Finish for red oak

[Aaron Craven]

I've been turning a number of red oak bowls recently (oak is not my first choice of wood, but this particular tree had some sentimental significance). They turn out nicely, but I'm having trouble finding a finish I'm completely happy with. My attempts so far are:

• Walnut oil: Love the result, but it took FAR too long to dry completely (same problem as with the next finish)
• TY finishing oil (very similar to BLO, but the linseed oil is polymerized instead of using metallic driers): by far my favorite look and feel for these bowls, but unsurprisingly, it wicks into the pores and I invariably find myself using a vacuum cleaner to suck it back out so that they will stop weeping the oil back out. (BTW, if you like BLO, and you've never checked this stuff out, you might want to... it's good stuff)
• Wipe-on poly: Levels and builds nicely and seems durable, but that plasticy look just doesn't work for me on this wood.
• Rattle can lacquer (semi-gloss): Easy to apply and quick, but the result lacks... something... depth, maybe?

I have yet to try using something to seal the pores before doing an oil finish, but that may be my next choice.

What is your go-to finish for red oak?

[Reed Gray]

For daily use red oak bowls, I would wet sand a finish into the wood. This would do a fairly good, but probably not perfect method of filling the holes. I prefer the walnut oil, and yes, it takes a few days to cure out. You can speed it up a bit by putting the bowl over about a 40 watt incandescent light bulb, or in a window sill so it gets direct UV light. Solvent based finishes will be dry to the touch in a day or so, but will smell for a week at least, and totally cure out in a month or so. Water based finishes, and spray lacquer are surface finishes and don't penetrate the wood. Eventually they crack, chip, peel, or get worn off, and the user generally can't fix it. This is why I prefer the walnut oil.

robo hippy

[Doug Hepler]

Aaron

Without knowing your taste (the look you want) this is a shot in the dark, so I will take three shots at answering your query.

If you like the appearance of the oil finish, I would say a wipe with boiled linseed oil to pop the grain, dry overnight, and then shellac or even polycrylic. I agree with Reed about warmth and light to speed dying of oil.

I prefer shellac. I do a French polish (shellac on a pad, lubricated with a bit of linseed oil), with the lathe turning at a slow speed. You can polish until you get the build you want. On red oak it might take a while to fill the pores but you could eventually do it.

If you want to fill the pores, consider a pore filler followed by shellac or polycrylic. They both dry fast and leave no odor after they cure ( a day or two at the most).

For a completely smooth finish, consider West System or Max Clr epoxy (there are other clear epoxies available that can be used as a finish). Brush it on. After it has cured (24 hours) you can sand and polish it to whatever gloss you like. In my experience, the coat looks awful after it has cured because these products do not seem to self-level very well, but they leave a thick enough film that you can sand them down to a beautiful smooth finish.

Doug

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

only turned one red oak bowl so far and that was years ago. My Dad had just put oak steps in the stairway to the second floor and we prefinished the steps before installation. We used a grain filler that came in a quart paint can and looked a lot like, and had the consistency of, dark vanilla pudding. The steps were planed and sanded down to a fine grit and then this grain filler was rubbed in and squeegee'd off the excess. It was allowed to dry over night and then final sanding with very fine grit and Dad put several coats of poly on them. When I made the oak bowl, I used the same can of grain filler on the bowl. Then I wiped it off and left it dry a day or two and then a final sanding with very fine grit paper. I then used something called Lin Speed, meant for gun stocks to finish the bowl. It got two or three coats of Lin Speed, each coat was rubbed down with 0000 steel wool. After the last coat was "steel wooled" I gave it a paste wax treatment and buffed that out. The bowl was not intended for food use, so I did not consider whether the finish was toxic or not.

[Prashun Patel]

For depth, use a coat of BLO or wipe on poly. Wipe it dry and buff off any bleed back, then a day later coat with rattle can lacquer.

