Thread: Your advice on finish for desk please

hi, i think the contrast looks great i would sand it and apply 2-3 coats of teak oil no stain!!!! very nice work.
michael

Like Michael said a sand but depending on how hard a use you give it what sort of finish. On Desks and surfaces that get a beating I would use Cabots (oil base) Floor Finish. If you write on paper on the desk without some sort of backing then with an oil finish have found you can end up with text on the table top. The poly finishes give a bit of a hard shell and smoother finish for writting on etc. Also a little more impervious to ink, texta/markers etc are easier to clean off.
But a Teak or Danish oil finish can look pretty cool too and still be fairly tuff.
Desk looks great no stainn no shellac, if you put shellac on before you oil the oil can't penitrate so don't do that. Nice work.

Hey Michael, saw air fares from Newcastle to Melb for $59 at Flight Centre the other day and thought of you, pretty cheap.

Denim

I'm currently sitting at a desk made by my father around the time I was born.
The finish is about 5 coats of shellac. It has stood the test of time very well.
That said, Danish or Scandanavian oil go on easily and look great.

On another matter, how are the breadboard ends of your desk attached? are they screwed of pinned?
and how is the tenon arranged?

Thank you very much for the advice guys. Ian, I'd like to do 5 coats of shellac but it's a new technique for me and I'm still trying to get it right so I think I'll follow the Danish oil path. There was a mention of Maloof mix also but I believe that's very much the same as Danish oil?

The breadboard is joined using through pins (with an elongated hole for movement allowance) and I made a full tenon within the end cap. After reading your question I did a little research and found an alternative method using a stubb tenon. Do you think the stub tenon would be a better option?

The desk top is tongue and groove, chosen merely to try out the technique and I allowed a 2 - 3 mm gap within the groove for movement and expansion.

This is the first of two desks I'm building for our office so I'll do a WIP for the second desk.

Thanks again.

Denim.

Denim

here's one recipe for the Maloof finish, there may be others. The link at the bottom contains some useful information

The Sam Maloof finish consists of two finishes: A varnish/oil mixure followed by an oil/varnish/beeswax mixture. The first mixture is applied until you are satisfied with the build-up. Then you apply the second finish, which does require some elbow grease! You can purchase the finish pre-mixed from Rockler, or you can mix your own. I provide two Mixture 1 recipes. Mixture 1 Version 1 is the traditional Sam Maloof finish. It takes a while to dry--leave at least 24 hours between coats. Mixture 1 Version 2 is an oft-used finish that provides a little better penetration, is easier to apply, and dries faster.
Mixture 1 Recipe (Version 1)

Mix equal parts of the following:

• Boiled Linseed Oil
• Raw Tung oil (not Waterlox, Dalys, or other tung oils containing resin additives)
• Semi-Gloss urethene varnish

Mixture 1 Recipe (Version 2 - Easier to Apply, Better Penetration, Dries Faster)

Mix equal parts of the following:

• Thinner. Use paint thinner, mineral spirits, or naptha. Feel free to use a bit less thinner and more varnish or oil. The thinner is present to help the finish penetrate the pores of the wood, rather than lay on the surface.
• Varnish. Virtually any quality varnish will do. I prefer a standard oil varnish rather than a fast drying varnish.
• Oil. Use either boiled linseed oil or raw tung oil. Again, do not use Waterlox, Daly's, or other tung oils that have added resins.

Mixture 2 Recipe
Mix 2 handfuls of shredded beeswax to equal parts of boiled linseed oil and raw tung oil. Heat the mixture in a double-boiler on an electric hotplate just until the wax melts. Due to the volatile nature of the ingredients, brew your mixture outdoors. When cooled, the mixture should have the consistency of heavy cream.
General Procedure
Apply three to four coats of Mixture 1. Let oil sit on surface for 5-10 minutes. Optionally, sand mixture into wood using 400-600 grit wet and dry sandpaper. Remove excess oil with a clean cloth/paper towel. Allow at least 24 hours drying time between each coat. Apply two to three coats of Mixture 2. Rub Mixture 2 into the surface very vigourously--it is suggested that when your fingers start to get hot from the rubbing, you're applying it correctly.
From what I have read, Sam Maloof's employees sand to 400 grit, then use #0000 steel wool to create a very fine surface. Then they take a very soft rag - a sort of toweling - and run it over fery carefully. Oil finishes require a much smoother surface than thick surface finishes (varnish, lacquer). However, for this finish, I stop sanding at 220 grit, and use the wet sanding technique. It produces an ultra smooth surface by not only "sanding", but sanding wet fibers and filling microscopic pores.

Pros:

Easy, Virtually foolproof to apply
No drips/runs/sags
No dust nibs
Easy to mix your own
Satin sheen, hand-rubbed finish
Penetrates into the wood fibers

Cons:

Requires many coats to get reasonable depth and protection
Lengthy application time for large surfaces

Reference: Homeshop Finishes That Work!

our boiled tung oil is very suitble for wooden door,it's green varnish, please visit www.woodoilwholesale.com

Very nice job, But something you could consider is "Glass-coat"
Its a 2-part finish, which put simply, you mix, and then put it over the tabletop. It will actually level itself (as long as the table surface is level) and has what i believe is the equivalent of 50 coats of varnish. Its also heat resistant ( so you can spill your coffee all over it)
Still, a very nice job!

What did you end up doing?

Hi Christos,

Thanks for checking back.

I messaged Clawhamma and asked him for his method for finishing with the Cabbots floor finish.

Originally Posted by Claw Hama

Ok, what I usualy do to finish my tables is min 4 coats sanding between coats to take out any high brush strokes and bumps etc. I usualy only sand with 320 or 400 at best between coats. You can do more coats if you want. Then after the last coat is nice and dry (at least 24 hrs) I rub it back with 400 wet and dry (the black stuff you do cars with) using a mix of turps and linsee oil 50/50 as lubricant. Once you have it looking realy good you can leave it like that or you can go the next step and go over it with 0000 steel wool and the 50/50.

I ended up using 600 wet and dry followed by the 0000 steel wool and 50/50.

I liked this method because it was straight forward to me and something I could do with little practice. I will be looking into the method Ian advised as it's a process I've been interested in for a while now.

Here's a picture of the almost finished product. I still had a keyboard drawer and shelves above to install and then a mirror desk on the opposite side of the room for me.

Sorry the for the poor quality - I'm not the best photographer.


Regards,

Denim

Nicely done.

Thanks.

Regards,

Denim.

Originally Posted by Denim

Here's a picture of the almost finished product. I still had a keyboard drawer and shelves above to install and then a mirror desk on the opposite side of the room for me.

Sorry the for the poor quality - I'm not the best photographer.

what "poor quality" your photo is perfectly adequate for me

and I particularly liked the toy car in the bottom left


BTW, nice looking desk, and I like how you mounted the screen on the wall to free up space