Finish for shelving

[Halo Jones]

Hi All,

I must admit that finishing is the one thing that still baffles me with woodworking and I tend to just grab the danish or linseed oil on most projects I have done.

I am about to embark on building alcove shelves in my living room. These will be oak veneered mdf with solid oak lipping and I was wondering what the best finishes might be?

Thanks,

H.

 

[AndyT]

What's best can only be decided by you - it's about finding the right balance between
- ease of application
- toughness
- shininess
- colour change
- durability
- cost.

For indoor shelves, linseed oil or Danish oil are both excellent. If you want something just as easy to apply but tougher and dearer, you might like one of the newer 'hard wax oils' from Chestnut or Osmo.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

As AndyT says, the 'best' finish depends on a number of factors. For instance, if your shelving is to carry books I'd avoid pretty much all the oil based finishes such as linseed oil, Danish oil, oil varnish, etc. These finishes taint books and paper, especially if they've not been left long enough to cure, and sometimes the books or paper will stick to the finish. These finishes aren't such a problem if you're displaying ornaments, or other hard objects that aren't absorbent, e.g., most plastics, porcelain, glass, etc.

If you don't have spraying facilities a good option might be a water based finish that can be brushed on, or applied with a foam pad or roller. Practice is needed to get a good flow-out and level surface, but once dry (fully cured in a few days) you'll find these finishes pretty durable, and unlikely to taint stuff stored on the shelves, with the bonus that you don't need sophisticated application equipment, just good quality brushes (or rollers/ pads) and a clean relatively dust free space. Slainte.

 

[AndyT]

Hmm... Richard, you have far more experience and expertise in matters of wood and finishing than I have, but I think maybe you are being over-cautious. Based on the four bookcases that I have made over the last 25 years and still use which were finished with Danish oil, I'd say it can be perfectly fine when used for books - but as with any other finish, it's essential to be sure that it has fully cured and hardened before leaving anything in long term contact with it.

You can increase your chances of success by
- using fresh oil
- mixing it thoroughly
- working in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place
- applying several thin coats rather than one thick one.

 

[blackrodd]

As AndyT says, the 'best' finish depends on a number of factors. For instance, if your shelving is to carry books I'd avoid pretty much all the oil based finishes such as linseed oil, Danish oil, oil varnish, etc. These finishes taint books and paper, especially if they've not been left long enough to cure, and sometimes the books or paper will stick to the finish. These finishes aren't such a problem if you're displaying ornaments, or other hard objects that aren't absorbent, e.g., most plastics, porcelain, glass, etc.

If you don't have spraying facilities a good option might be a water based finish that can be brushed on, or applied with a foam pad or roller. Practice is needed to get a good flow-out and level surface, but once dry (fully cured in a few days) you'll find these finishes pretty durable, and unlikely to taint stuff stored on the shelves, with the bonus that you don't need sophisticated application equipment, just good quality brushes (or rollers/ pads) and a clean relatively dust free space. Slainte.

If you are thinking of a water based finish, which is what I would suggest, as well mentioned above, then I use, and recommend Ronseal, "does what it says on the tin", easy to use and a wide range of tint, and finishes.
You may also note that most all in one stains and varnishes are recommended to be "watered down" on the first, what you may call a primer coat, this helps stop the streaks etc caused by not "overpainting" each brushful over the previous edge on the piece, or you can see where you started and finished.
Regards Rodders

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I think maybe you are being over-cautious - but as with any other finish, it's essential to be sure that it has fully cured and hardened before leaving anything in long term contact with it.

Andy, caution is definitely the key thus allowing for a full cure. It's not uncommon for the inexperienced to lack the necessary patience, and oil based paints, for instance, generally need weeks or months prior to use. I have seen instances of books and other objects stuck to painted shelves, and shelves finished with linseed oil or pure tung oil I've seen discolour the pages or covers of books. So, yes, caution is required. Also, it's usually a good idea to avoid using oil based finishes on shelves enclosed by doors, especially linseed oil and pure tung oil ... unless the smell of something reminiscent of rancid old socks takes your fancy, ha, ha.

On the other hand the water based finishes fully cure within a few days generally, so can be brought into use much quicker. I admit I'm not particularly fond of water based finishes but their appearance has improved considerably over the last ten years or so. They used to be bogging in appearance fifteen or twenty years ago, or at least that was my opinion of them- back then they tended to be cloudy or milky and visually dead or cold, but that seems to be much less the case nowadays. Slainte.

 

[Halo Jones]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I will go for a water based finish as my wife will not be patient enough to let oils cure!

Do I need to prep the oak in any way apart from sanding through the grits (minimally on the veneer!)? For instance would I need to use some kind of pore filler?

Apart from Ronseal are there any other favoured brands out there?

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Do I need to prep the oak in any way apart from sanding through the grits (minimally on the veneer!)? For instance would I need to use some kind of pore filler?

Apart from Ronseal are there any other favoured brands out there?

The Ronseal brand of finishes are as good as any for the amateur without sophisticated finishing facilities in my experience. Grain filling is an option, but I'd say it's not necessary - I wouldn't just for shelving, most of which is going to be covered anyway.

As to the end result its quality depends entirely upon how well you prep the surfaces and how good a job you do of applying the finish. The veneered board sections should need little more than a little sanding with 180 grit to prep as you mention. A random orbital sander will do a good job used gently. The solid lippings would ideally be skimmed with a hand plane and perhaps scraped to remove machine planer marks, followed by a bit of sanding, perhaps 120, 150 and 180 grit, and you can knock off the arrises at the same time so that the finish flows round the corners better. It's pointless sanding finer than 180 grit when you follow up with a film forming finish, especially on coarse grained woods like oak - the open texture of the wood is coarser than the grit size of anything below about 180 grit.

If you don't have planes and scrapers and have to resort to sanding alone on the solid wood areas, you'll probably need to start sanding at either 80 or 60 grit, then 100, 120, 150 and 180 to finish (or 220). You'll need to make sure all traces of the sanding from the previous coarser grit are properly removed with whatever grit you're at before moving on to the next grit. For example, if it takes about 10 minutes to get the surface all to a good 80 grit finish, you'll need about 8 minutes at 100 grit, maybe 6 or 7 at 120 grit and so on.

Water based finishes raise the grain and a good strategy after you've prepped the surfaces to 180 grit is to get a rag damp with warm water and go over the surfaces. This raises the grain which you then go over again lightly with 180 grit abrasive to knock back the fuzz -you'll be pre-raising the grain which means grain raising will be reduced when you apply your first coat of finish later. Follow this up with your first application of finish, and basically follow the guidance printed on the side of the can for optimal results.

Finally, polishes (finishes) highlight everything underneath, so poorly prepped wood will be revealed just as effectively as a well prepped surface, and try not to overwork the finish when you apply it because this results in brush marks being emphasised. Slainte.

 

[Halo Jones]

Thanks again for the advice Richard. The wood prep should be okay. I have planes and cabinet scrapers. The one thing I struggle with there is sharpening the scrapers - I can do it but I don't seem to be very consistent so it takes me a while.

I am thinking of doing this project as a WIP so keep a look out. Any comments would be much appreciated!

H.