sandel@milano.UUCP (01/21/86)
I am remodelling my house and have just installed my kitchen cabinets. I had them custom-made from "rift-cut" red oak plywood. They are really beautiful. They are still unfinished, as I have been searching for the right type of finish to apply. I want a clear finish that, if possible, preserves the "pinkish" tint of the oak. Since they are in the kitchen, the finish also needs to be water resistant and should not scratch or mar easily. So far, the best I've been able to come up with is to put a "sanding sealer" on them and then 2 or 3 coats of clear polyurethane. Does anyone have any comments about this type of finish or recommendations as to others? Thanx! -- Charles Sandel @ MCC Software Technology sandel@mcc.arpa sally!im4u!milano!sandel utastro!charles sally!charles
fbr@utastro.UUCP (Frank Ray) (01/22/86)
In article <505@milano.UUCP>, sandel@milano.UUCP writes: > I am remodelling my house and have just installed my kitchen cabinets. > I had them custom-made from "rift-cut" red oak plywood. > ... > I want a clear finish that, if > possible, preserves the "pinkish" tint of the oak. Since they are > in the kitchen, the finish also needs to be water resistant and should > not scratch or mar easily. So far, the best I've been able to come up with > is to put a "sanding sealer" on them and then 2 or 3 coats of clear > polyurethane. > > Does anyone have any comments about this type of finish or recommendations > as to others? Thanx! > > -- > Charles Sandel @ MCC Software Technology > sandel@mcc.arpa sally!im4u!milano!sandel utastro!charles sally!charles Hi, Charles. You have to be sure that the sanding sealer you use is compatible with the polyurethane. You can thin the first coat of polyurethane quite a bit, until it's watery; it will penetrate the oak and raise the grain. Then after it dries, you can sand the fuzz off with about 200 grit paper. The next coats acn go on not as thinned. Finally, if you want to kill the gloss on the last coat, after it's dried thoroughly, you can use 0000 steel wool to buff it lightly. Then you'll have a water-resistant, tough, non-glossy finish. After about 3 careful coats, taking off the fuzz between each, you'll probably be getting to a sound finish. I did a mesquite piece this way, something which is exposed to the weather a lot, and it worked well. fbr