I made this box for my Uncle who is a woodworker and vet. He has always been generous to me and has made plenty of things for others but no one makes him anything so took this on. It s my first inlaid project ever! Think I did okay.. So my question is tung oil or poly as a finishing coat? All opinions considered. Thanks in advance!

Hi Lissa

The box looks good and I'm sure he will appreciate it. For the finish, you might consider wiping on a coat of BLO (boiled linseed oil), letting it cure for a couple of days, then wipe on a couple of coats of thinned shellac. The BLO will give it an golden glow and make the figure pop. An amber or garnet shellac without the BLO will do much the same. I think a coat of shellac over BLO is necessary before a coat of poly. The guys on the finishing forum know much more. If you use BLO, let the rags dry completely before trashing them to avoid a fire hazard.

hat

Edited June 30, 20187 yr by hatuffej

I think you did an awesome job and your uncle will be ecstatic to receive it!

 

I'm the world's worst finisher so I'll defer to the experienced folks here on that topic.

Lissa, that looks really good, and it is a nice way to honor your uncle.  If you have any scraps left from your project, you could always try different finishes and see which one you like the best.  Another direction might be that if you uncle did something similar, he probably finished it in a way that pleased him. 

1 hour ago, hatuffej said:

If you use BLO, let the rags dry completely before trashing them to avoid a fire hazard.

hat

Thanks Hat for the important reminder; 

Additionally Lissa, don't store the rags in any kind of closed container to dry.

Lissa, excellent job on the box. I'm sure your Uncle will be quite pleased and honored that you have taken up the woodworking torch.

 

As for the finish, Tom, Lew & Hat have great suggestions so I'll defer to them and the other finishing experts here. Hopefully @kmealy will check in and offer his expertise too.

 

Thanks for sharing!

Edited June 30, 20187 yr by Grandpadave52

While the BLO/shellac might be the way I would do it, the tung oil (if you mean "Tung Oil Finish" as opposed to 100% tung oil) would be nice as well. Tung Oil Finish (most of them) actually have no tung oil in them at all, but are just usually a very thin varnish, some of them may have some BLO added. But they are still a nice choice for such a wonderful box. Well done!

Your box is beautifully done. I like the shellac finish, even the clear shellac will give it a mellow tone and then the clear water based poly diluted 50/50 and several coats.

Herb

Very nice gift.  I like wipe on poly but it takes so many coats.  Shellac is nice and takes less coats/time.

Edited June 30, 20187 yr by HandyDan

Nice job on the box. BLO when allowed to cure for 3-5 days is ready for poly or varnish , no shellac needed. @Fred W. Hargis Jr Tung Oil finish or danish oil has no tung oil in it, most are a poly blend . The finish you use depends on what surface you want. Tung Oil will give semi gloss or high gloss depending on how many coats and takes time to cure between coats. BLO will pop the grain nicely. Poly has a plastic look to me but will also give you any surface you want from satin to high gloss. I love garnet shellac on cherry and walnut but not sure you want that look on the lighter wood. I know this muddied the water but it does

depend on : 1. How much time you have

                  2. The surface gloss you want

                  3. Your experience applying finish , but that can be learned.

My preferred finish is Watco Danish oil and I usually get a satin to semi gloss finish on my small projects and turnings.

I forgot one more fast option BLO and after at least 5 days lacquer.

Edited June 30, 20187 yr by Gerald

Try 100% tung oil  thinned down about 50 % with paint thinner.... Then in three or four days repeat.... Then I am sure you will throw rocks at all the other quick finishes...Then for a beautiful topping on that use a rattle can of gloss lacquer....

 A quart of 100% tung oil from Wood Craft will last a long time but do clean the cap and the top of the bottle before you put it up or else you will have to put it under hot water for a few minutes when ready to use it again.. This is the same wood before the tung oil was used.

 

I don't know of any places like the big box stores that sells 100% tung oil the reason I have to order it.....

 Also you don't have to use anything over the tung oil as when it has dried is a very durable finish. There is an odor most people don't like for a few days but a small price to pay. All the towel racks I have built only has tung on the rungs for wet towels doesn't do anything to it. and I do use lacquer on the rest of the towel rack.

Thanks everyone!

3 hours ago, Lissa Hall said:

Thanks everyone!

don't thank us..

it's your fault your box was so well received...

i'm lazy and impatient.

 

if in a hurry, i use poly (minwax), as i can get a coat on every 2-4 hours, so 2-3 coats in a day.

 

if i have more time, i like a poly/oil mix like Arm-R-Seal.  gives a little smoother finish without being so thick, soaks in initially.  about 1 coat a day.   little harder than poly only.

 

and if i'm in a real hurry, wipe some beeswax/mineral oil on, wait 20 min, repeat 2 more times, call it good.

 

nice thing about Tung oil is that you can add another coat down the road, as it soaks in, as does Danish oil, as opposed to poly, which sits on top.

 

when you have some spare time, grab some scraps and experiment with different finishes.  which ones gives results you like and which ones are easy for you to apply.

Lisa that is a beautiful box. Very nice job on the inlay.

A great little box Lissa, be sure to post up pics after the finish is done with which finish & schedule you used.

I would put that little yellow can away and finish "natural"    As mentioned shellac, or BLO and shellac will bring out a lot of the figure of the wood.  Varnishes, probably a wiping varnish or oil-varnish blend would also be nice.  But as stated above, you are probably not going to find many cans labeled truthfully or clearly.  https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/finishing/oil-finishes-their-history-and-use

 

Sorry for the delay, we've been with family and camping all week and very limited internet access.

I will post pic after completed. And some of those finishes I have never heard of. So will be experimenting with them later. Silly me thought poly and shellac the same thing lol. So only have experience with the "tung oil" and poly so going with tung oil as the comment about what I am experienced with made a lot of sense. I would not want to mess anything thing up this far in and would like to give it to him soon. But will look into others and practice with them!

Edited July 2, 20187 yr by Lissa Hall

Lissa, "poly" (in the most common usage) is more accurately called a varnish...but made with urethane (or polyurethane) resins. In the world of finishing the names of finishes are so convoluted it gets confusing and misleading. A lot of folks will refer to a "poly", only to be talking about a waterborne finish labeled "polyurethane". Waterborne finishes are predominantly acrylic. Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Thanks Fred that is good info!  I mean I know some use like bee's wax I think. Then popular min wax and then I knew about tung oil. But that all I know about in finish world.. So with all this new education I will be looking into to others. In truth never been much of a fan to poly because it always seems to yellow after time. I used it because one it's what I knew, two it was fairly easy to use. I have also never seen how tung oil last over years because those projects were usually gifts but I liked how it looked?