What finish for stool stretchers

[ro]

So, I had a bit of poplar and hickory left over from another project and I thought I'd knock up a quick high stool for the kitchen.

The legs and spindles are currently finished with 3 coats of danish oil and a couple of coats of Colron Beeswax finish over the top. I have noticed though that the
stretchers are getting a load of dirt embedded into the grain where people are resting their shoes on them.

I'm really happy with the colour and lustre of the finish, but I was wondering if any of the wise souls on here might have any advice on a finish for the legs and stretchers which would stop the grain picking up so much dirt?

Any advice gratefully received!

 

[ED65]

You'll have better wearing with a harder finish (so, straight varnish and not a blended finish like Danish) but I think you'll need to fill the grain in order to completely solve the problem because the recessed grain is going to trap dirt no matter what's on there.

Nice stool BTW!

 

[custard]

I sympathise with the problem. Recently I had a re-commission from a job I did I over twenty years ago. I'd originally made some children's windsors in Ash and Elm and the client wanted some more making. The original chairs had held up well but I was disappointed to find that the grain pores in the Ash had become blackened.

I'd previously thought that this only afflicted furniture that was in homes with open coal fires, but this child's windsor has sat in a centrally heated house. The solution is grain filling to ensure there are no open pores where dust and grime can accumulate. Easy enough on darker timbers but grain filling paler timbers is trickier if you want to avoid a lifeless result. On flat surfaces like with case furniture you can pumice fill with french polishing, but on turned components that's a burdensome job. More realistic is the latest generation of water based, transparent grain fillers like Aqua Coat, I've tried it and it works very well, but it's not cheap and it's not available in small quantities.

https://tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/a ... 7e9aab7b10

 

[mbartlett99]

Well if thats a 'quick knock up' what does it look like when you take time! V. nice

 

[ro]

Thanks all for the advice. I'll try the grain filler when I make the next stool (this one is just a prototype).

With regards to varnish, I have to admit to never having used any before, so have you got any advice on a decent varnish that brings out the colour like oil does, and doesn't leave the wood looking like it's covered in shiny plastic.

And Custard, that chair is stunning!

 

[custard]

And Custard, that chair is stunning!

Kind of you to say so, but the truth is windsor chairs are about the simplest "real" pieces of furniture you can make. After all there are very short courses (like just a week or two) that'll teach you pretty much everything you need to know to make one. I spent a couple of years as a hobbyist making nothing but windsors and by the end of it I was bored to tears. I've still got a couple of virtually unobtainable wide, thick boards of prime English Elm suitable for one piece windsor seats, but I'd need a commission for something like a repro of these before I could work up much enthusiasm to actually use them!

http://www.coulborn.com/furniture-categ ... armchairs/

Anyhow, returning to your stools, have you thought about a scandinavian soap finish? It's not terribly durable but it is super fashionable as it delivers that bone white, fairly matt finish that everyone's chasing these days.

 

[ro]

Hahaha, I've been finishing some of my chairs in soap recently. I do love the look and feel but I was worried on this that it wouldn't stand up to people putting their feet on it. Maybe with the grain filled as you were suggesting it would be fine.

I guess there's only one way to find out...

 

[ED65]

...and doesn't leave the wood looking like it's covered in shiny plastic.

Any varnish can be built up thickly or used thinly. It doesn't matter how cheap or expensive the varnish, they all look great used more sparingly and like horrible yellow awfulness if applied too thickly (think 60s passenger train interior).

There are most definitely better and worse varnishes but what you want here is high scratch resistance and that's what polyurethane excels at. So I would pick a cheap poly that you can get your hands on easily any time you run out and have at it.

Decant some to a clean jam jar, thin 50:50 with white spirit and use a wipe on/wipe off application technique. It's nearly foolproof and practically guarantees no runs, bubbles, few dust nibs to worry about and fast drying.