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Mort
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Posted - June 14 2009 : 12:36p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
I thought I uploaded a picture to Flickr, but apparently it didn't go through...

My in-laws gave us a small old desk made of some sort of light colored, knotty wood. I'd like to do a natural finish on it, something durable. Could someone (and I'm thinking of at least two members off the top of my head) give me a start-to-finish plan on how to go about it?

I'll take another picture and try to upload it.

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Mark05KR
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Posted  - June 14 2009 : 7:37p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
First thing you need to do is find out what kind of finish is on there. Some finishes are easy to repair/refresh, some take a little more work.

Look at this chart from Lowes:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=BuyGuide/StrippersBG.html

lounge lizard
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Posted  - June 14 2009 : 8:48p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
knotty wood, sounds like pine.

I like to finish wood with a berns-o-matic torch. burn the surface, wire brush it down to the desired lightness/ darkness. then clear it with a good clear coat of your choice.

GE2
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Posted  - June 15 2009 : 9:28a Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
Naughty wood sounds like Ash(leigh) to me :)

Mark05KR
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Posted  - June 15 2009 : 4:38p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
Quote:
Originally posted by GE2

Naughty wood sounds like Ash(leigh) to me :)


He said knotty, not naughty!

Say that three times fast!

lounge lizard
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Posted  - June 15 2009 : 10:02p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
Quote:
Originally posted by GE2

Naughty wood sounds like Ash(leigh) to me :)



It's hard to find bad wood!

just ask the women!

Sawblade
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Posted  - June 16 2009 : 8:35a Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
Quote:
Originally posted by lounge lizard

knotty wood, sounds like pine.

I like to finish wood with a berns-o-matic torch. burn the surface, wire brush it down to the desired lightness/ darkness. then clear it with a good clear coat of your choice.




Have any pics? That sounds awesome.

lounge lizard
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Posted  - June 17 2009 : 4:54a Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
I'm doing a console lid for m explorere now.
not done the wood work yet but soon as I get it burnt and brushed and cleared I'll get pic's up.

Mark05KR
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Posted  - June 19 2009 : 2:11p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
So Mort. Where you at on this project?

Mort
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Posted  - June 19 2009 : 2:37p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
Still sitting there. Its fortunately been a busy couple weeks, but I'd like to get this done before it gets ruined, its a cool looking little desk.

My father-in-law sanded it down with an electric sander before we took it, but it still feels like there is some finish there. I guess I'll have to figure out what kind before I proceed. Thanks for that link, Mark, that looks like it'll be the ticket. My other option would be to paint it, but that would be a shame to cover up the knots and stuff. It adds character, I think.

Mark05KR
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Posted  - June 19 2009 : 3:47p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
I agree. I was never a big fan of painting wood, especially furniture.

If the piece has already been sanded, you may want to just go ahead and sand off any remaining finish that may be on the piece. If you are starting with bare wood, you can stain and finish it with anything you want to use. That burn technique that LoungLizard talks about sounds real interesting. I'd be afraid of starting it on fire. Would have to practice some before trying it on a good piece. But either way, with Bare wood you can leave it the natural color of the wood or stain or dye it to pretty much any color you want.

A lot of people don't like Polyurethane for a furniture finish, but it is very durable, having been originally formulated for use on floors. A gloss finish is slightly harder but it may show scratches more. One thing I have done is applied a gloss finish and after the final coat is good and dry (at least 48 hours) I apply a good paste wax using 0000 steel wool. This softens the gloss a bit, but it leaves a glass smooth finish, and the paste wax adds some protection. Depending on how much use the top sees, you can re-apply the paste wax as needed, once or twice a year. It only takes a few of minutes.

Minwax Wipe-On poly is very easy to apply and dries between coats in 2-3 hours. I would use 2-3 coats on the entire piece and maybe 6-8 on the top.

Another real easy to apply finish with good durability is Formby's Tung Oil Finish. It is a wiping varnish, applied with a rag. It has some Tung oil in it, which will penetrate into the wood some. There is also some poly in the mix, which gives it the durability. Formby's Tung Oil Finish is what I used on the cradle and crib I built for my grandaughter. I use the satin finish and put on lots of coats, usually about 8 to 10. Every coat adds additional protection and it really builds up a nice sheen. After the second or third coat, you can add additional coats without having to sand everything between coats. Top it off with the steel wool applied paste wax and the finish should last a good long time.

lounge lizard
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Posted  - June 20 2009 : 7:35a Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
back in the 90's I did a complete van interior with burning the wood and wire brushing it to the desired look and then clearing it.

plywood side walls, hard oak bed with a rear flip out deck.

in 1996-97 the house was flooded in a freak storm (at least that's what they said) and I lost all my pictures of it and a few other we did.

I have to get my center console done. I have to sweat some wood to bend the shap of the center console to make the outside trim up.



you can see it needs some trim to complete the outside edge.



underside.



I purposely picked the wood with the knot in it for just this reason. so when it is burnt and wire brushed down it will stand out nicely

Mark05KR
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Posted  - June 20 2009 : 10:52a Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
Can't wait to see how this looks when you get it completed.

lounge lizard
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Posted  - December 6 2009 : 5:39p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
sorry about how long it has been. but I broke my saw and I wanted to make a few changes to my console.

so! I got the saw fixed and I made the changes that I wanted on the console after using it a while. I cut some more wood and attached it to the console top.



then I burnt it with a burnz o matic torch to give the grain some color.







now I have to wire brush it and maybe burn it again and brush it some more to get the desired look of dark grain and light wood.

ShowYa
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Posted  - December 6 2009 : 11:09p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
Now that's Hot! No pun intended here, LOL.

lounge lizard
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Posted  - December 7 2009 : 7:00p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
thanks!

I hope it turns out well when it is cleared.
so tonight I wire brushed the wood down and burned it some more. then wire brushed it to my likeing



it looks dull because of the wire brushing. then I started filling the edge where the wood meets with fire brick sealer. it starts out black but it should turn an ashy gray when it dries.





I still have to do the front edge but I have to wait till tomorrow night. to fill that in.

Edited by - lounge lizard on December 7 2009 7:03p

lounge lizard
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Posted  - December 11 2009 : 8:37p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
right now it is sitting in the paint booth at work. it has about 15 coats of spray varnish on it and may get a few more tomorrow while I'm at work.

pictures are coming.

lounge lizard
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Posted  - December 12 2009 : 1:33p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
o.k. when I got to work the console cover was done and ready to be mounted back in the truck.

so here are the pic's!







lounge lizard
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Posted  - December 14 2009 : 8:33p Reply with Quote Report this post to a moderator
now I'm going to build a new review mirror for my truck out of wood to match the console.
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