Favorite finish on Red Oak

[tilt]

I've just about completed a coffee table made out of red oak, and am debating on how to finish it...I love the qualities of the wood, and have debated just using straight up poly, but also like my furniture a little bit darker...without masking the beauty of the wood.

Regardless, what sort of finishes do you guys like on red oak?

[Mainemarc]

OK, the timing of your question is just too weird. I'm been experimenting with a finish for an A&C globe stand made of red oak and I'm really happy with the results.

It's worked out to be a two-step process. I first coated everything with a dark brown water soluable aniline dye: Transtint Old Oak Mission, or something like that. This is my first experience with wood dye and it looked just terrible; like it was painted dark brown tempura. After drying for 12 hours, I sanded everything off except for what had penetrated deeper into the grain structure. This is called "popping" the grain.

The contrast between the grain structure and the light background color of the red oak looked exaggerated to my eye. So I looked under my workbench and found some Minwax Honey Maple gel stain and a small can of Minwax dark red mahogany stain. I mixed the two together (it didn't blow up, so I guess the stuff is compatible) and applied that with a paper towel. I wiped it off after 10 minutes or so and set everything aside to dry.

This morning I peeked in and man, I think it looks great: an aged, classic patina with a lovely grain structure. It's not quarter sawn oak, but there are a few medullary rays that show up nicely. Like something you'd find in the back of a reading room of an old university library.

I'm going to let everything cure for a day or so and then do my fool-proof homebrew wiping varnish.

[dwolsten]

quote:Originally posted by Mainemarc
The contrast between the grain structure and the light background color of the red oak looked exaggerated to my eye. So I looked under my workbench and found some Minwax Honey Maple gel stain and a small can of Minwax dark red mahogany stain. I mixed the two together (it didn't blow up, so I guess the stuff is compatible) and applied that with a paper towel. I wiped it off after 10 minutes or so and set everything aside to dry.

This morning I peeked in and man, I think it looks great: an aged, classic patina with a lovely grain structure. It's not quarter sawn oak, but there are a few medullary rays that show up nicely. Like something you'd find in the back of a reading room of an old university library.

Do you think you could post some photos of this particular piece? I just did my first major project with red oak, and I used Minwax's red mahogany stain as well, and I mostly liked the color, except it was difficult to get it as dark as I wanted.

[WayneJ]

Most of the red oak that i've finished I have done with "Minwax Golden Oak" and then finished with wipe on poly wet sanded between coats. I like the satin poly best.Try some on a scrap of the red oak.
Wayne

[sweensdv]

The two finishes that I've been the most pleased with on red oak are Briwax Original and ZAR #120 Teak Natural. I used the rub on application for both.

[Black wallnut]

Since I'm forced to be thrifty(not cheap, Thom2 has that market cornered ) due to too much overhead and not enough operating revenue......

I use what is tried and true. Minwax Provincial stain folloed by a few coats of poly. That said the finish Marc is describing sounds interesting, almost enough that I may have to try some expiermentation.

Minwax's Provincial on red oak:

[Mainemarc]

quote:Originally posted by dwolsten
Do you think you could post some photos of this particular piece? I just did my first major project with red oak, and I used Minwax's red mahogany stain as well, and I mostly liked the color, except it was difficult to get it as dark as I wanted.

Hi Dwolsten:

I'll try; I'd really like to share a few of my projects with you folks. My imaging capability is sort of embarassing. I have a computer and photo editing software, but no camera or CD burner. My nephew lends me his very nice Canon digital camera, but every time he downloads my pictures to a CD-R on his computer, they are way too big to post online (something like a zillion X a kagillion pixels). I can't lower the resolution with my photo editing software because however he burns the CD's, no computer can read them except his.

What can I say? I'm a hand tool type by persuasion. I'm lucky I even know enough to talk about this stuff.

[monte]

Marc,
You should be able to open the pics with your favorite photo program and then change the resolution to either 640X480 or 800X600 and then saving the smaller photo to your local drive. Post a message if you have problems and I or someone else will help you through this.

HTH

[Jim-Iowa]

I can`t offer much, I am a purist and rarely stain oak.
I like the rosey glow of red oak, and have only used clear urethane or a minwax golden oak stain.

[AAJIII]

What Jim said

[LarryG]

Marc, it may be that your nephew doesn't have his CD burning software set to "finalize" the CD. Until that's done, it won't be readable on any PC other than his (or so I have always found).

Also, is the formula for that "fool-proof homebrew wiping varnish" you mentioned a trade secret, or something you'd be willing to share?

[Mainemarc]

Larry:

Thanks for the tip about "finalizing" the the CD-R! I'll have "dungeon boy" (aka my basement-dwelling computer/video game guru nephew) look into this.

It sounds a little like those endless computer radial and dialog boxes that pop up when I tell the infernal thing to do something:
<Print image?> Yes.
<Print to file or Printer?> Print.
<Send print job to Epson 600?> Yes!
<Are you sure?> YES!
<Save changes before printing?> OH, FOR THE LOVE OF PETE; I COULD DRAW THE DARN THING FASTER THAN THIS ....

Homebrew wiping varnish: equal parts BLO, low-odor mineral spirits, and semi-gloss, oil-based poly. Exact proportions don't seem that important. Don't waste a brush, wiping it on with a rag seems fine. Runs are a thing of the past. Dust nibs are a non-issue. Ready for the next coat within 10 minutes. The only disadvantages I've found are that it does take a lot of coats and it's not really a surface gap-filling type of finish. But I love the results and it's too darn easy.

[jdkenyon]

I have been working a bit with red oak lately too. I prefer the natural look and have found a finish that works great for me. I sand to 150 grit then wipe down with mineral spirits and let dry for about an hour. Then I use Minwax Wipe On Poly applied with soft cloth. Let dry over night, lightly sand the high spots and then put apply the second coat. Sometimes a third coat is needed but after the final coat has dried I hit it with 0000 steel wool.

[vinht]

Tilt,

I tried this technique from Finewoodworking and really liked the result. Here are some pictures of the sofa table I made using this technique.

Hope this helps,
Vinh

[Mainemarc]

Wow, Vinh, where do I start? First, that technique you reference is very similar to what I was describing, although much more refined and systematic. Tilt, that is what you should do with your red oak project, in my humble opinion. Follow the steps in that FWW article and you should be able to get just the shade and tone you are looking for.

But Vinh, somehow I've missed your website all this time. Fantastic. Bookmarked. A keeper. Beautiful design/graphics, excellent pictures, great writing and very inspirational. And great projects! I love the box, the jack plane and the sofa table. Thanks for sharing!