Ok, I know the finishing gurus hate off the shelf "stuff". Mixing and matching is a great skill, and building your own wipe on is a wonderful way to create just the right formula and save money too.

But, for some of us, off the shelf is the way to go.

 

So I'd like to ask you all,

• What is our favorite Off-the-Shelf brand of clear coat finish, it can be wipe on, brush on, spray on, whatever floats your boat.
• And, if you got the time, please go into detail why you like it.
• And what do you use the finish for, what type of projects, each finish has it's purpose, what is yours?

 

And, what the heck, while we are at it, what's your least favorite finish, and if you have the time, why?

 

We can include mail order finishes too.

Thanks for any feedback.

For non-food contact turnings, I like wipe-on oil based Poly. Don't have too much choice as for manufacturer- Minwax is readily available at Lowes.

 

For food contact stuff it's either plain mineral oil or bee's wax/mineral oil combo. Mineral oil from the grocery store pharmacy aisle or the drug store. Bee's wax is available locally from bee keepers.

 

Small "flat" projects get rattle can Deft lacquer. Goes on fast, dries quick.

 

For larger work, I still like to use oil based Poly. I don't have a spray system.   

Mccloskys Man O War is my go to varnish. It's durable, easily sprayed with an HVLP, forgiving in a brush scenario and it mixes well with Danish oil for wipe on. It's used on everything except items that have contact with food. 

 

I will not use any finish from a yellow container. VOE.

 

I'm with Lew on the Deft rattle can for smaller pieces. Although, I've had good luck with the cheaper Ace brand.

 

Edited January 16, 20179 yr by Gene Howe

Shellac from dry flakes from our sponsor (Wipe on).  Then Min wax polyurethane (Brush or Wipe on).  Then Laq because I have not used it much but as Shellac is getting rather $$ Laq is looking attractive.

Great article by my Hero.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/2004/11/01/selecting-a-finish

Dead last epoxy

 

Great feedback guys, keep it up! Thanks for the great link Michael!

Mine is an alkyd/soya oil varnish (very hard to find anymore), but I'll admit to using some Zinnser shellac products. But when it comes to wiping varnish or danish oil I always mix my own. I am transitioning to waterborne finishes (being forced to, actually) and find the GF products very good.

1 minute ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

Mine is an alkyd/soya oil varnish (very hard to find anymore), but I'll admit to using some Zinnser shellac products. But when it comes to wiping varnish or danish oil I always mix my own. I am transitioning to waterborne finishes (being forced to, actually) and find the GF products very good.

Why/how are you being forced to use waterborne finishes? 

Oil based finishes are being removed from the shelves of retailers, sometimes due to company policies that follow CARB requirements (even though I'm a long way from CA). Sometimes due to the manufacturers themselves discontinuing products. I had mentioned alkyd/soya based varnish. There was at least 3 brands available for this maybe 7 years ago or so. My favorite, McCloskey's Heirloom was bought out by Valspar (Cabot) and remarketed under the Cabot 8000 label, then discontinued. I have one qt. Heirloom and 4 qts of Cabot in my stash. The other, Pratt and Lambert 38, is still made but not available at any retailer with 75 miles of me. I have one of them on hand as well. Even oil based paints have disappeared form the shelves of the box stores, though I can still get them at SW.

Boy, I use a variety of things.   It really just depends on the project, the wood, and the intended use.

 

Sealcoat (dewaxed shellac) -- great for decorative stuff, brings out a lot of figure in wood, add some chatoyance under w/b finish, seal in silicone oil when refinishing.   Aerosol Zinsser for small jobs or touch up.

 

w/b finish -- have used Valspar Zenith and Sherwin-WIlliams KemAqua.  Spray these.  Given a choice, especially on large projects, I'll use these.   I use more of these than anything else, probably because that's what I'll use for larger project.  It'd take me about 20 minutes to brush a coat of something on a chair or a bookcase and about 90 seconds to spray the whole thing.

 

Varnishes - non-poly when can find it (getting harder to find), poly when in a pinch.  Brushed or wiped on.  I don't really use spar varnishes as I've seen some damaged because they were too soft for application (desk top).   Used Waterlox for some applications

 

Lacquer -- Deft or Watco when doing a brush-on coat, also spray some NC and pre-cat lacquers, use a lot of aerosols in touch up work.   Also have done some colored lacquers when needed.

