Questions on finishing desks for durability and beauty, by a novice

[Sandra Farrar]

Hello,

First let me say that I've tried to do as much reading/research before posting these questions, but I'll apologize in advance if I misuse terms or don't explain well... All of what we've accomplished so far is based mostly on advice/posts from these forums and everything has gone quite well, so now we are looking for advice and feedback concerning finishing options.

Our project is made up of some fairly simple desks I designed, and my husband built, for our home study/office. There are two corner units and two side units. It is a fairly large project in that the corner desk units are approximately 72"Lx24-36"Wx28"H and the side desk units are 54"x24"x28". The main/front legs are maple (purchased already turned), and the sides, tops, and rear supports/legs are birch plywood with oak edging.

Here is a pic of them unstained and sanded... we sanded to 120, then wetted and sanded them 3 times to 220: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjefarr...4003/lightbox/

I wanted the color to be black and the grain to show so we used Speedwell India Ink, color Super Black. The side of the bottle says in part: "permanent, waterproof, 100% Carbon Black pigment, no dyes, optimal light fastness, contains shellac, no peanut oil". In application we flooded on the ink, waited 60-90 seconds and wiped off the excess. We really like how it turned out. Here is a current picture of one of the desk tops: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjefarr...ream/lightbox/ It is a consistent color, the camera flash made part of it look lighter.

We are now ready to finish and are looking for some advice and feedback. I want these to look like fine furniture and the wood to really be the star - not a glossy, plastic finish. I would love to have a warm, satin finish that people want to walk up to and touch the moment they see it. (Does this even make sense to anyone? I hope so)

From what I've read and seen, I like the sound of shellac but it's probably not durable enough. There will likely be coffee/drink spills and lots of computer equipment, laptops, etc. on the desks in day to day use. Also, the one table will be right beside a very large east facing window and it sounds like that could be an issue.

Also from what I've read, is sounds like Lacquer would not be a good choice for us since 1) the room we are working in is not a large space, and does not have optimal ventilation and 2) we are not very experienced and have never used Lacquer (or Shellac) before. There are just so many different types of Lacquer and it sounds like so many things can go wrong it seems like this wouldn't be a good choice for us.

So that leaves Polyurethane, but we hesitate to use that because we associate it with a plastic look. This may be from lack of knowledge and experience...? We have done a couple of end-tables and a previous desk with Polyurethane and they look good for what they are, but definitely not fine pieces of furniture. We also totally refinished our previous house floors and I dread the smell and cleanup. I have however been reading a lot about wipe-on polyurethane for its look and ease of use.

So (finally :-) here are my questions:

1) Am I correct in thinking that shellac is not durable enough or is there a way to "top coat" it to get the look but make it durable?

2) Do you agree that lacquer is likely not a good choice for us based on our "limitations"? Or is it feasible that we buy a spray unit, move the process outside, and with the right lacquer get a good finish? This seems like a large investment in money and time (research sprayers and types of lacquer) - so would the end result be worth it if indeed we could pull it off?

3) Would a wipe on polyurethane like Arm-R-Seal be the best choice for our experience level and give us what we are looking for and not a plastic look? If so, would you recommend first doing a seal coat of something like Zinsser Bullseye even though the India Ink says it contains shellac?

We do have pieces we are going to experiment with, I'm just looking for general direction before we choose a path and spend more money. We are willing to take the time, put in the effort and not rush anything. Funds are limited, which is only partly why we are doing this ourselves... we are having fun and look forward to telling everyone we built them ourselves :-)

Thank you in advance. I have already learned so much from your forums and posts. And please feel free to be blunt - I would seriously rather be told we're not likely to have a good outcome for something now, rather than do well on a small sample and botch the furniture.

Sandy
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[David Hawxhurst]

you would be correct shellac and lacquer would not be durable enough for a desk top. poly would be a poor choice as well, its soft and best used for floors. a vanish like waterlox or belhens would be good choices for desk tops. shellac could be used as a sealer coat between the black and vanish coats. there are some other finishes like pre-catalyzed lacquer or a catalyzed lacquer that would also work well.

[Scott Holmes]

Sandy,

A seal coat of shellac to lock the ink in place would be a good plan... IF you can spray a light coat without pooling or drips. Otherwise you will most likely cause the ink to move and ruin the eveness of the color. While Watelox and Behlen's Rock hard Table top varnishes are both far superior to any poly (which is a type of varnish) especially for a desk or table; they will shift your color a bit. Both are rather slow to dry and take ~30 days to cure. While curing they will off gas (smell).

You may want to look at one of the newer waterborne finishes... General Finishes makes one as does Target Coatings. I think Target is spray only, so you may want to look at the General brand they are available at Woodcraft stores nationwide. Sherwin Williams also has some good water-borne finishes that are brushable.

Make sure you test the entire finishing schdule on scrap before you commit to tyour project.

[Sandra Farrar]

Thank you David and Scott...

I've read up on Waterlox and a bit on Behlen's. I found a lot of information on the Waterlox and videos which are a big help too. And, amazingly a search on waterlox + india ink came up with several links to projects that have used the combination and were very happy with the results.

Luckily there is a Woodcraft about an hour from where I live and I'm planning on going there tomorrow, with sample pieces in hand, and will likely return with Waterlox and a plan for testing finishes.

I did also look at waterborne finishes but those are pretty much over my head still (would require lots more questions) so I will also ask about them tomorrow when at Woodcraft. Hopefully I will talk with someone experienced and knowledgeable. Have been to both Rockler and Sherwin Williams without as much help as I had hoped (actually, very helpful people, just not as knowledgeable as I am needing for this project).

Thanks again for taking the time to read and answer my post! Very helpful and very appreciated.

Sandy