Finishing Whoopsie! Help fixing

[JesseCF]

Hey all!

 

So this was my first time finishing a piece of wood. Ever. Here are the steps I took. In even my limited retrospect, there are of course many issues. 

 

1) Sanded wood with 120, 150, 180, 220 with a mostly OK random orbital sander my father has. The dust collector doesn't work so great and I didn't clean the sheet that often so that probably lent to issues. 

 

2) Applied a linseed oil finish. Wood just kept sucking it up. 

 

3) Consulted with a friend, proceeded with a 50/50 Miniwax quick dry poly high gloss and linseed oil mix. 

 

4) Applied three or so coats, and with at least one of them I did not sand inbetween. Even when I did, I used the 220 again. 

 

 

5) After letting it set for a week, I started attempting to rub out the finish. I started with 600 sandpaper and did a wet sanding. T

 

Then the problem displayed itself! As is common with a non-flat finish, there were some ares of the finish that weren't buffing out and were staying super high gloss. I attempted all manner of fixes for this, starting with abrasive pads, moving to steel wool, then up to higher grit sandpaper. The effect still presents itself. 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ag6fbkpcstmvsxb/IMG_20140917_220651.jpg?dl=0

 

So - I'm not sure if the issue is on the top of the finish, or some of the oil I originally applied seeping to the surface under the finish... no clue. It presents as a sort of fish scale effect across large portions of the wood. 

 

Request: I'm trying to get a "quick fix" for this. I want a transparent but non-glossy finish that will protect the wood, as I will be using it daily as a desk. I am LOTHE to strip the finish off and start again. I'm not even sure I have the time and tools for it. Could I just apply a final layer of satin or semi-gloss to provide an even finish and buff it in a few weeks?

 

Regards, 

 

Jesse

 

[wtnhighlander]

How long didnyou let the undercoat of oil cure before applying the top coat? I suspect it may not have fully cured. The bubbling in the photo leads me to believe that oil is still seeping out of the wood. You may have no better choice than to strip the finish and start over.

[JesseCF]

I've decided to ch mical strip the finish, let the linseed oil still in the piece fully cure, and then apply a coat of satin poly. Anything more complex can wait until next summer.

[Eric.]

It doesn't need to be more complex than that, especially on a species like oak.

 

Why people feel this urge to put oil down before a top coat is beyond me - in most cases.  A pre-mixed varnish blend like Arm-R-Seal or Minwax Wipe-On Poly is going to quench the wood's thirst and highlight the grain about as well as straight oil.  If you must use oil, for whatever reason, try some Danish oil for the first coat.  It'll take a little longer to dry than Arm-R-Seal but it has some varnish in it so it'll help seal the fibers and set you up a little better for your consecutive coats.  If you were working with curly maple or some other figured species, this approach makes more sense.  For oak, meh, don't see the need to do it.

 

Why people feel the need to start with high-gloss then rub out back to satin is beyond me - in most cases.  I'm not talking shellac or lacquer...those are different animals.  But for varnish...if you want a satin finish, use satin finish.  I know some people claim that using several coats of gloss and then a final coat of satin is better because it gives you a clearer view of the grain...that the flatteners will give you a "cloudy" look if many layers are used.  If that's true, I've never noticed.  I've used up to 5 coats of straight satin on a piece before and it looks fine to me...and I'm picky.

 

Bottom line, finishing doesn't have to be that difficult.  It's only as complicated as you make it.  Get Marc's "Simple Varnish Finish" DVD, and you'll see how easy it can be.  The crux of the lesson is boiled down to "open can, wipe on finish."  Of course he gives you a bunch of tips and tricks to make things go more smoothly...but it truly is simple and leaves very nice results.

 

If it were me, I would have picked up a can of satin Arm-R-Seal, and laid down 3-5 coats on that oak over the course of 3-5 days.  Sand lightly between coats with 320 grit, and after the final coat was applied and the finish fully cured, gently buff it with a 1000 grit pad, wet with 50/50 mineral oil and mineral spirits.  You're not "rubbing out" here, just smoothing the finish.

 

I just finished this sharpening station in white oak...three coats of Arm-R-Seal over the course of two days.  Done.  Easy.  Looks good to me.

 

 

 

Here's a little TWW poopin' stool I made for my daughter out of white oak.  Four coats of satin Arm-R-Seal.  Boom, done.  Looks good to me.

 

 

[Scott Bailey]

Kiki, your sharpening station is nicer than my dining table! that's great looking work.  also, I have had some fun recently ( or not so much fun) with finishing and I will echo Kiki's comments - simpler is better.  wipe on poly looks great and is a snap and I am a true novice here, so easy for me means truly easy.  I can understand the temptation to try and complicate the process as it 'seems' like that will produce more depth to the finish but it's frankly not true and all those complicated steps lead to more chances to make mistakes.  Arm R Seal is about the most versatile finish i've found and judging by all the forum praise it gets around here I can't be far off.  you can also mix your own wipe on poly if you want to (BLO+poly+mineral spirits) and I did basically that for some outdoor furniture I'm refinishing (used spar poly instead of the indoor stuff).  again. easy to apply, looks fantastic, why do anything else?

[JesseCF]

Great advice here chaps. And Kiki, that sharpening station is fantastic. 

 

Anyone know of a safe stripping product that will work on Poly but not on Epoxy? My guess is I'm out of luck there. I filled in several large cracks in my piece with black dyed epoxy resin. I may have to just avoid those spots with the stripper, and then sand it down after (dealing with all the crap junk clogging the sander). 

[Scott Bailey]

shot in the dark here but you could try a citrus based stripper, I read somewhere that it's only really good for removing uncured epoxy.  I could be wrong about this though.

[estesbubba]

Well you broke the first rule of finishing - never practice a finish schedule on your project! Practicing finishes on scraps is the one time that you can mix cocktails and woodworking. 

 

One thing is poly doesn't need more oil like you added - a lot of time it benefits from mineral spirits because it's too thick. By adding more oil you made the poly take longer to dry/cure. 

[JesseCF]

Ok! Citrus based stripper worked just fine. I've sanded it to 220, and am going to fill some larger holes with Epoxy resin. 

 

I'm concerned when I apply the poly I'll run into the same problem as before, where part of the wood absorbs the epoxy in full and the other parts don't. Basically, the spalted part of my wood is softer than the rest and is totally absorbing the fluids. Would applying a grain filler help alleviate this issue?

 

-Jesse