely decorative and I am hoping for a dark shiny finish that will really enhance the wood grain in the walnut. 

 

[scrollerpete]

If you use Tung oil, the more coats you put on the shinier it gets. I would suggest Tung oil one coat and spay shellac a couple of coats and you will get the result that you are looking for.

[Artemisblossom]

thank you scrollerpete i will try this 

[Wilson142]

I just finished a bunch of cherry. I used equal parts of Watco Natural Danish oil, mineral spirits and Minwax semi clear poly. After 3 to 4 coats I have a very nice semi gloss finish with lots of grain. Sanded between coats and let dry for a day each time. Looks good and begs to be touched.

[OCtoolguy]

On 10/28/2019 at 7:01 PM, Wilson142 said:

I just finished a bunch of cherry. I used equal parts of Watco Natural Danish oil, mineral spirits and Minwax semi clear poly. After 3 to 4 coats I have a very nice semi gloss finish with lots of grain. Sanded between coats and let dry for a day each time. Looks good and begs to be touched.

When you do that do you brush it on or do you use a spray gun? Just curious because I have no way to spray unless I use a rattle can.

 

[Wilson142]

37 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

When you do that do you brush it on or do you use a spray gun? Just curious because I have no way to spray unless I use a rattle can.

 

I simply brush it on flooding the openings well, let it sit for 15 mins or so and then wipe dry. The next day I lightly sand with fine scuff pad or #0000 steel wool dust off and repeat. I only mix enough finish to cover one time. New batch each day. A little goes along way. After the 3rd day it really starts looking nice and then it's time to decide how much shine you want. I like the look so well, I have burned through all my cherry and need to replace it. lol I also used it on some Leopard Wood for a Charles Dearing Iguana. Looks nice. I'm gonna post pics in the next few days.

[tomsteve]

i found that the words 'simple" and "finishing" dont go together too often.

 

[Phantom Scroller]

Bees wax is a natural finish and I use danish oil and lemon oil and spray lacquer there are so many finishes see what you like and test some out when you see them in the shops. Roly