I have made a large oak table top. I've put a couple of coats of
Danish oil on, to bring out the grain and deepen the colour.
Because the table will take lots of wear and tear from a young family
I want a final finish that is very durable. A local finishing shop
said they'd use a two part acid cat lacquer, and they could make it a
matt finish (which is good because the wood isn't completely flat in
places where I've had to sand out grain tear-out)
But they said they couldn't put this on top of the Danish oil finish
and would have to sand it off - i.e. lots of extra work and money.
I find it hard to believe, but I'm no expert.
Any advice?
The rule of thumb for lacquer is that it can be used on raw wood, over
shellac, or over sealers made especially as undercoats for lacquer.
It's use over varnishes is not usually recommended because it's binding
properties don't work well with most oil's/varnishes. Lacquer adheres to
either very rough surfaces or to itself by actually partially disolving the
prior coats of lacquer and forming a solid, single coat.
That being said, there's only one way to tell whether it will work - Test It
On Some Scrap and allow it to cure and see how it handles.
As far as lacquer on a high use table - I wouldn't recommend it. Lacquer is
beautiful (my finish of choice), but not the most durable of finishes. In
particular, lacquer will react poorly with alcohol (any cocktail drinkers in
your house?) and a spilled alcohol drink will cloud the finish.
For high use/abuse pieces - I'd use a varnish/polyurethane to help protect
the surface and resist damage.
My two cents (which is about what it's worth).
"J Jenkins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have made a large oak table top. I've put a couple of coats of
> Danish oil on, to bring out the grain and deepen the colour.
>
> Because the table will take lots of wear and tear from a young family
> I want a final finish that is very durable. A local finishing shop
> said they'd use a two part acid cat lacquer, and they could make it a
> matt finish (which is good because the wood isn't completely flat in
> places where I've had to sand out grain tear-out)
>
> But they said they couldn't put this on top of the Danish oil finish
> and would have to sand it off - i.e. lots of extra work and money.
>
> I find it hard to believe, but I'm no expert.
>
> Any advice?
As far as I know there is no reason you can't put lacquer on top of cured
oil. That leaves two choices, do it yourself or find a shop that will do the
job.
--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"J Jenkins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have made a large oak table top. I've put a couple of coats of
> Danish oil on, to bring out the grain and deepen the colour.
>
> Because the table will take lots of wear and tear from a young family
> I want a final finish that is very durable. A local finishing shop
> said they'd use a two part acid cat lacquer, and they could make it a
> matt finish (which is good because the wood isn't completely flat in
> places where I've had to sand out grain tear-out)
>
> But they said they couldn't put this on top of the Danish oil finish
> and would have to sand it off - i.e. lots of extra work and money.
>
> I find it hard to believe, but I'm no expert.
>
> Any advice?