what finish should I use???

Hi everyone,new to forums,I am just a back yard wood worker,doing it as a hobby for the past 6/7 yrs.
I am in the process of starting 2 projects...1/ A jewellery box & 2/ is an 8 sided poker table,my query is what finish to use on both projects,IE:wipe on poly,danish oil or some other suggestions. All help & suggestions would be very appreciated.

You are spoilt for choice re finishes. It really depends on what outcome you would like. If new to finishing timber, why don't you just try some products on whatever timber you usually work on. Apply per specification and then decide yourself what you prefer. Often one product wont suite all projects.

For the poker table I would use wipe on poly. The thing for me when using this product is not to flood the rag(pad) you use to apply the finish. I normally apply three very thin coats on the smaller items that I make. You might want to consider more then three thin coats if this is going to be used roughly.

One draw back with the wipe on poly or poly in general is that if you need to refinish you would have to sand it back to bear wood and then apply again.

I'll put my hat in the ring. For both the table and the Jewelry box I suggest Organoil Hard Burnishing oil. It's pretty easy rto use, cures quickly under the friction of a sander and is very resilient to liquid and heat.
You can see my review of it here.

I've used it on a lot of different pieces and I've used a number of oils and this is a winner on both counts.

Regards,

Rob

Hi,

Welcome to the confusing and contradictory world of finishing. We all have our favourites, but as Angela said - it is really what you prefer that counts. Some people love the oils, others love the polyurethanes. Me, I prefer shellac! But I started out restoring and repairing antiques so I could see that the shellac finishes have proven to last hundreds of years.

Here is a box finished with Shellac. It has a satin finish rather than a high gloss because it is only a few coats - you control the gloss level by the number of applications:

Jewellery box in Huon Pine with standard button shellac:

Attachment 378971

So, I agree with Angela. try out some finishes and find which suits you best - you will get a lot of conflicting opinions as to which is best here.

What the forums does best is to give you advice on how to achieve the best once you have chosen your preferred finish. We aren't much good at deciding your preferences for you - we can only tell you our own.

Good luck

David

Thanks Xanthorrhoeas,
I wanted advice on what people thought & used,I have mainly used polyurethane for most of my finishes but thought of trying different products.I am going to use Organoil Danish oil(neutral) & am thinking of Organoil wax paste to top off the finish But will also look at Hard burnishing oil.Appreciate the advise tho,thanks.

Thanks LGS,
Am trying Danish oil but will also look at hard burnishing oil,thanks for the advise.

Thanks Angela,
Every bit of advise helps.I do realise that I am spoilt for choice in the finishing department & a few of the Pro's that i have spoken to at some of the wood shows(Malaney in QlD) have also suggested danish oil &a paste wax to top it off,but thanks for the reply,I will take all on board.

For the card table I'd go with Nitrocellulose. For the box, Kunos Livos.

Kunos is my current absolute favourite.

WOP is OK too, but perhaps bit plasticy (but then again so is nitro, but its so quick and easy).

Danish is excellent and a real joy to use... I've only migrated to Kunos as its sooooo silky under the fingertips. Its like silk.