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DonkeyHody

wrote:
I am finishing a mantle made of Red Oak, and am looking for
recommendations on finishing techniques that can withstand a little bit
of heat. Tung oil? Polyurethane? Lacquer? Any ideas would be
welcome.

Thanks!

I finished my mantel with tung oil and have had no problems at all. My
mantel barely gets warm to the touch. However, my dad's unvented gas
logs allow the heat to rise right up the face of the fireplace and
become trapped by the mantel. The underside of his mantel gets much
hotter than it ever did when he was burning wood like God intended.
However, the heat still isn't enough to cause a problem with the
finish. It is far more likely to cause problems with over-drying the
wood, which could lead to shrinkage issues.

DonkeyHody
"Every man is my superior in that I can learn from him." - Thomas
Carlyle