Choosing and Applying the Finish (Part Three)

How to Finish Woods

Here are some of the most commonly used furniture woods with suggested finishes for each. With the materials described above and the rules described here, you can work out many finishes of your own.

Walnut

Hard and porous, walnut always requires filler for a smooth finish. However, if you wish the texture to show, eliminate the filler.

For a natural finish, mix natural wood filler with a little burnt umber. Fill the wood, sand lightly, and finish with two coats of water-white lacquer.

For an antique gray bleached finish, first bleach the wood (use any commercial bleach available for woods), sand until the natural color shows, then use gray filler. Finish with a coat of lacquer or varnish.

For a stain finish, apply the stain, fill the surface of the wood with wood filler that matches the stain, and finish with varnish or lacquer.

Mahogany.

There are a number of varieties and grades of mahogany. The most common is Philippine mahogany, which is softer than other varieties, spongy in texture, and large-pored. All require filler for a smooth surface.

Oil or wax produces the best natural finish.

Much modern furniture is made of bleached mahogany. Bleach, wash thoroughly with water, and sand until the natural pink of the wood shows through. Fill with natural wood filler, and finish with clear lacquer.

Mahogany is stained more often than it is left natural. Apply the stain, fill, and finish with varnish or lacquer.

Oak.

Strong and durable, oak has large pores that require two coats of filler for a smooth finish.

A natural finish requires filler and a water-white lacquer finish. To soften the yellow cast, use slightly gray filler.

Two of the most commonly used stain finishes are golden oak and fumed oak. Golden oak may be achieved by applying golden oak stain, filling with light brown filler, and finishing with varnish or lacquer. The resulting color will be yellow with dark brown filled grain.

Fumed oak produces an orange-brown color similar to the color in most oak hardwood floors. True fumed oak is produced by exposing the wood to ammonia fumes. No task for an amateur, it can be duplicated by applying Adam brown stain, then a dark brown filler. Sand, then finish with varnish or lacquer.

A similar but darker finish, like early English oak, is obtained by mixing Adam brown with about 1/10 part black stain. Apply a wash coat of shellac, fill with black filler, and finish with varnish or lacquer.

Maple, Birch, Gum.

These woods have enough characteristics in common that their finishes may be considered together. Maple and birch are very hard, non-porous woods. Gum is non-porous, but is not as hard. It is usually darker than either maple or birch and must be bleached in order to obtain as light a finish. Maple and birch are rarely bleached. None of these woods requires a filler.

Any of the natural finishes work well on any of these woods. Gum has less character than either of the other two and usually is used to imitate some of the more expensive woods.

All of these woods take stains well. You can produce many of the traditional period furniture colors on any of them. Before applying the stain, give these woods a wash coat of shellac, made by thinning one part of the white shellac with five parts of alcohol. Then stain and finish with varnish or lacquer.

Pine.

About the only softwood that has a very high value in furniture; pine is a close-grained wood that requires no filler.

To finish pine in a nearly natural color, apply a coat of lacquer sanding sealer, sand thoroughly, and finish with lacquer or varnish
Pine will take all of the stains that work well with maple, birch, and gum. If you intend to disguise it with a stain, it is a good idea to apply a wash coat of shellac before staining, sand well, stain, apply lacquer sanding sealer, sand, and lacquer.

Teak.

Very porous, quite hard, and very durable, teak requires two applications of filler to achieve a glass-smooth finish. If you wish to retain some of the porous texture of the wood, use only one application.
Since teak is about the color of nutmeg, it is rarely bleached. When it becomes wet, fibers of the wood swell, making the surface very tough. To eliminate the possibility of a rough surface finish, sponge the wood with hot water before you apply any finish. Allow the surface to dry, and then sand with No. 7/0 sandpaper. Dust or vacuum thoroughly. Then apply your finish materials.

Never use shellac or any other sealer on teak. The natural oils of the wood are not compatible with shellac gums.

For a natural finish, use water-white lacquer or oil.

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