Advice for finishing a vertical grain fir door

[Dennis Yamamoto]

Hi,

I would like to finish a new vertical grain fir door. I'd like to use some sort of clear coat, adding
maybe a little color. I don't want to use a stain because in my opinion, it just darkens everything
including the nice looking grain. Any suggestions for a wipe-on or brush on finish? Should a use or
need a dye? Maybe an oil based wipe on poly would be nice to slightly darken and accentuate the grain??

Thanks,

Dennis

[Patrick McCarthy]

Dennis, is this an interior door or an exterior door?

[Dennis Yamamoto]

It's a set of interior doors

[Kent A Bathurst]

What finish are you looking for - matte, semi, or gloss?

[John TenEyck]

The inside of these cabinets is rift sawn Douglas Fir veneer. I finished everything with Arm-R-Seal wipe on varnish. The walnut was dyed a little first with Transtint. The DF was natural, but you could easily adjust the color to whatever you want with Transtint. I think it took 3 or 4 wiped on coats of the Arm-R-Seal to give a nice, thin, film on the DF.

Just a coat of shellac, in whatever color you want, would be an easy way to adjust the color, too, then topcoat with Arm-R-Seal or the wipe on varnish of your choice. You could spray the shellac to make applying it easier, but don't try spraying Arm-R-Seal or you'll have a real mess wherever the over spray lands.

John

[Kent A Bathurst]

I built a wine storage cabinet 8 - 9 years ago. The "face frame" is DF, but the term is a bit misleading. The doors are 2 exterior DF doors, one with a full-height insulated glass panel, and the other with a 3/4 height IG panel [the temp/humidity control unit takes up the other 1/4].

I used the classic brush-on/wipe-off home-brew - everyone has their own materials for it, but mine are 1/3 BLO, 1/3 Turps, and 1/3 spar varnish. Plus or minus - more than 1/3 turps first coat, decreasing to less than 1/3 last couple coats. No wizardry in the ratio - just whatever. Never used a measuring cup, as far as I can recall. Eyeball into a mason jar.

Kind of a honey-golden-brown color that has deepened a bit over the years. Looks great, plus dead-simple easy to concoct and apply. IIRC - 4 coats or so. Ends up with a "satiny" finish, which is why I asked what you were looking for - can't get gloss out of this stuff.

[Dennis Yamamoto]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I ended up using Endurovar with some tinting. After 3 coats the color seemed about right.