Finishing Quartersawn White Oak Sign - Seeing those rays!

[Brody Goodwine]

Well, I've made an address sign on my carvewright using a nicely figured piece of QSWO.

Like most, I want the rays to be quite prominent. The sign will hang outside, so the topcoat will be oil based Pettit Flagship Varnish (awesome stuff, my grill woodwork seems impervious to UV light after 2 summers). The varnish does yellow the wood somewhat.

Thoughts:
1) I've ruled out fuming since it seems to darken the piece evenly and not emphasize the flecks. Nor do I like those fumes...
2) Danish oil seems popular, and easy to use. I never really know what I'm using on those oil/varnish blends. Would I need to washcoat between the Danish and Pettit UV Varnish? I presume I'd stain first on this? So gel stain > danish oil > Pettit UV Varnish
3) Stickley Style - Raise Grain > Sand > Dye Stain > Sealcoat > Gel Stain > Pettit UV Varnish

Other ideas? Favorites?

I'll try to add pics of my storyboards later.

[Prashun Patel]

My vote:

I'd not use a Gel stain. They do obstruct rather than highlight grain. I find oil based finishes pop qs flecks just fine. If you need more, I'd dye, then sand back, then topcoat.

[Scott T Smith]

My vote:

I'd not use a Gel stain. They do obstruct rather than highlight grain. I find oil based finishes pop qs flecks just fine. If you need more, I'd dye, then sand back, then topcoat.

+1. This mirrors my own experience.

[Brody Goodwine]

Well, I played around with quite a few combos, and will give some brief feedback here on what highlights rays well.

1) Formby's Tung Oil (wiping varnish) did nothing since it doesn't have pigment.

2) Transtint dye was the best overall, with more coats only darkening the other parts of the wood, so the rays really popped.

3) Watco Danish oil performed much like a transtint dye (good). I had the "fruitwood" color, so I couldn't comment much on contrast build since it didn't have too much color. It did stain more like a dye than a pigment (which highlighted the deep pores). IMO it was equal to trastint and did act as a very nice "one stop shop" for QSWO since it didn't raise grain.

4) Gel stains were no good as noted. Dark Pigment stains also weren't great since they highlighted the deep oak pores so much it detracted from the rays. Lighter stains didn't have that issue.


Feedback?

[Prashun Patel]

It's great find this stuff out empirically; there's so much misinformation, it's hard to trust what you read.

If I were you, I would not use Danish oil in an exterior application. By itself, it won't offer much protection. IN THEORY, topcoating it with a film forming varnish is also problematic since the DO contains BLO which likely will not fully dry. However, I can say that I made a bench for my basement that was DO'd then spar varnished and the surface held up just fine.

Given, though, that you had good luck with dye, I'd use that. The thing is, not all Transtint dyes are good at holding up under prolonged UV exposure. Blue was - IMHO - the worst. But all the colors I tested faded eventually. So, you might do well to find a more light-fast dye (if one even exists).

[Brody Goodwine]

Terrific info Prashun! I forgot about BLO's slow drying, which would probably be an issue on a sign that sees weather.

I agree that the transtint is likely best after your post. That Pettit UV varnish is pretty impressive, so i'll have to count on it.

[Steve Schoene]

Dyes are not very light fast, I'd not rely on them for exterior applications. I'd expect the color to fade in relatively short order.

The Pettitt Captain's varnish is one of the better choices. Follow directions on the label, including the number of brushed on coats. Don't forget to add a refresher coat every season or so.

If you can hang it so that the sign gets as much shade as possible I'd do that. In full southern exposure sun, keeping the natural wood look is going to be a serious challenge, especially since with the carving, it will be hard to strip and refinish, a process which would be needed every 4-5 years. If it must hang in full sun, then I'd consider good marine paint in light colors. It will last much, much longer than any clear finish.