# What does aged white oak look like?



## jmos (Nov 30, 2011)

I know that cherry darkens as it ages, but what about white oak? Does it change color?

I'm finishing a Harvey Ellis design bookcase that's all QSWO and I'm kicking around finish ideas. I've got a couple of formulas for trying to replicate Arts & Crafts finishes, and I'll put together some test boards and see how they look. Then the Boss will pick what she likes.

I'm thinking of trying some blonde shellac over raw wood to see what it looks like. I was wondering what happens to QSWO as it ages with just a clear finish?

Thanks!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

It kinda works like this ,dark woods lighten and light woods darken.


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## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

There is no clear "set in stone" rule for what finish is supposed to be used, it is what you or the customer wants


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## jdmaher (May 4, 2011)

I built my outfeed / assembly table out of (donated) white oak 20+ years ago. I sealed it with a couple of coats of 1 lb. shellac, then 3 coats of poly. It's in my basement shop, but it looks exactly the same as it did the day the poly cured. Yellowish. No color change whatsoever. None.

One of the current mags has an article on getting that "fumed" white oak Craftsman look, using normal finishing. I've always liked that warm brown . . .


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I had a house in PA that was built in 1896 with oak trim, oak stair treads. In reality, the only thing that darkened was the finish. On the other hand, the barn had a lot of white oak on it, and it looked a lot like brown oak until you cut one up. Where weather hit it directly, obviously it was gray.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

If you keep your cat's litter box adjacent to the bookcase, there's a chance it'll darken.


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## jmos (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks guys!

I didn't think it changed color much, but I thought I'd check. I still think I'll do a test board just to see what it looks like.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

I have both red and white oak timbers in my house….

both milled and joined and finished the same way with BLO/Turprentine mix. Both looked the same initially.

The red oak took on an orange/amber hue… and didn't change much over the years

The white oak took on a brown hue with just a hint of an olive shade.


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## tbone (Apr 24, 2008)

For the record, Gustav Stickley started fuming his white oak furniture to "produce quickly the mellow darkness of hue that formerly was supposed to come from age alone." 
I believe that by the time Harvey Ellis was working for Stickley, they were fuming their furniture less and using aniline dyes more…but always with the intent of darkening or 'aging' the wood.


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