[Paul Engle]

For many years 20 + , I used wipe on poly to fill flat oak work ( for trophy plaques , etc. ) up to 44 inches long ( for fish mount). Having three coats and sanding 400 gr in between each on was long process but filled up the pores nicely and was the same cast as the rest of the surface. Same process on roundy stuff but slowed the machine down to under 100 rpm and used cotton cloth to wipe on first two, (sand with 400 gr in between coats) ,to nearly dust free condition and then let cure for 48 hrs depending on temp and humid , then sand the next two coats and not wiping off the dust until the last finish coat , wipe with slightly damp paint thinner cloth , let air dry then wipe on final coat letting the machine run for 15 minutes, and cure for up to 5 days before handling.

[Aaron Craven]

Thanks for the replies. I actually like the texture of the surface (slightly rough from the grain), and the look of the oil surface. I just don't like having to suck the excess out of the pores to get it to finish drying. I might try a grain filler and see how that works out, but I would imagine it would result in the texture being different (not bad, just different). I've done a shellac/oil finish before on oak (in that case, a friction polish), but I don't think it's what I want here.

Reed, perhaps wet sanding would retain some of that texture and cure a little faster. Are you suggesting wet sanding with oil or something else? In wood as open as red oak, does the sanding sludge stay in the pores over time (after it has cured) or does it have a tendency to come back out? I'm guessing having a filler in the oil helps it to cure IN the pores in a reasonable amount of time?

[Bob Bouis]

Ordinary BLO with metallic driers might lead to faster drying. If you're willing to use polyurethane or lacquer, why not BLO?

[Aaron Craven]

Ordinary BLO with metallic driers might lead to faster drying. If you're willing to use polyurethane or lacquer, why not BLO?

Oh, I'm not against BLO. The TY actually behaves very much like BLO, but smells better and is (or at least is claimed to be) completely natural. If I'm going with an oil-only finish, I prefer it to be completely natural, but I'm not a purist either.


I haven't actually tried BLO on these yet (perhaps I should pull a scrap and give it a try), but I think I would face the same issue with it... the pores in this wood are just huge and they pull in the oil and hold it. Given enough time, I'm sure it would dry, but I've had bowls sitting in a very hot attic for 3-4 weeks that still wept from the pores when I went to check them. I'm patient, but I don't want to wait several months for a finish to be dry enough to handle.

[Aaron Craven]

For depth, use a coat of BLO or wipe on poly. Wipe it dry and buff off any bleed back, then a day later coat with rattle can lacquer.

Prashun, the bleed back has been my problem. It doesn't seem to ever buff off (I'm sure it eventually would cure given time, but 24 hours would almost certainly not do it). That said, I think this process would pop the grain and give me the depth I want with a lacquer finish. I'm just afraid the oil would not be cured enough (again because of the bleed back) and would cause the lacquer topcoat to eventually fail.

[Bob Bouis]

Maybe a commercial grain filler then. Or mix pumice or sawdust with the BLO. That might help it fill the large pores and still dry in a reasonable time.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks for the replies. I actually like the texture of the surface (slightly rough from the grain), and the look of the oil surface. I just don't like having to suck the excess out of the pores to get it to finish drying.

You can apply the paste grain filler several different ways. If you put it on with a plastic squeegee it leaves the filler flush with the surface and can then be finished as smooth as glass, which doesn't seem to be the finish you are after. If you rub it in with a cloth it can fill and seal the pores but leave them slightly dished below the surface for a rougher look and feel. You might experiment with some scraps and see if you can get a look you like.

Grain filler comes in a variety of colors to match the wood.

BTW, I rub filler into the surface when I apply dark walnut grain filler to indentations from a texture tool so I can still feel the texture but, in this case, I get the color contrast I want as on the handle in the picture. In this case, I apply shellac or another finish first to keep the darker filler off the rest of the wood.

alex_wand_c.jpg

JKJ