Kitchen Island Project #4: Need your advice - finishing

For cabinets I like wiping stain from Sherwin Williams and a clear water base on top .

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I agree with Jim…I really like their wiping stains…what color is your existing cabinets ?? As far as color…I may be old fashioned…but I love “Golden Oak” as a stained color in a kitchen.

-- Don S.E. OK

Jim, like Don I tend to favor using golden oak stain for my oak projects. This tone gives the wood a little color without overwhelming the grain. The danish oil that you are considering should do the job. Shellac will provide the island with surface protection but it does not handle exposure to water as well as poly does. If I were doing this, and did not anticipate water problems, I would go with several layers of a shellac topcoat over a golden oak stain.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I built 3 pieces for my bathroom in Cherry and used wipe on polly by Minwax on 2 of them and a more expensive wipe on finish on the other with the same results. Fantastic. You will achieve what you want “I like it to look and feel like wood, not plastic”. That’s what I was looking for and I love it. It’s been 2 years and the humidity hasn’t touched it and the Cherry is aging well. Absolutely no build up in delicate corners and smooth as glass because you wipe it off a 220 sanded finish and it stays almost as smooth. Sometimes I’ll steel wool if it starts to pick up dust. I am now doing my kitchen in Sapele and I’m using the Minwax Antique oil and it looks great. I went with the oil on this one because it does not have any polly in it, the wipe on polly by minwax will build up to that plastic look if you apply 8 coats. I say 8 coats because that’s what I did to some natural birch doors and have a nice gloss and very smooth, the best I every did. I also don’t like the finishing end and was looking for fool proof approach. I suggest to buy a small can of your choice Danish oil, minwax etc and do some test pieces. Mike

-- Mike, Westport MA.

Shellac can create a “plastic” look just as any other finish and is not as durable as poly’s and pro-grade catalyzed varnishes.

There is a huge misconception about film finishes looking like plastic. They look that way because people put them on too heavy and any film finish can be applied too heavy.

The safest method for the amateur to apply a finish is to use a wipe-on polyurethane because each layer goes on very thin. You will have to put on several coats (no less than 6) for good protection in the kitchen, but since the coats are thin they dry fairly quickly.

Brushing lays out the heaviest coats. I spray everything because it gives the best results, the coats are thinner than brushing and easier to control. Wipe-ons provide a good fall back for those that are just tapping into their finishing skills.

I used wipe-ons until I invested in a pro-grade pressure pot and now I spray everything with pre-catalyzed lacquers and conversion varnishes. I have also sprayed water borne lacquers, oil based and water based poly’s as well. I always go back to the solvent based lacquers because of the speed and finish they give, which is great.

The most important thing here is that the “plasticy” look comes from finish being applied too thick more than anything else.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I agree with Todd. Don’t apply your finish as if your a bricklayer laying mortar and your project won’t end up looking like it’s wrapped in plastic. Wipe-on/wipe-off products assist in building thin layers by the very nature of they way they are applied and therefore can be a great finish for those who are unsure of their finishing skills.

-- criticism: the art of analyzing and evaluating the quality of a artistic work...