Finishing newbie, advice finishing oak and walnut please

[dave_87]

Hi all, im nearing the end of my first real project and am now thinking about the finish. I have made a drum, it is mostly walnut(english I think) with small pieces of oak in there.
In terms of the finish I don't want a high gloss, i'd like the grain of the walnut to be accentuated and maybe have a slight sheen to it and I want to keep the oak fairly light(if possible). I've seen a few youtube vids of french polishing but not really sure if this would be the way to go really.
So if anyone can suggest any methods/products i'd be most grateful.

Thanks,

Dave.

 

[marcros]

i would suggest tru-oil. it will build to a soft sheen with 2 or 3 coats. It will darken the oak though. That will still contrast nicely. A little goes a long way, and it is simple to apply.

I have some oak, and some tru-oil, so I can put a bit on a sample this evening, and take a pic. It is a finish used for gun stocks, and is my default for walnut and American Black Walnut. Unfortunately, I dont think i have any walnut offcuts to show you it on. I could try another photo on saturday or sunday, with 3 coats on, but I am not sure that the camera will pick up the sheen that well.

 

[dave_87]

Thanks for the info, simple to apply sounds right up my street.

That's very kind of you, if you don't mind showing me a sample it'd be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave.

 

[marcros]

no problems at all.

 

[dave_87]

I've had a look at tru-oil on eBay and have seen a few different ones, the main brand I can find is 'birchwood' and some are just one bottle of stock finish and others are three bottles containing a stain, stock finish and a conditioner. Would I need all three or would just the stock finish be sufficient?

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[marcros]

It is the birch wood casey one. A little goes a long way so don't buy loads. I did a workbench top with less than a quarter of my 8oz bottle, which was the smallest but one. It was about a tenner I think. It is just the stock oil you need- single bottle.

Here you go http://www.swillingtonshootingsupplies. ... 80/Tru-Oil®-Gun-Stock-Finish/ that is where I actually got it.

If you have a gun shop near they may keep it. If you only have one drum to do and are unlikely to use it again, go for the smaller bottle. Somewhere I read that you can massage it in to the timber with your hands. If you do, wear gloves. DAMHIKT!

 

[dave_87]

That's the one birch wood Casey. There's an air rifle shop quite local so will give them a try, if not I'll probably go with swillington.
Thank yoy for your help, much appreciated.
Dave.

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[marcros]

Dave,

I have a couple of pics for you and I think that the finish has worked well. For the purposes of this I put 3 quick coats on and let it sit in the sun between them. You may want to build more coats for a bit more shine, and I would leave it longer between coats. I am on my phone at the moment- if I can't upload the pics I will put them on later from my laptop. The thing that I really like about the finish is that if you fun a fingernail across the grain you can feel the pores etc. with hard wax oils it leaves a film. But this finish will not hide anything- any scratches will be highlighted!

 

[marcros]

It will have to be later. I can upload but not resize them

 

[dave_87]

Ok, thank you.

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[marcros]

The lighting isnt great- it isnt as dark as it looks, and it certainly isnt as golden as with linseed or danish oil.

 

[dave_87]

That looks really nice, thanks for doing that. Think I'll get myself some tru-oil.

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[dave_87]

What grade sand paper should I go down to before finishing with tru-oil? The only stuff I had was some crap from homebase, Dad gave me some 240, this feels pretty fine but is it fine enough? If not, how fine should I go and are there any preferred brands?
Also, do you sand between coats of tru-oil?

Cheers,
Dave.

 

[marcros]

good question. I would probably go to 240 or 320 abranet on the orbital sander if it was me. get it to the point where you are happy- the finish wont hide anything, so if it is nice and shiny smooth before you finish, it will be about right.

i give it a quick rub with a bit of ultrafine scotchbright between coats. the abranet and the scotchbright i got from ebay. if you are doing a few more projects over time, it is worth investing in a bit of each (the scotchbright was an alternative by mirlon or something like that)

actually on your sample, it was straight off the planer, then a couple of second rub with a bit of 240 which was on the bandsaw table and nothing between coats

 

[dave_87]

So I've now applied a few coats of tru-oil to my project s and love the finish, I'm slightly concerned about the durability of the finish and am contemplating trying the birchwood Casey wax, has anyone used this? And will it make the finish more durable?

Thanks,
Dave