Finishing and Refinishing

[ebrendj]

Hi,

I'm staining a large shelving project on which I probably spent 50-100 hours so I'm looking for advice to do it well.

I used oak, and have it sanded to 220.  I'm looking for a rich finish that is durable and I'm willing to apply a few coats as needed. I was thinking of an oil based brush or rub on (I don't have a ventilated spray booth for spraying.  I was thinking of two coats of a medium-dark stain (to match furniture) and then a coat or two of topcoat (poly or varnish or ?)?

What brand names work well (General Finishes, Cabot, Minwax, others?).  I read some negative press on at least one of these brands (uneven finish and excessive drying time), but I have to personal experience to benchmark whether the concern was a fair comment or user error.  Your feedback (pros/cons) on brand and stain types would be much appreciated.  Although I have limited experience with stains, I am a quick learner in home projects and not afraid to invest a little time and care for a better finish.

Thanks friends!  Ed

[whitedogstr8leg]

 If just starting out, just go around and ask for samples of each "brand" of stain.   Take a leftover piece of that Oak and try each sample on the "test-piece".   Mark each as you go.   Note how each turns out.   Whichever one suits YOU best, go back and buy that stain.    Some here will try to push "dyes", or other items.   Some will try to "push" a certain "Brand X" stain on you.    IF YOU find a brand of stain that works the way YOU want, go with that item. 

[jandsjacobson99]

In your list, I know that many semi-pro and professional woodworkers like general finishes.  I use old masters and deft and like them pretty well.  I used to use minwax, and though I know that whitedog likes it, I found it to be miserable.  I only used it because I didn't know any better.  Sounds like you're already ahead of the learning curve on that one.  I do like to use dyes, especially water based, because I can manipulate how it looks right up until putting on a topcoat.  With the minwax type stains, I pretty much was stuck with what I got.  If you're not overly picky with how your project ends up looking, then that might be the way to go.  There are certainly many projects out there that turned out very nice with the minwax type.  There are also many out there that look pretty bad.  The suggestion to go around and get some samples is a good one.  Most paint and finishing stores will have open cans of various colors of their stains for color matching.  Play with them and see what you like.

[ebrendj]

whitedogstr8leg & Jandsjacobson99 - Thanks for your input.  I will see if I can get samples.  I appreciate the balanced view on brand choices - its good to hear from folks who have a vested interest in marketing a given brand.

To you both and others - Based on people I have asked so far, I have a long list of brands now and prefer to  sample no more than 3 to 5 brands.  What brands would you folks suggest (from the following list, or others) that I sample or avoid - any further ideas?

1. General Finishes

2. Old masters

3. Deft

4. Watco

5. Behlen's (Rockhard top coat: sounds interesting, but is it as good as what I heard - or if there are cons?)

6. Varathene

7. Formby's (Tong oil as top coat - but is tong oil top coat hard enough for a bookshelf that is used alot?)

8. Cabot

9. Minwax

10. Lee's water based dyes (but will water based dye have durability, be reasonably easy, and look as good?)

Any further thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks again to whitedogstr8leg and jandsjacobson99 for comments so far.

Ed

[JL North GA]

I like General Finishes stains and finshes.  I like Deft, Watco, Behlen's and Varathane.

I use Miniwax gloss poly mixed with boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits.  I like some of the Minwax stains.

For dyes, I like Transtint.

[Randy@Yorktown]

You're fortunate that your project is oak.  It is much more forgiving than some other wood types when it comes to stain.  Blotching is not usually a problem.

I assume your shelves are open and not in a cabinet behind doors.  If that's the case, then almost any varnish would work well.  Of those you've mentioned, I've used General Finishes products, Behlen's (it is good stuff), Minwax, and Formby's.  All work well for me, although I've pretty well sworn off polyurethane.  Waterlox is another good choice, but it is a bit pricey.

Hopefully, one of the experts will verify this, or not, but I think the Formby's product is varnish, not pure tong oil, and should hold up very well.