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Home > FinishingHow to choose the right finish, Part 2In this article we'll be looking at just one of the qualities thatgoes into choosing a finish: Appearance. When deciding on a finish for it's appearance there are three basic questions to ask yourself: 1) Will this finish build up on the piece? 2) How Transparent do I need the finish to be? 3) Will the finish add any color to the wood? Finish build up: If you want a finish to build up on wood you must us a film finish. For our discussion here, we'll only be looking at finish that can be applied by hand (not sprayed on). With that in mind our choices would include: Shellac, brush on lacquer, varnish and water base. Oils don't cure hard so they have to be applied in very thin coats (with the excess wiped away) which doesn't allow them to build up on a surface. Transparency: This is probably most important when you're dealing with a light colored wood such as maple. De-waxed shellac, lacquer, and alkyd varnish (if the can simply says "Varnish", it's probably is made up of alkyd resins), are the most transparent finishes. Natural shellac, oil-based polyurethane and water base are the least transparent finishes. Color: Finishes that contain oil (including varnish) will yellow with age. This can be desirable on darker woods adding "warmth" to the look of the wood. However, on light colored woods it may be undesirable. Wax and water base finishes add very little "warmth" to wood. Lacquer and clear/blond shellac add a small amount of yellowing but not to the degree of oil based finishes. Garnett and button shellac (or lac) colors add a deep orange/brown color that is nice on darker woods and can give an antique appearance. Orange shellac colors the wood purple. Just kidding. The orange color of orange shellac adds a lot of "warmth" to wood, especially kiln dried walnut. In Part 3, we'll look at protection & durability of finishes. Craig Stevens Woodworkers Resource |
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