Finish for tola

[aitchem]

Hi,
I have inherited a solid tola drinks cabinet i made for my parents back in the 70's as my A level project. It needs rubbing down and refinishing. Any reccomendations for the fiinish would be appreciated,

Thx
Howard

 

[rafezetter]

It all depends - the finish chosen reflects the usage - oil based polyurethane is always a safe bet, easy to apply and only 1 or two coats will be fine for normal use and with enough extra coats can be polished to a high sheen. Downside is it'll need redoing in another 20 years.

There's a finish called Tru-Oil which gets high praise but isn't cheap and will require a half dozen or more coats and lots of elbow, plus should be applied to bare wood so all traces of the previous finish should be removed. The lustre of the wood after is very very good though.

Another good finish called Poly X, that only needs 2 coats is also used by professionals and simple to apply.

Shellac / french polish is a classic that can last for centuries if treated well - and something like this could be a good exercise to learn how.

or a combination of 2 coats dilute poly - but cut 20% with thinners - flooded on then wiped off after 5 minutes - so a bit like danish oil but harder wearing, cut back with 0000 and waxed so you get the best of both.

This is my preferred method and comes out looking like this: http://i982.photobucket.com/albums/...torations/IMG_20151029_141458_zpsoib68tw0.jpg



edited for corrections.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Osmo recommend two coats for PolyX.

 

[clk230]

As Phil.p says Osmo Polyx is two coats and doesn't require lots of elbow you simply brush on .

 

[aitchem]

Thanks for the input guys, i will investigate the options offered.

Howard

 

[rafezetter]

Sorry I was thinking of a different hard wax while typing about Poly X... banana'd if I can't remember the name, the one Jimi used on Richard's plane.

Edit: Tru-oil. Not used it but results from what I've seen are excellent.

 

[clk230]

Sorry I was thinking of a different hard wax while typing about Poly X... banana'd if I can't remember the name, the one Jimi used on Richard's plane.

Tru oil ?