Help with my first finished project!

[John M Wilson]

Hi!

I am relatively new to the woodworking world, and so far have been "mastering" in shop accessories, fixtures, and storage.

I just completed my first "real" project -- an oak bookcase.

I have never applied a finish to any of my other projects, and I am at a loss as to where to start. I have searched through the threads here on finishing oak, but now I am confused about more fundamental things.

The construction is oak veneer plywood, with a solid oak face frame. I have sanded to 180 & am ready to apply a finish. I originally considered a wipe on oil type finish, but now I don't know.

I do not have any spray equipment (yet) so I would like to keep this as simple and foolproof as possible.

This bookshelf is for my school classroom, used to store binders with my lesson plans in them. I will probably put my printer on top. It's in a pretty low traffic area, so extraordinary durability is not a concern.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions and comments...

Bookshelf 2.jpg

[Jim Rimmer]

Forty three views and no help! I guess I'll offer my two cents worth even though I have no experience with white oak. If you want to stain I would recommend a pigmented stain for oak and then make your own wipe on polyurethane (50/50 varnish and mineral spirits). You will need twice as many coats as brushed on varnish.

By recommending poly I will probably generate some more comments form the anti-poly crowd. Good luck with the rest of the project.

[Joseph Montroy]

I would recommend staining to whichever color you prefer (just a minwax stain will work for now) and then apply as many coats of shellac as you would like to it. I love finishing with shellac, and it's very easy to touch up in the future. Just my .02...

[paul cottingham]

+1 for shellac. I put tried and true BLO under it. Works great, looks lovely.

[Prashun Patel]

I second Jim's recommendation of polyurethane.

If this is your first, then I say K.I.S.S. That is, do not stain it. Just get a can of Minwax wipeon poly from HD, and wipe it on, sanding between every 3 or so coats. I think semigloss is more forgiving than gloss, and is easier to apply than satin. I also think it looks less plasticky than gloss can.

Oak takes stain pretty well, but the veneer can at times absorb differently than does the faceframe. To spare yourself any frustration, I'd skip the stain.

I think wiping - while requiring more coats - is easier to do at first than brushing. It will also be a lot easier to wipe all those vertical, interior surfaces than to brush them.

[David Hawxhurst]

i'm not a fan of stain so i would stain it. i would go with waterlox. its easy to wipe on, doesn't require sanding for adhesion like poly does, looks good and is durable. the only real draw back is you might have to order it, unless there is a dealer near you.

[John TenEyck]

I agree with Prashun. Keep it simple; use a BORG polyurethane and brush it on with a foam brush, or thin it a little with mineral spirits and wipe it on with a folded paper towel. No stain, you don't need the frustration. And definitely not shellac. Those who suggested that must hate you, and they don't even know you. Unless you have a lot of experience with it it will bring you to tears.

John

[Sam Stephens]

+1 to Prashun.

The only thing I would add is that if you thin your own varnish, use a gloss. The last coat can be a satin or semi-gloss w/ the same effect. Alternatively you can buff w/ steel wool (0000) to knock down the sheen and finish w/ a paste wax. As for the application, this is copied from a post from Howard Acheson that I found extraordinarily helpful with my first project and is very straight forward to do.

There are a number of suggested application regimens that are totally subjective. The number of coats in a given day, the % of cut on various coats, which coat to sand after, when to use the blade and a whole host of other practices are all minor differences between finishers. There are some things that I consider sacred when applying a wipe-on finish.

First, you can use any full strength oil based clear finish. Polyurethane varnish or non-poly varnish is fine.

If you are making your own wipe-on the mix is scientific - thin. I suggest 50/50 with mineral spirits because it is easier to type than any other ratio and easy to remember. Some finish formulators have jumped on the bandwagon and you can now get "wipe on" finish pre-mixed. If you use a pre-mixed, thinning is generally not necessary. But making your own is cheaper and you know what's in it.

The number of coats in a given day is not important. Important is to apply a wet coat with an applicator and merely get it on. Think of a 16 year old kid working as a busboy at Denny's you have sent over to wipe off a table. Sort of rub/swirl the the material on like you would if you were applying a paste wax. Don't attempt any straight strokes. The applicator should be wet but not soaked. The applicator can be a non-embossed paper towel shop towel, half a T-shirt sleeve or that one sock left after a load of washing. Once applied,leave it alone. The surface should not be glossy or wet looking and, if applied correctly, there should be no "brush stroke" type marks. If you have missed a spot, ignore it - you will get it on the next coat. If you try and fix a missed spot you will leave a mark in the finish.

Timing for a second coat involves the pinkie test. Touch the surface with your pinkie. If nothing comes off you are ready for another coat. If was tacky 5 minutes ago but not now, apply your next coat just as you applied the previous coat. Remember, you are wet wiping, not flooding. After applying the second coat, let it fully dry for 48 hours. Using 320 paper and a sanding block lightly sand the surface flat. Now, begin applying more coats. Do not sand between coats unless you have allowed more than 24 hours to elapse since the prior coat. The number of coats is not critical - there is no critical or right number to apply. For those who need a rule, four more coats on non-critical surfaces or six more coats on surfaces that will get abraded seems to work.

After your last coat has dried at least over night you will have boogers in the surface. You should not have marks in the surface because you ignored application flaws. You may have dust, lint and, if you live in Texas, bug legs. Use a utility knife blade at this point. Hold it between your thumb and forefinger, near the vertical, and gently scrape the surface. Gentle is the important word - no harder than you would scrape your face. If you start scraping aggressively you will leave small cut marks in the surface. After you have scraped to the baby butt stage gently abrade the surface with 320 dry paper or a gray ScotchBrite. Clean off the surface. Now, leave the area for two hours and change your clothes. Apply your last coat with a bit more care than the previous coats and walk away.

An anal person is going to have a tough time with this process. Missed spots have to be ignored. Wet wipe, don't flood. Scraping to babies butt smooth means scraping no harder than scraping a babies butt. Ignoring any of these will leave marks that are tough to get out. Getting these marks out requires some aggressive sanding to flatten out the surface and starting over.

HTH,
Sam

[Ken Krawford]

Just one observation - when I build cabinets, bookcases, etc. I always leave the back off before finishing. It makes it so much easier to get into corners plus you can lay the back flat which virtually eliminates runs and sags. Nice piece, BTW.

[John M Wilson]

Thanks to all for the responses!

I think I will go with the wipe-on poly with no stain. I'm all in favor of KISS at this point. Once I get a project or two under my belt, I can begin to explore the finer points of finishing.

Although I'm itching to get to the BORG and pick up my supplies to get started, I'm going to have to delay satisfaction on this project due to a couple of weeks on the road (one with family, one in training).

Thanks again for all the great Creeker support!