Whats the best Jarrah Slab Finish?

[roopaw]

Hi all<O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p

I’m looking for advice about for a good glossy, durable and low maintenance finish for my Jarrah Slab bar top.<O:p</O:p

I’m looking for a finish that will be resistant to scratching, hot and cold plates & drinks, sealed and possibly one that can be re-done each time I move house. <O:p</O:p

I also need a finish that can be applied to the rough (bark) edge – which may not suit a regular ‘runny’ 2 pack resin.<O:p</O:p

The finish I’m looking for will also have to ‘gel’ with my existing casting resin filled holes. <O:p</O:p

Any advice will be much appreciated<O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p

Gav<O:p</O:p

[vsquizz]

Gav, Your wish sounds like Estapol 7008 two pack. You can thin it down for the bark edges, brush it around and come back 3 min later to brush off excess.

On the slab use a sealer or make sure you have got no raised grain.

and .. a method in a book written by someone hereabouts suggests wet sanding with wet & dry between coats.
Cheers

[outback]

Send the slab to me, that'll be the finish of it. Your worries will be over so its all good news. :D

[rsser]

Squizzy, you don't find the estapol prone to scratching?

[vsquizz]

Squizzy, you don't find the estapol prone to scratching?
Short answer yes, I stopped using it about 6 years ago but what I found is this:

- It does 90% of what they claim (more scratch resistant than most)
- Its hard work to get a really good finish (to keep it clean and get that crystal smooth surface)
- It resists general scratching well if left for a week before use
- If you get a bad scratch its a bugger to sand out and repair.

Dinners ready, gotta go

Cheers

[roopaw]

so now im back to square 1

would i be better off finishing the slab with a glossy floor finish??

[vsquizz]

Gav, Maybe what you really want doesn't exist (yet). I'd say the 7008 does the best in moisture/heat resistance. Its also much harder than most, all I can say.

Personally I don't like the stuff but it does have its place. Ask around at the fancy shops that are selling the slabs. I know some use Nitrocellulose which is hard as hell but may not like heat and is a bugger to repair like poly.

Cheers

[roopaw]

before i apply estapol 7008

do i need to seal the slabs? ive filled all holes with casting resin and they are well sanded

do i sand the final coat of 7008?

below is a link to some pics of this bar, this is my first woodwork project

http://members.westnet.com.au/web/roopaw/bar.htm
i welcome all comments/ideas/criticism

i have a lot to learn
gav

[jur]

Your bar project fills me with awe and wonder - she looks quite handy with a sander. The Jarrah slabs look good too. ;)

Perhaps you could also take a look at Feast Watson's Tung Oil Finish. It is a tung oil based resin (70-30 tung oil/urethane), finish gloss dependant on how many coats, and is also used for floors so is (probably) quite hard. What's more, it is on the oil side of coatings so penetrates the woodgrain well and becomes a finish that is one with the top layer of the wood. It can also be wiped on and wet sanded if you require a quality handrubbed finish, and they claim it is easy to repair - you don't have to sand right back for another coat, and you could have a crack at repairing damage locally istead of coating the whole lot. BUT you have to have a dust-free environment - dust mars the finish quite badly.

If you are keen, you could give it say 3-4 coats, sand smooth (but not through) with 400 grit and then polish with ubeaut's EEE-ultra-shine. I tried this and it came out in a glass-like finish. Your resin-filled holes will also benefit greatly, they will be clear as glass. The EEE trick can be applied to any coating, and any dust that settled will of course not be a problem, right? With EEE you can also repair light scratches easily - they just buff right out, since EEE contains an abrasive compound.

So far for the ad campaign.:p [Insert standard disclaimer here.]

Here is a link to a site describing varnishes in some nice layman's detail - I found it most useful.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00063.asp

[rsser]

Yeah, I was working around to suggesting an oil finish too.

If it still needs a bit of grain filling and you have a random orbital sander, you can wet sand with fine paper and wipe off across the grain. Wipe off while wet, whether you wet sand or not, put on 4 -5 coats or more, and leave as long as you can between coats after the second one; it hardens.

[vsquizz]

The best advice from here would be to do some test pieces. You have some large valuable slabs so its worth doing a couple of samples first.

If you haven't already read it this thread;

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=12300&page=1&pp=15

Has some related and valuable discussion (save the "Terebine" thingy)


Cheers