I am in the midst of building a small 600 sq ft apartment in the loft area of my 1840s barn. The barn beams (and posts/girts) are beautiful 2 ft square hand-hewn pine and I have cleaned them up with corn cob grit blasting. Drywall butts against these beams.
I would like to finish these beams to keep cluster flies out, but don’t want a finish that would necessarily change the colour of the beams. Varnish, Shellac, Linseed Oil, and Varathene seem to be options, but I really don’t understand the advantages and disadvantages of these finishes.
Any suggestions?
/Hugh
Replies
Mostly you're considering surface film finishes vs penetrating oil finishes. What's your taste? Or perhaps more importantly, what'll keep out cluster flies? Don't know them.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Varnish, Shellac, Linseed Oil, and Varathene seem to be options, but I really don't understand the advantages and disadvantages of these finishes.
Varnish, shellac, and varathene are film finishes that reside on the surface -
linseed oil comes in two flavors, boiled and raw - boiled has 'driers' added and will form a film on the surface of the wood -
raw linseed oil doesn't dry - applied to raw wood, it soaks in, 'popping' the grain and bringing out the color - slop (or spray) it on, let set, wipe if you want to - surface will be oily for a week or so, and then things just get mellower...it can be refreshed if you want to brighten things up -
you guessed it...I like raw linseed oil - it's what I used on my 1840's log cabin...
I would avoid any film finishes like polyurethane or varnish -- they will eventually wear and start to flake off. A pain to recoat.
Some sort of oil is your best bet. Linseed oil is okay, but I would stay with the boiled version because of the driers. Raw linseed will never fully dry, and might even get gummy if exposed to too much heat.
I would also check into Watco Oil. This is a linseed oil based product with driers and hardeners. 2 coats will protect the wood, more will begin to build and give you a very subtle sheen. Also available in colors, if you want to even out the tone of your beams. and Down the line, can be freshened up simply by adding another coat.
Like everyone else has pretty much said, go with oil.
That way it won't really LOOK like it was stained. A much more natural look.
By the time you read this you've already read it.
Still another vote for oil.
Big fan of straight linseed (boiled) on walnut, does not change the color as much on oak so may be just what you want.
Can anybody answer if Watco went back to pre 1990 formulation, or is it still the miniwax ripoff version.. If they went back to the original formula, that is what I'd use (BTW still have a few gallons squirreled away of pre-miniwax versions.
Have a couple of doors with Watco finish, holds up to weather better than poly by a long shot.
I think the Rustoleum people bought Watco through their Flecto division (Varathane).
I had occasion to speak to one of their people about a year ago, and he claimed they were going back to the old Watco formula.
"but don't want a finish that would necessarily change the colour of the beams. "
Any oil based product either varnish, Watco, or linseed oil are going to add an ambler hue.
Don't know if that is acceptable or not.
Otherwise you are limited to a film finish. Lacquer, water based, or some of the clear shellacs.