Finish suggestion requested - curly heart pine

[Don Buck]

I'm making a double sink bathroom vanity that will have a top made of 5/4 curly heart pine (50+ rings to the inch). The sinks will be clear "bowl" sinks sitting on the counter top (not recessed into a cut-out). I want to use a water resistant finish(s) that will bring out the character of the heavy curl in the pine boards. The vanity will be in a guest bathroom (my home) so it won't get daily abuse but I want a durable finish that will highlight the old heart pine. I would be happy with the natural patina of the heart pine but would be open to a stain combo that would enhance the curl. I haven't used heart pine in any projects before and I've been saving these boards for 15 years for such a "high visibility" project. Any suggestions for this finishing project? I would post photo's of the counter top panel but the boards are still in the rough. Hope to get them to the planer this weekend. I'll update this post after the boards get surfaced.

All suggestions are welcomed.

Don

[joseph dake]

Blo followed up by gf arm r seal is what i would use but a lot of people dont like poly.

[Robert LaPlaca]

I'm making a double sink bathroom vanity that will have a top made of 5/4 curly heart pine (50+ rings to the inch). The sinks will be clear "bowl" sinks sitting on the counter top (not recessed into a cut-out). I want to use a water resistant finish(s) that will bring out the character of the heavy curl in the pine boards. The vanity will be in a guest bathroom (my home) so it won't get daily abuse but I want a durable finish that will highlight the old heart pine. I would be happy with the natural patina of the heart pine but would be open to a stain combo that would enhance the curl. I haven't used heart pine in any projects before and I've been saving these boards for 15 years for such a "high visibility" project. Any suggestions for this finishing project? I would post photo's of the counter top panel but the boards are still in the rough. Hope to get them to the planer this weekend. I'll update this post after the boards get surfaced.

All suggestions are welcomed.

Don

I think that Waterlox Original would give you good water protection, add some nice color without any stain or dye and pop that grain on the Curly Heart pine. Obviously I would test the application on some scraps to see if you like the results..

[Mike Berrevoets]

I have a wood top vanity in our bathroom with a vessel sink. It is our master bath and gets daily use. I used General Finishes Enduro-var as a top coat. Water beads on it like a waxed car. It's only been about 2 years but it still looks good and is holding up well. Except.... It does not tolerate nail polish remover. One drop wiped up immediately went right through all 6 coats. It was a small spot so we are living with it for a while.

It is water based but doesn't have the normal washed out look. It is more of a light amber color similar to oil based poly.

Mike

[Don Buck]

Other projects have delayed my working on the vanity top but found time last night to rip & surface the boards. As expected, my straight blade planer wanted to pull the grain so I ripped the boards into 8" width and cleaned up the face with my jointer with Byrd head. Here's the boards just off the jointer. I will try several finish options but am currently leaning towards multiple coats of Waterlox original with a final coat of Waterlox gloss finsh. I hope to finish the project over the holidays and will post final results.
heartpine for vanity.jpg

I'm making a double sink bathroom vanity that will have a top made of 5/4 curly heart pine (50+ rings to the inch). The sinks will be clear "bowl" sinks sitting on the counter top (not recessed into a cut-out). I want to use a water resistant finish(s) that will bring out the character of the heavy curl in the pine boards. The vanity will be in a guest bathroom (my home) so it won't get daily abuse but I want a durable finish that will highlight the old heart pine. I would be happy with the natural patina of the heart pine but would be open to a stain combo that would enhance the curl. I haven't used heart pine in any projects before and I've been saving these boards for 15 years for such a "high visibility" project. Any suggestions for this finishing project? I would post photo's of the counter top panel but the boards are still in the rough. Hope to get them to the planer this weekend. I'll update this post after the boards get surfaced.

All suggestions are welcomed.

Don

[Jeff Bartley]

Don,
That is some beautiful curly heart pine!! If you ever get the chance to travel to Yorktown, VA go to the Maritime Museum....one of the rooms is frame and paneled entirely from curly heart pine; and it's a cool little museum as well.
I'd love to have some curly heart pine in my racks! Please update as construction of the vanity continues!

[Jeff Bartley]

And I forgot to add: +1 for Waterlox.........it's easy to refinish later and will keep the warm feel of heart pine.

[Prashun Patel]

That's beautiful wood. I like Waterlox. If it were me, I'd just use multiple coats of Waterlox Original Sealer Finish - ORIGINAL formula (not voc compliant formula). It's a proper varnish, just a wiping varnish.

[Don Buck]

Finally finished my vanity project. I sanded the heart pine for 4 hours starting with 80 grit and worked up to 600. Gave the top 6 coats of Original Waterlox and 2 coats of Gloss. I wet sanded after coat #2 and did some light sanding (all 600 grit) before the first gloss coat. The clear vessel sinks act like a magnifying lens to the grain when filled with water, an unexpected bonus. I was more than pleased with the "pop" that resulted from the curly grain. The cabinet was made out of poplar.

ready to install.jpg vanity complete.jpg vanity complete closer.jpg

[Art Mann]

That project turned out really nice!