# What type of finish for a kitchen table top



## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I was asked to quote replacing a kitchen table top.

Basically...
White oak 36 x 65 x 2

I have attached a photo they sent resembling what they are interested in.

My question is what would you use as a finish for a table?

When I look at my kitchen table, I can't figure out what was done but it looks good...kinda satin looking, water resistant and durable.

We are still in the beginning stages of this job. I found the white oak - 8/4 stuff but waiting for more info from the client.

Notes:
1) I have been wiping on the stain on my projects, but spraying my top coats with Deft Clear Wood Finish.

2) If I spray, I would prefer lacquer based so it would dry fast.

Thanks in advance. Your thoughts appreciated.
Mike


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I would prefer to spray any finish. Lacquer based products are very easy to work with however it would not meet your criteria of being water resistant and durible. I would use a interior oil based polyurethane.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks Steve. I have a little more info. The lady wants a light color. Their table has been dismantled. I guess hubby was gonna build a new one but got in over his head. I am waiting for a call to set up a meeting.

I am more concerned with the final finished product. I would much rather spray the Deft that I have been using for a long time. It dries in 30 minutes and you can sand and recoat as necessary. I just don't know how durable it is with prolonged use. If I spray, it will have to be outside and on a warm day and old man winter is gonna be upon us pretty soon. I haven't sprayed any polyurathane but it sounds like it takes a long time to dry. That might be a problem.

So far they are happy with the use of white oak and the cost of it...about $200.00 or thereabouts ($4.95 bd ft for 8/4).

Any thoughts about using a product like Watco Danish Oil in Light Oak color? 
Thanks
Mike


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

There’s no telling how much lacquer I've put on table tops. I used it for years because it was cheap and easy. A long time ago I also used it for kitchen cabinets and started having calls from customers a couple of years later having the finish lifting on the cabinet doors in front of the sink. Because they were letting water run down the front of the cabinets it was causing the finish to lift. Also the furniture in my house that I haven’t refinished yet have water rings from glasses sitting on the corner of tables. 

Back to your project, even if they get the table wet often the finish should last a couple of years. It would just last longer with the poly. It is a lot more trouble and time consuming because you can really only put one coat on per day but it normally only needs two coats. Only you and your customer can decide if its worth the trouble. 

I don't have a great deal of experience with Watco. I finished a walnut grandfather clock I built in high school with the watco and its still doing great but its not handled a lot. Years later I built a oak bookcase and used watco on it and it's not doing so good. Everywhere its handled is turning black from hand oil. I really think a table top finished with any oil finish would be really bad. I think a table top really needs a film coating.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks Steve. I talked to the customer today. They are going to the lumber yard to pick out the boards, hopefully tomorrow. I have been in contact with the salesman I work with and he will take care of them. I also mentioned that they should ask question about the finish they want and get the experts opinion. They sell the General Finishes stuff and Min Wax. Hopefully, the wife will pick out something she likes and they can buy everything in one spot. All I have to do is go pick up their order.

Note: The lumber yard is one of those hardwood lumber yards. They specialize in all sorts of lumber from the rough stuff to the S4S. I have bought enough stuff there that the salesmen all know me so that makes me feel pretty good...or maybe I am just a sucker! 

Clark's Hardwood Lumber


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

MT Stringer said:


> Thanks Steve. I have a little more info. The lady wants a light color. Their table has been dismantled. I guess hubby was gonna build a new one but got in over his head. I am waiting for a call to set up a meeting.
> 
> I am more concerned with the final finished product. I would much rather spray the Deft that I have been using for a long time. It dries in 30 minutes and you can sand and recoat as necessary. I just don't know how durable it is with prolonged use. If I spray, it will have to be outside and on a warm day and old man winter is gonna be upon us pretty soon. I haven't sprayed any polyurathane but it sounds like it takes a long time to dry. That might be a problem.
> 
> ...


Watco Danish Oil is an oil base film finish. It takes as long to dry as an oil base polyurethane. If you have the ability to spray, I would use a conversion varnish, or a waterbase polyurethane suitable for flooring. Actually your most durable finish would be a polyester lacquer, but it's not an easy finish to do.










 







.


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Conversion varnish is definitely the way to go. Water resistant, durable, and hard as a rock. Also dries quickly, can be sanded about an hour after application, assuming its properly catalyzed and depending on how heavy you're laying it down.


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## Stephen Wood (Oct 19, 2012)

I've used this finish for years and never had a failure. 1st coat: mix 1/3 turpentine, 1/6 B.L.O., 1/6 tung oil, 1/3 oil base urethane. Apply liberally, allow to set for 10 minutes and wipe off. Allow to dry for 24 hrs. 2nd coat: Reduce turpentine by 50% by volume and oils by 50% by volume and reapply thin coat w/ sponge brush. Allow to dry for 24 hrs. 3rd coat: mix 1/2 turpentine and 1/2 urethane finish. Apply with sponge brush and allow to dry for 24 hrs. Reapply coat #3 until desired depth of finish. Completed finish will be the most beautiful you have ever seen, appearing so deep you could loose a coin in it and tough enough to use on yacht furniture.


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## MT Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

@ Stephen - All those mixing ratios give me a headache. 

Well, we are moving forward. They couple picked out their wood - Rough Hard Maple. I picked it up this afternoon. Six 8/4 x 8inch boards six foot long. That put a squish on the truck. $212 worth.

I will start on them next week. In the meantime, the customers are researching stain and finishes to figure out what they want. I plan to make up a 1x board with the current stain I have (and she likes) and finish it as a sample for her to look at.

Thanks for everyone's input.
Mike


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

MT Stringer said:


> @ Stephen - All those mixing ratios give me a headache.
> 
> Well, we are moving forward. They couple picked out their wood - Rough Hard Maple. I picked it up this afternoon. Six 8/4 x 8inch boards six foot long. That put a squish on the truck. $212 worth.
> 
> ...


 There is really nothing you can do on this job however in the future I would not involve the customer that much in the construction and finish of what you build. Ultimately you will be responsible for the end result and if you let the customer pick bad products you may end up having to refinish something for free because the product failed. Even if it doesn't fail they can pick out something that if far more labor intensive than what you bid the job for. I would just find out what the finished product is suppose to look like and you call the shots on the which finishing products are used to obtain it. Every time I let a customer start telling me step by step how they want something done it has a unhappy ending for everyone especially me.


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## MNsawyergp (Jan 31, 2012)

I agree with Steve. I would have been along on that lumber run to check moisture content and match the wood grain and color. Customers usually don't know what they are looking at when looking at rough lumber. They also don't know the questions or desires you have about the finish. I would be doing the research on that and telling the customer what you feel is the best finish. You got some good answers here of different choices of hard finish. The Watco and Deft finishes are not that durable for a table top. Do your research on the conversion varnish, catylized lacquer, or polyurethane. 

Minwax Polycrylic waterbased urethane in cans is the way I have gone in the past. You can get it in quarts or gallons also and put it in your own gun. I just don't like switching finishes in my spray equipment. Going from Lacquer to poly really creates a lot of gunk in the machine. The Minwax spray cans have an adjustable tip which sprays a fan pattern instead of a round mist like most spray cans. I like that a lot.


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