# Reclaimed Oak Table -- Finishing Advice



## Jordan123 (Feb 13, 2018)

I have this Reclaimed Oak Table Top ready for finish. Its handplaned as flat as I want it to be and ready for finish.

I am having trouble choosing a finish though. I tried two stain colors and hated them. I tried some GF arm r seal on a fully planed scrap piece with no saw marks and tried some BLO on an off cut from squaring up the sides of the table.

I didnt think the Arm-R-Seal was doing enough ambering but I did like the BLO. My concern is that most people who I talk with they use a water based varnish (endurovar) or waterlox and not BLO.

What do you guys think?


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

I've put WB finish over BLO many times with cherry, accents the color and when the cherry ages it's beautiful. Depending on weather conditions I generally let thee BLO cure for 7 to 10 days before spraying WB poly. This table is over 8 years old and has no finish issues, sits in the hallway and is the catchall for everything from both entry doors, keys mail water bottles etc.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I'm not a big fan of BLO on its own, and there was even an article back in 2016 on the myth of varnish blends using BLO. (Here it is: https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/oilvarnish-blend-mythology )
It's OK on a lathe when you want a quick thin finish so you can get the piece off the lathe, but not very durable and certainly is thin.

If I owned this table top, I'd want a couple of things: 
A slight tint to tone down the whiteness of the oak that was planed clean. 
Durability since it is a table top. 
Something to kind of fill in the gaps of the saw marks left behind.
A semi gloss finish.

The only thing that comes to my mind that will do all that, (short of an epoxy pour, which is way too thick for this top), would be a Spar varnish, good old oil type. Marine varnish (about the same thing) with the amber tint would also be good. At least two coats.

It will take a few days to really dry, but you can brush it on with no problems due to its slow setup time, and it should add a bit of amber tint to the wood, and enhance the grain while filling the gaps just a hair to soften the unplaned surfaces.
Just MHO


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## Jordan123 (Feb 13, 2018)

> I m not a big fan of BLO on its own, and there was even an article back in 2016 on the myth of varnish blends using BLO. (Here it is: https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/oilvarnish-blend-mythology )
> It s OK on a lathe when you want a quick thin finish so you can get the piece off the lathe, but not very durable and certainly is thin.
> 
> If I owned this table top, I d want a couple of things:
> ...


You would stay away from the GF or Waterlox brand of stuff? If you are familiar with sons of sawdust. They are a a popular reclaimed wood table company, they use waterlox and they definitely get a nice tinted result.

http://sonsofsawdust.com/x-base-reclaimed-wood-farm-table/-You can see some pictures here


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## Jordan123 (Feb 13, 2018)

> I ve put WB finish over BLO many times with cherry, accents the color and when the cherry ages it s beautiful. Depending on weather conditions I generally let thee BLO cure for 7 to 10 days before spraying WB poly. This table is over 8 years old and has no finish issues, sits in the hallway and is the catchall for everything from both entry doors, keys mail water bottles etc.
> 
> - ChefHDAN


BLO on a food table makes me somewhat nervous, and am afraid it may amber it too much


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

> You would stay away from the GF or Waterlox brand of stuff? If you are familiar with sons of sawdust. They are a a popular reclaimed wood table company, they use waterlox and they definitely get a nice tinted result.
> 
> http://sonsofsawdust.com/x-base-reclaimed-wood-farm-table/-You can see some pictures here
> 
> - Jordan123


Maybe, but I refinished professionally from 1976 to 1988, way before anyone was even thinking of water based finishes. I must have done 100 + tables in that 12 year span, tinted in all flavors. When we wanted a slight amber tint with durability, we went with what the boat builders were using - Spar or Marine varnish. Sometimes, when the wood was favorable, we used a maple stain heavily thinned with turpentine, and used it on sample wood until we got the right tint, and sprayed it on and let it dry, followed by a Varathane, Spar, or Marine varnish. Never had one complaint.

I know things improve over time, and sons of sawdust might be correct, but I am an old school kind of guy. There is one can of water base finish in my shop. Used it once, not a fan, I think it froze over the winter so out it goes when I get it dried out so I can dispose of it.

DURABILITY is what I am aiming for. Does that happen with the water based finishes? I personally don't know. 
Looks kind of thin in the sons of sawdust pics. I want something I can repair easily, like with a paste wax, or one of those old school repair finishes none of us ever buy, but non-woodworkers seem to. Like old english.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

some reading that can help you.. BLO is pretty useless, Mix dye into thinned poly. If you want to use a wb finish, you need something under it to give chatoyance - shellac or ob poly will do that, tint with dye for color.


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## LittleShaver (Sep 14, 2016)

The first thing I put on our white oak table top was BLO. Followed by many coats of wipe on poly. Been holding up well for 8 years. My top was fully smoothed, so I didn't have the saw marks to contend with. But the color is a wonderful golden tone.


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## Jordan123 (Feb 13, 2018)

> You would stay away from the GF or Waterlox brand of stuff? If you are familiar with sons of sawdust. They are a a popular reclaimed wood table company, they use waterlox and they definitely get a nice tinted result.
> 
> http://sonsofsawdust.com/x-base-reclaimed-wood-farm-table/-You can see some pictures here
> 
> ...


Ill pick up a can and use it on a test piece


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## Snipes (Apr 3, 2012)

Old Masters oil base polyurethane.


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## UncleBuck (Mar 7, 2018)

Tennessee i have used spar varnish for a few years really like it just finished a walnut coffee table live edge, have been looking on line to see if i can polish the top, is that possible using spar and how hard is it to do. please let me have a slice of that finishing knowledge please and thank you.


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

> BLO on a food table makes me somewhat nervous, and am afraid it may amber it too much
> 
> - Jordan123


I'd never finish a food contact surface or cutting board with straight BLO, the dryers are very toxic. A table however that I would be serving food from that had BLO sealed below poly is a completely different story. If this is your everyday kitchen table and you've got kids, then save the heartache and go with poly. I have a 1914 QS white oak 50" split pedestal table that I refinished with OB Poly 6 years ago for our family kitchen table, literally hundreds of school projects, homework etc that finish has never needed to be repaired, even after several "OOPS" moments with my two girls learning how to paint their nails. The only part of finishing a project I like is that magical moment when the wood and grain comes alive, the rest of the process makes me nuts, and RE-finishing or RE-pairing is worse.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I built a new dining table 5 years ago. Here's a link to my project http://lumberjocks.com/projects/77110

Twice in that 5 years I've rubbed in a couple new coats of Tung oil and I gotta say it looks just the same as the day I first finished it. And yes, it's our daily use table.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

BTW, the mw "tung oil" discussed above is not tung oil. It is no different then mw wipe on poly or thinned regular poly. The latter is much cheaper to use.

Also, understand spar varnishes are much softer than indoor varnishes due to higher oil content. They are easier to abrade and scratch, but do provide more water reistance - although I have not had an issue with indoor poly, oil or water based, with standing water from cold drinks etc.


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> I m not a big fan of BLO on its own, and there was even an article back in 2016 on the myth of varnish blends using BLO. (Here it is: ....
> 
> - Tennessee


That's such a great article. When I first read it, it struck home since I hear that "secret recipe" repeated often. Just hang out at a Woodcraft store for a while and you'll hear it too.

My favorite quote from the article is:

"I've come to the conclusion that a lot of people write about finishes without really understanding them. But they are clever, and they know just enough to be able to make up stuff that seems correct within their understanding."


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## BorkWood (Apr 4, 2018)

Waterlox buffed to whatever sheen you want or Spar Varnish would be my choices, nice table top!


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