 

Oil-varnish blends -- haven't used in a while except for refreshing finishes.

 

Things I don't use:

 

Polyshades!   Can't believe they still sell this cr@p.   I have a book on finishing that was written the year I was born and the author went on to diss these types of products (and why).   Still selling them to people  who don't know better.

 

Trying to find some varnish at HD or Lowe's recently -- lots of choices :    Semi-Gloss Minwax,Satin Minwax, Polycrylic, Polyshades.   Gotta find a new source.

 

[For those that don't  know me, I've run a furniture repair service for the last 15 years.   For about the first 10, I did stripping and refinishing regularly, then got too busy just doing on-site repair work.   For the last 3 years, I've cut back to part time (semi-retired) but still get into touch up work -- burn in repairs, scuffs, water marks, etc.]

Edited January 17, 20179 yr by kmealy

55 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis, Jr said:

Oil based finishes are being removed from the shelves of retailers, sometimes due to company policies that follow CARB requirements (even though I'm a long way from CA). Sometimes due to the manufacturers themselves discontinuing products. I had mentioned alkyd/soya based varnish. There was at least 3 brands available for this maybe 7 years ago or so. My favorite, McCloskey's Heirloom was bought out by Valspar (Cabot) and remarketed under the Cabot 8000 label, then discontinued. I have one qt. Heirloom and 4 qts of Cabot in my stash. The other, Pratt and Lambert 38, is still made but not available at any retailer with 75 miles of me. I have one of them on hand as well. Even oil based paints have disappeared form the shelves of the box stores, though I can still get them at SW.

Now, that just ain't right! The Ace stores around here still stock Mccloskys, thank goodness. The closest P&L store is in Phoenix, 135 miles away. 

Guess I'll stock up on Mccloskys while I can.

 

I'm guessing you're referring to the Man O War varnish, my comment was directed at the "Heirloom" label. The Heirloom was a soya oil/alkyd resin formula.

It's been a few years, but when my local Do-it-best store was carrying Cabot, they warned me that Ohio was now one of the restricted states and that they were getting in a low-voc forumula.   They could sell the inventory of non-low-VOC they had in stock, but could not get more.   Also warned me not to blend the two together (for whatever reason).

 

I was a trying to buy a gallon of Waterlox about 3 years ago.  I could only buy quarts.  I contacted Waterlox in Cleveland, where it's made.   They could not sell me a gallon out the will-call door, nor even ship me one.   They could, however, ship a gallon to my friend in Kentucky, just 12 miles south and a hop over the river.  Ended up just buying two quarts (at the cost of a gallon).    I was almost a VOC bootlegger.

 

I guess I should be thankful I don't live in California.

I think the loss of finishes falls into what i consider to be over-reach (without getting too political).   We also have those stupid gas cans that don't work worth spit.   I already drilled vent holes in mine so they work right...

 

Last time i needed finish was working on new brick mold (youngest daughter helped) and put on coat of shellac, coat of oil based primer, coat of oil based paint.   Could only get quarts....grrrrrr

6 hours ago, kmealy said:

 

 

I guess I should be thankful I don't live in California.

Or Ontario. They banned oil-based finishes here about 3-4 years ago.

John

I think VOC-based finishes are....finished.  Trend is to shun anything that evaporates into the air, except water.  Trend, not absolute, but I imagine that manufacturers are seeing significant reductions in some sales of product mixes. That means a shift in emphasis for new products, and shelf space (always a premium) going to the new.

 

 I do fairly simple projects, so simple finishing; I've found water based poly does a fine job.  I wipe it on with an old sock (no shortage, there).  Biggest advantage is short re-coat times; here, can reapply in about an hour (dry AZ).  I still use oil-based stain, so must wait 8 hr for it to dry, but that's starting me thinking about water based color. 

 

In every endeavor, the existing resists the new.  In every endeavor, the New usually wins because it's based on some advantage.  The more things change, the more advantages emerge for New.  Like it or not, we're Changing at a pretty rapid rate.  But note that Change doesn't necessarily destroy Old (look at Underhill's use of old tooling), but reduces its role.  There will always be people who want to restore old furniture, but Ikea's convenience will shrink restoration resources.  You can still buy saddles and buggy whips.  Just not so much.