Finishing question with a twist

Hi everyone.

I'm making a kitchen for a customer and the benchtop is river red gum.

I was planning to make the finish organoil hard burnishing oil- as I'm not too keen on having poly on a wet area like a kitchen (poly was their requested finish)

I plan to fill the big holes in the top though (witchety grub holes etc) with clear casting resin and am thinking the oil won't look too good with the resin.

Any suggestions as to what else I could use as a durable finish. I will be doing a seal coat underneath the top too.. 2 pack automotive clear?? The customers are the type to leave stuff on the top and I want the top to be as durable as possible for them.
Thanks!

Dane

Hi Dane!
Poly is for wet area's, like kitchen's, bathroom's , ect
cheer's

There's no real difference between polyurethane and an automotive 2-pac - if anything the automotive coating may be a bit less flexible than the poly so may be more prone to nuisance cracking.

If the clients aren't the type to regularly reapply an oil finish (and it sounds like they aren't), the only other finish I'd go for would be an epoxy. You could use the epoxy to fill the holes, so you'd have no problem with appearance, and three coats of epoxy is certainly not going to let water through.

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Originally Posted by Master Splinter

There's no real difference between polyurethane and an automotive 2-pac

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Just like there is no real difference between a Merc and a Holden? They both have 4 wheels and an engine after all.

Well, if all you are interested in is transport between A and B, both a Merc and a Holden will do the job. One may do it with more prestige, the other with lower maintenance costs, but they are both just four wheels and an engine, at the end of the day.

About the only property difference between poly/automotive that you are likely to see in a domestic kitchen is that a poly designed for wood is going to be able to cope better with any wood movement that happens (and possibly better substrate compatibility).

Other issues - like UV resistance, recoatability, resistance to solvents, heat resistance, hardness, ease of application/recoat time, or even the ability to re-flow and fill small scratches that some of the expensive automotive clears have - are not really going to be all that much of a differentiator in a domestic kitchen.

Thanks for the replies guys. I am expecting a bit of movement. My customer is a miller and has provided me with the timber. It is air dried, and will be ok. But it's not dried for quite as long as it should be. Yeah oiling might not be the best idea. Noone maintains oiled surfaces quite as much as they should anyway:)

Poly it is. Much love

If I can quickly jump in here on this thread, when I did the timber bench tops in my kitchen, I used the burnishing oil on the benches either side of the stove, and they are baltic and kauri pine tops, while on the main bench top, antique oregan pine, where I used Feast Watson's tung oil/poly mix (Floor seal). In terms of durability both have lasted very well albeit, that I do need to sand back and re-seal the bench top around the sink (the one which was sealed with the Tung oil mix). I also sealed the baltic pine vanity top in the bathroom and it has lasted perfectly.

However, in terms of both I would be happy to use them again for such applications. With the benchtops sealed with burnishing oil, all I have ever done is occasionally bees wax polished them and they have remained in excellent condition. I am mindful of not putting hot pots and/or spilling water on them, but then again I wouldn't want to do this with any wooden surface irrespective of the treatment coating.

With the benchtop sealed with the Tung oil mix, water really hasn't been a problem but again I am careful in putting seriously hot pots etc directly onto it. Cutting boards are the solution for that.

Personally I hate poly and will avoid its use as far as possible.

I have Jarah bench tops with Laquer...its looking a tad shabby around the sink area and will soon get a new finish

what ever coating you put on, it will eventually fail, but the polyetc are more durable than the others with a few exception such as two packs etc

Oils however can and do make for easier maintenance except for those that are burnished.

Having a tried a sample of Organoil burnished with sander I am quite pleased with what has come up on that sample...its not as glossy as poly's etc as its in the grain and not on top of it...also it doesnt leave brush strokes etc etc...small contaminants that get onto the top while drying can be brushed off without noticable marks being left

i am also testing a piece of timber with tung oil and its out on the verandah soaking up the weather and occasionally gets wet from the rain...I did this to see if it is more durable than oil as generally tung oil is used for flooring

Nothing is going to stop the white spots/marks left by wet teatowels/dishclothes, wet dishes cups etc, or the white mark left by a warm pan.......
what does help tho if it happens get onto it early....i rub with my hand vegetable oil around and onto the mark...this creates a bit of heat and in most cases they have disappeared...those that were left to long or have been caused by hot pans plates etc are still there

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Originally Posted by Horsecroft88

Personally I hate poly and will avoid its use as far as possible.

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Me too
I have noticed on bench tops that I seen over the yeas that with poly , resins etc , a fine crack or chip can let the water in , and then spreading pale areas appear as the wood and the finish start to part company.
Oil for me.
If the clients neglect it , so be it. They may learn the benefit of re-oiling as time goes by

I changed my mind again anyway. Going with hard burnishing oil after all. The timber's not seasoned enough for poly, and I too have seen too many benchtops with cracking or water spreading underneath...
Thanks again for all the replies

Filling bigger holes with resin with black pigment might look better than clear. Our bluegum benchtops are finished with a sandable spar varnish that I refinish every couple of years. It is so much easier to repair than poly. Just a once over with about 180 grit then a wipe on with the varnish and bingo ! new looking bench tops.

HARD SHELLAC.

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Originally Posted by Big Shed

Just like there is no real difference between a Merc and a Holden? They both have 4 wheels and an engine after all.

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But I'd rather have the merc

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Originally Posted by ubeaut

HARD SHELLAC.

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ubeaut, Have you used Hard Shellac

Is it really as good as the spiel says...for durability etc etc
what about leaving water on it....does it turn white like french polish?

what else do I need to ask.....

not to sure I'd want to use it for bench tops ...not with out seeing it in use only for fear of it not working as well as a poly or oil base finish...

any thing else you might know about the product??

as for filling the holes...ever thought of using shellac colour sticks?

I have no idea where to get them in Aus, but they are available from the US.

I got mine from Mohawk...

They are available in lots of different colours ...

is this site actually a Aus web site...it uses a US dictionary
we spell color with a "U" ....the dictionary picks u colour???

I sourced mine from here some 15 odd years ago...http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/cata...asp?ictNbr=108

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Originally Posted by L R P

But I'd rather have the merc

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Ford for me!!