Oil type finish for shelving

[Horaldic]

G'day Folks

It's been a while since I posted, babies and toddlers are quite time consuming.

I'm after some suggestions on the finish for my new shelving. I went all-out in one part of my shed and covered a complete 4 metre section of wall in 400mm deep shelving from floor to ceiling. This is where I plan to store my turps, metho, spirit solvent, and motor oil along with boxed up hardware and parts and a few miscellaneous bits and pieces that have had no "home".

The shelving is made from 5-ply glued and nailed to continuous hardwood slats. These shelves are screwed to welded steel angle brackets. The shelves are edged with hardwood strips. Yes, it's a bit over-engineered. However, I'm not planning on moving anytime soon and I have some heavy stuff to store.

Originally I was going to put some heavy-duty industrial floor paint on the shelves. However, they've come up quite nicely and painting them now seems a bit wrong. What do folks think about using a decking oil instead? I'm open to suggestions. It needs to be durable and hard wearing.

cheers

Horaldic

[Christos]

I am not sure how far you want to go with this or how long you would like it to look the way it looks now. This may not be the most durable finish but one that can be re coated easily, Boiled Linseed Oil.

I use this for the tool handles and used them on the wooden tool handles for the garden.

[silentC]

I don't think I'd be using an oil finish. I'd use satin Estapol or something like it. You want something a bit hard-wearing for shelving that you'll be sliding things on and leaking stuff over. Decking oil won't offer much protection to the surface of the ply.

[Horaldic]

G'day again,

I decided against decking oils. They contain a mix of components, some of which are irrelevant to my job (e.g. UV stabilizers and anti- fungals).

G'day Christos, BLO is high on the list, if I use it I'll probably cut it with a bit of solvent ( turps?), just to get a little more penetration.

SilentC, I have used a lot of poly finishes and find that they often lift and flake and are hard to repair. Maybe I'm using the wrong ones?

My current thinking is around the following options

a. 3:1 BLO:turps mix
pros: have lots of it already, easy to apply and touch up, inexpensive,
Cons: May not be hard enough to protect the ply top from abrasion

b. Burnish the above
pros: very tough finish and more durable
cons: seems a lot of work for shelving

c. A poly finish
pros: easy to apply and with the correct formulation, durable
cons: I'm not a fan of poly, refinishing requires stripping and repairs are often ineffective.

d. Ubeaut Hard Shellac
pros: it's shellac which is a product with a feel and finish I really like but it's also super-tough, made here by a good bloke,
Cons: probably not designed for my application, not sure stray drops of oil and the abrasion of moving things over the surfaces will suit it. A bit over the top for shed shelving.

I'll test a bit of scrap from the ply with BLO/turps mixes and see how it works out.

Cheers

Horaldic

[Christos]

Do post on what you decide on.

[silentC]

SilentC, I have used a lot of poly finishes and find that they often lift and flake and are hard to repair. Maybe I'm using the wrong ones?
If you used a poly floor finish I think you will find that it will out last anything else you're considering by a very long way. Even better you can use 7008, which is two part and hard as nails. It is often used for kitchen and bathroom benches. It would be more than sufficient for shelves in a shed :)

I think hand rubbed finishes look great on furniture, but I would consider them impractical for a utility application. If you like it and can be bothered with the effort, go for it.

Lacquer might be another option for you if you have spray gear.

[Horaldic]

G'day

I ended up using Wattyl 7008 which, as mentioned below, is a two-pack formulation with a high-gloss finish.

The reason I chose this came down to the durability in a difficult environment.

I've used it before but I forgot how horrible the smell is. I set myself up with a very large industrial fan blowing fresh air over me with the large (5ft wide) front door and back windows wide open to maximise airflow, I also wore a respirator but it was still unpleasant.

I got two coats on before coming down with a horrible lurgy that put me in bed for a week. Ideally I would have done four coats. It looks ok but it's not up to my usual standards. Unfortunately, given it's been more than a week I don't think additional coats are possible without sanding right back.

I should probably write to Wattly and see what they say about recoating.

cheers
Horaldic

[silentC]

I think two coats should be enough, that's all I've ever used.