Refinishing an oak dinining room table top
 

Hi Folks
What do you recommend as the final finish for an oak table top. ie varnish,
lacquer , urethan, polyurethane. et.

Also the best way to apply your favorite finish.

Ed

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In article ,
"Ed's Stuff" wrote:

Hi Folks
What do you recommend as the final finish for an oak table top. ie varnish,
lacquer , urethan, polyurethane. et.

Also the best way to apply your favorite finish.

Doesn't the answer always seem to be prefaced with, "it depends"?

Well, it depends... how much wear and use do you think the table will
get? A hard used top - especially with kids - would be long-wearing and
relatively low maintenance with polyurethane. (Water based is OK, but I
don't like the bluish cast to the cured finish - oil based lends a warm,
amber cast.)

A table with thinking, moderately careful use will be beautiful with
varnish. This is easy to resand at a later date and recoat - something
not as easily accomplished with polyurethane. Subsequent finishes,
purportedly, don't adhere well to poly - even poly itself - but you
won't have any problem with varnish recoating over varnish.

Lacquer looks good but is more time and skill intensive to apply well.
It can hold up well with care and repairs well with a little practice.

All that said, I finished a red oak futon with polyurethane about 6
years ago and it's held up well in our "TV room" over the use of our now
6 year old.

If you like a "close to the wood" finish where it is protected but
doesn't have the look of a built up finish go with a rubbed in finish
with a cotton rag - multiple coats. If you want a visibly coated finish
go with either spray or brush. (I sprayed the poly on the futon because
I wanted a thicker finish that would be more long-wearing.)
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Ed's Stuff says...

Hi Folks
What do you recommend as the final finish for an oak table top. ie varnish,
lacquer , urethan, polyurethane. et.

Also the best way to apply your favorite finish.

Ed

I vote for Behlen's Rockhard Table Top Varnish applied with a good
natural brush. Use three coats and apply them as thin as you can, which
is still thick considering you are brushing it. Do one coat each day and
carefully level it between coats with 320 wet/dry lubricated with
mineral spirits. Before that, use three coats of 1# shellac and gently
level it with fine grade synthetic steel wool after the last coat.
After the last coat of varnish, it will have a beautiful high gloss
finish that will unfortunately feel rough from dust nibs. Wait a month
and level it one last time and bring back the shine with ultra-fine
steel wool (I like the white color synthetic kind), rottenstone and a
coat of wax designed for wood. I have a can of Lundmark's that I bought
at an Ace hardware store for $7. It's just carnauba and turpentine. Be
advised that the odor of Rockhard Varnish is formidable, but then so is
linseed oil, turpentine and others. The phenolic varnish in Rockhard is
the next best thing to polyurethane for impervious durability.

On Tue, 31 May 2005 14:37:34 -0600, the inscrutable "Ed's Stuff"
spake:

Hi Folks
What do you recommend as the final finish for an oak table top. ie varnish,
lacquer , urethan, polyurethane. et.

Also the best way to apply your favorite finish.

34 hand-rubbed coats of Watco Natural g or 8 easy coats of Waterlox
Original, medium sheen.

P.S: That table word is spelled "dining", FYI.


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