just painted an old dining table with an oil based paint and antiqued it and distressed it with some stain. What would be the best finish to apply to withstand the use. I want to spray it because the legs are ornate and it would be hard to brush it.
thanks for your help
Replies
If durability and resistance to water and alcohol spills are the main concerns, I guess I'd lean toward a polyurethane.
Oil-based is the toughest and most durable, but you'd have to be willingly to accept some shift in color from the inherent ambering. This ambering will continue with aging. Maybe that's a plus for the look of your piece, maybe not.
A water-borne poly would be another option. It doesn't amber, but remains clear. Scratches easier than the oil-based though.
I've never tried cat-finishes over painted surfaces that I can recall. They're quite tough and protective, but also prone to scratching. Problem there is that your final film finish thickness is somewhat limited and repair, recoating/overcoating in the future is nearly impossible as nothing, including the same finish wants to bond well to a cured cat-finish. You're in for a strip and redo. Doesn't strip easily either.
the cat finish is what was on there before...hard as a rock. Bonding primer barely stuck to it...I dont anticipate restoring this peice again...I did not want it to begin with but my wife insisted and said it had another life left in it..she was right...it looks great! however,..I need to protect it from feet kicking the legs and the usual scrapes and such...if i got another 5 years out of it, I would be happy. Never sprayed poly..is it any different than laq as far as procedure. I know it takes longer to dry and the solvent is different but as far as "the act" of sprying it with my airless, is there a difference? thanks
There's this old saying.................varnish is a joy to brush and a misery to spray. Yep......well, sort of.
Breaks up finer and the cloud of overspray is stickier. Lacquer drift tends to dry pretty rapidly, hence the lacquer "cotton" that lands on things. A varnish cloud stays wet and stickier longer. Plan accordingly as to location, respiration, ventilation, clothing and covering your machinery if you're spraying near it.
Since it dries slower than lacquer, it's not so forgiving as lacquer can be and is consequently more prone to sag or run on vertical surfaces. Hence proper viscosity, proper spray technique and a heads-up attitude are in order. If in doubt, keep a brush handy to deal with the occasional oh-oh.
If you have some successful spraying experience under your belt, you'll probably be fine. It isn't that much different or more difficult than alot of materials.
If it's just the legs you need to spray, you could consider using aerosol cans for those and then brushing the rest or limiting your spray gun use to just the legs if you find the resulting sticky cloud to be objectionable for your particular spray area setup.
Airless?? I don't think I'd be trying that unless you have an airless with alot more control of output than mine has. I'd be using an conventional high pressure gun, HVLP or aerosol cans.
I use airless to spray barns and houses, not furniture or cabinetry. Then again if you can control yours enough to meet your needs.........who am I to say "don't do that"?
PS. - Don't let an oil-based poly fool you. It'll be at least a month if not 6 weeks before it's fully cured and you should wait a minumum of ten days before rubbing out (if you're going to) and putting the piece into service. Handle with a bit of care for that first month.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Cutawooda,
GoldHiller gave some excellent advice, much better than some others. I would forget spraying anything that takes "hours" to dry without it being in a totally "clean" room. Besides, are you setup to spray solvent based finishes?
Nowadays there are some super waterborne finishes that spray great, look great and have the durability of solvent base polyurethanes. These same coatings will "stick" to just about any surface with just a little prep work.
Two waterborne finishes that come to mind that will produces just what you are looking for are Fuhr International 255 and 275. You can use 255 for the base and 275 for the top or just 255 for the entire project.
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personally, I'd use an amber shellac
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Shellac can be a nice finish on the right piece, I'll agree......but.........(there's always one of those, isn't there)....if you used it as the final finish and not just as a sealcoat or to impart color underneath another final finish, you'd end up with poor resistance to water damage, zero resistance to alcohol spills and a quickly damaged finish if you sit something just a bit too hot on it. Therefore, it just wouldn't be my choice for an everyday or casual occasion dining table.
On the other hand........it's very easy to make repairs to shellac finishes. It does have its' plus sides.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
YEh, I know all of what you said but...sure looks awesome! Specially if you use the flakes. So easy to apply and is organic. you can paint kids toys with the stuff.True compassion arises out of the plane of consciousness where I "am" you.
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Gotta agree.
And there's another upside to shellac. You can eat the stuff.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
I guess if you're into eating bug dropping that could be true of the flakes; however, before anyone tries it with prepared shellac, the solvent is generally denatured alcohol (ethanol) often mixed with isobutyl alcohol; a possibly lethal cocktail..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
"before anyone tries it with prepared shellac, the solvent is generally denatured alcohol (ethanol) often mixed with isobutyl alcohol; a possibly
lethal cocktail."
Hey now!! I kinda already covered that.....I said "eat" not "drink". :-)
"I guess if you're into eating bug dropping that could be true of the flakes"
Shellac aint' really bug poop. It's a resinous secretion. I'm sure a bit of poop sneaks in there, tho.
Betcha you'd be surprised how many food products used to and how many still do carry a light coating of shellac if you bother to check into it. It's used as a coating on candy and pills and is as a matter of fact, approved by the FDA.
Bugs is protein. Mmmm,mmmmm. Now where's that fryin' pan?
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
I used to buy raw shellac and remember all the stuff that got strained out of the brew as you prepared it - yuck. I believe that the shellac used for candies, etc. was the super-blond version made with grain alcohol..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
"I used to buy raw shellac and remember all the stuff that got strained out of the brew as you prepared it - yuck. I believe that the shellac used for candies, etc. was the super-blond version made with grain alcohol."
Yeah, me too. Button lac. Yum, yum.
Bet you're right about that super-blonde.
Any candy manufacturers in the house?
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Let me see if I get this: you took an old dining room table; painted it over; beat it with chains, or sticks, or pipes, or whatever to make it look old and abused; smeared some stain (artistically of course) on it to make the finish look old and worn out; and now you're worried about the best product to use to preserve the finish ?
Okay fine, sounds like a job for a water-based varnish.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
I don't like to spray waterborne. With oil, it will continue to flow and smooth out. But the water based will begin to kick from the heat of the machine and set up on contact. That results in a spiny, rough texture. Maybe OK ouyt of an aerolsol can but not from the HVLP.
Foir that antiqued look you are aiming for, oil based is more authentic anyway, just give it time and temp to cure.
Excellence is its own reward!
Here's something I forgot to mention and maybe don't have to cause you already know.
Make sure you apply the same amount of finish to the underside of that table as to the top. If the table is made of solid stock or even ply, you're encouraging it to cup if you don't do this.