Hello all,

I've been varnishing an old oak cabinet that we've had for years. I started
out from scratch by sanding off all the old grunge back to the bare wood.
I've applied several coats of varnish and it gives the appearance that the
varnish is not evenly applied. That is, the darker grain seems to repel the
varnish, whereas the lighter areas have taken the varnish no problem. To the
touch, it feels as if the varnish layers consists of a series of tiny hills
and troughs, instead of being evenly smooth.

Should I have used some kind of primer or preparation before starting? Can I
use it now, or do I have to restart from the bare wood.

Many thanks,
Paul

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Paul Moore wrote in message ...
Hello all,

I've been varnishing an old oak cabinet that we've had for years. I started
out from scratch by sanding off all the old grunge back to the bare wood.
I've applied several coats of varnish and it gives the appearance that the
varnish is not evenly applied. That is, the darker grain seems to repel the
varnish, whereas the lighter areas have taken the varnish no problem. To
the
touch, it feels as if the varnish layers consists of a series of tiny hills
and troughs, instead of being evenly smooth.

Should I have used some kind of primer or preparation before starting? Can
I
use it now, or do I have to restart from the bare wood.
If we're talking polyurethane varnish, it sands well so I'd flatten it with
a 180 grit on an orbital sander and then by hand with a fine paper. Lastly,
wipe a *thin* coat of varnish on with a rag. It sounds like you've simply
put too much on and not rubbed down between coats.

"Paul Moore" -nospam wrote in message
...
Hello all,

I've been varnishing an old oak cabinet that we've had for years. I
started
out from scratch by sanding off all the old grunge back to the bare wood.
I've applied several coats of varnish and it gives the appearance that the
varnish is not evenly applied. That is, the darker grain seems to repel
the
varnish, whereas the lighter areas have taken the varnish no problem. To
the
touch, it feels as if the varnish layers consists of a series of tiny
hills
and troughs, instead of being evenly smooth.

Should I have used some kind of primer or preparation before starting? Can
I
use it now, or do I have to restart from the bare wood.

Many thanks,
Paul

I've had this effect recently with old oak, which I think (from its colour)
was American red oak, and while using acrillic varnish. The varnish seemed
to raise the open grain much more than the closed grain in between. I wonder
whether you rubbed down between coats?

When you get this effect it seems to help if you rub down between each coat,
rather than just after the first. Additionally you may need more coats than
usual, having sealed the open grain with the first two or three....

Charles F

varnish is not evenly applied. That is, the darker grain seems
to repel the varnish, whereas the lighter areas have taken the
varnish no problem.

You must rub down with a fine sandpaper between coats (no coarser than 150
grit). I tend to run down the first coat and the penultimate coat using an
orbital, which I find tends to leave less marks than other methods. I
usually put on a very thick first coat and rely on the sander to flatten off
the high bits.

Christian.

With real wood such as OAK you get a far superior finish with oil,s
such as Danish Oil. Strip off and oil if you can bear it!

EC

In article ,
(JohnMBrebner) wrote:

Perhaps you are not preparing the surface well enough. I think its best to
damp
the surface with a wet cloth (to raise the grain) between each grade of
paper,
finishing with as fine a grade of paper as poss.

that helps, but only reduces the sanding between coats rather than
eliminating it and won't solve the problem of the open grain in oak.

Peter

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Thanks Lads,

Indeed, I only sanded the varnished surface after the first coat.

Paul

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"Paul Moore" -nospam wrote in message
...
Hello all,

I've been varnishing an old oak cabinet that we've had for years. I
started
out from scratch by sanding off all the old grunge back to the bare wood.
I've applied several coats of varnish and it gives the appearance that the
varnish is not evenly applied. That is, the darker grain seems to repel
the
varnish, whereas the lighter areas have taken the varnish no problem. To
the
touch, it feels as if the varnish layers consists of a series of tiny
hills
and troughs, instead of being evenly smooth.

Should I have used some kind of primer or preparation before starting? Can
I
use it now, or do I have to restart from the bare wood.

Many thanks,
Paul

--

--
-nospam
Remove "-nospam" for real address

(Eric Cartman) wrote in
om:

With real wood such as OAK you get a far superior finish with oil,s
such as Danish Oil. Strip off and oil if you can bear it!

EC

Can't say I'm convinced about Danish oil. I tried it on my kitchen window
sills (cills? internal widow boards? and it was very dark, althogh the
colour of the oil was light. I wanted it to pick up the colur of my light
oak floor.

I'm at present plucking up courage to use matt polyurethane

Mike R

In article 0,
Mike Ring wrote:

Can't say I'm convinced about Danish oil. I tried it on my kitchen window
sills (cills? internal widow boards? and it was very dark, althogh the
colour of the oil was light. I wanted it to pick up the colur of my light
oak floor.

The effect will depend on the wood. Danish oil does not appreciably
darken pine for eg. With all finishes it is advisable to test a portion
first for the desired effect.

I'm at present plucking up courage to use matt polyurethane

Yuck. If you want a matt finish why not wax it?

Peter

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Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
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Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

Peter Ashby wrote in
news

I'm at present plucking up courage to use matt polyurethane

Yuck. If you want a matt finish why not wax it?

Peter
Because being kitchen windowsills they're bound to be abused by stuff being
put on them detergent bottles, etc, which may mark them.

Or is wax proof against that - and is there a sort of initial applicatin
wax as against lokking after it wax?

If so I'll give it a try

mike r

In article 0,
Mike Ring wrote:

Because being kitchen windowsills they're bound to be abused by stuff being
put on them detergent bottles, etc, which may mark them.

Or is wax proof against that - and is there a sort of initial applicatin
wax as against lokking after it wax?

If so I'll give it a try

No, you will have to look after it. Mind you when the matt poly starts
looking bad you will have more work to do to renew it as a finish. Have
you thought about using a tougher varnish and matting it down once its
dried?

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

"Peter Ashby" wrote in message
news
In article 0,
Mike Ring wrote:

Because being kitchen windowsills they're bound to be abused by stuff
being
put on them detergent bottles, etc, which may mark them.

Or is wax proof against that - and is there a sort of initial applicatin
wax as against lokking after it wax?

If so I'll give it a try

No, you will have to look after it. Mind you when the matt poly starts
looking bad you will have more work to do to renew it as a finish. Have
you thought about using a tougher varnish and matting it down once its
dried?

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.


There are often discussions about wipe-on poly finishes in rec.woodworking.
They could offer a finer, flatter finish with the durablilty of poly
varnishes.

Can't find such a product in Axminster catalogue - are they available in the
UK? Has anyone here used one with success or otherwise?

cheers
Richard

--
Richard Sampson

email me at
richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

In article ,
"RichardS" noaccess@invalid wrote:


Can't find such a product in Axminster catalogue - are they available in the
UK? Has anyone here used one with success or otherwise?

The Colron range of woodfinishes are I think closest to the US product.
I have used them quite a lot and they seem quite durable. I often
overcoat them with wax because I like the sheen and feel of it. One
problem with wipe ons is getting into corners, Axminster's foam brushes
might be the answer to this, though I haven't yet tried them.

I have however applied satin poly with a rag and it seems to work very
well, though you lose a lot in the rag.

Peter

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Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.