Finish for Desk

About six years ago I built a curly birch work desk for LOML. I wanted
a heavy duty scuff resistant finish that could stand spills,
condensation from a glass, and moving the adding machines and keyboards
across it.

I pretreated with 1/3 turps - 1/3 tung - 1/3 3# shellac to light up the
grain and let it dry overnight.

Then I thinned down polyurethane (don't remember the maker) satin
finish by about 10% and padded it on. I put on 5 thin coats over about
3 - 4 days, and it has worn like iron. It looks as good as the day I
put in in her office with no special care at all.

Robert

The ability to stand up to coffee, beer and wine is a definite plus......And
yes I do plan on testing on scraps.....just looking for a starting point.

Thanx.


"Peter Huebner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>> About six years ago I built a curly birch work desk for LOML. I wanted
>> a heavy duty scuff resistant finish that could stand spills,
>> condensation from a glass, and moving the adding machines and keyboards
>> across it.
>>
>> I pretreated with 1/3 turps - 1/3 tung - 1/3 3# shellac to light up the
>> grain and let it dry overnight.
>>
>> Then I thinned down polyurethane (don't remember the maker) satin
>> finish by about 10% and padded it on. I put on 5 thin coats over about
>> 3 - 4 days, and it has worn like iron. It looks as good as the day I
>> put in in her office with no special care at all.
>>
>> Robert
>
> I would also recommend polyurethane. As for the oil primer, I feel this
> needs
> to be sampled. Some time oil darkens a timber more than PU, so if I want a
> blonde appearance I will not put boiled oil or oil/vege-turps mix on.
> Other
> times, when I want to enrich a contrasty dark timber I will make a point
> of it.
> In other words, I heartily recommend doing some samples on scraps or
> inconspicuous places and see which look you like best.
>
> I sometimes also use a receipe that I found in Fine Woodworking Mag some
> 20
> years ago - 3 parts vege turps, 2 parts gloss PU, 1 part boiled linseed
> oil.
> (gloss pu because matting agents can interfere with the mix) and this you
> flood
> on, then wipe off excess once it stops soaking in. Rinse and repeat
> several
> times. It will darken and enrich the grain, it will also fill pores and
> harden
> the wood and you can later paint or spray satin poly over the top without
> problems. I've used other kinds of Teak - or Scandinavian Oil finishes as
> well
> as concoctions w. Tung oil and they all come up different. You really have
> to
> see how YOUR particular timber reacts with the concoctions you have, and
> then
> judge by your taste. Basically speaking: turps thinned polyurethane should
> go
> over oil based finishes without problem.
>
> I recently did a computer desk for myself from Rimu and Taraire, the Rimu
> carcasse and doors I did with the oil, the blonde&black hard Taraire I
> just did
> with 3 coats of PU; first one slightly thinned - looks great and is
> impervious
> to anything in the way of coffee and beer I've been able to do to it the
> last 6
> months :-)
>
> -P.
> --
> =========================================
> firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> About six years ago I built a curly birch work desk for LOML. I wanted
> a heavy duty scuff resistant finish that could stand spills,
> condensation from a glass, and moving the adding machines and keyboards
> across it.
>
> I pretreated with 1/3 turps - 1/3 tung - 1/3 3# shellac to light up the
> grain and let it dry overnight.
>
> Then I thinned down polyurethane (don't remember the maker) satin
> finish by about 10% and padded it on. I put on 5 thin coats over about
> 3 - 4 days, and it has worn like iron. It looks as good as the day I
> put in in her office with no special care at all.
>
> Robert

I would also recommend polyurethane. As for the oil primer, I feel this needs
to be sampled. Some time oil darkens a timber more than PU, so if I want a
blonde appearance I will not put boiled oil or oil/vege-turps mix on. Other
times, when I want to enrich a contrasty dark timber I will make a point of it.
In other words, I heartily recommend doing some samples on scraps or
inconspicuous places and see which look you like best.

I sometimes also use a receipe that I found in Fine Woodworking Mag some 20
years ago - 3 parts vege turps, 2 parts gloss PU, 1 part boiled linseed oil.
(gloss pu because matting agents can interfere with the mix) and this you flood
on, then wipe off excess once it stops soaking in. Rinse and repeat several
times. It will darken and enrich the grain, it will also fill pores and harden
the wood and you can later paint or spray satin poly over the top without
problems. I've used other kinds of Teak - or Scandinavian Oil finishes as well
as concoctions w. Tung oil and they all come up different. You really have to
see how YOUR particular timber reacts with the concoctions you have, and then
judge by your taste. Basically speaking: turps thinned polyurethane should go
over oil based finishes without problem.

I recently did a computer desk for myself from Rimu and Taraire, the Rimu
carcasse and doors I did with the oil, the blonde&black hard Taraire I just did
with 3 coats of PU; first one slightly thinned - looks great and is impervious
to anything in the way of coffee and beer I've been able to do to it the last 6
months :-)

-P.
--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com