I finally put the last coat of finish on the table this weekend! Now all that remains is to get the table to my daughter's house in Jacksonville, FL. All things considered, I am very happy with the final result. I don't think I want to build another BIG project anytime soon (or ever, I am getting too old to manhandle large projects).
I delivered the table to Jacksonville, FL this weekend. Despite having to drive through torrential rain (with the tailgate down!), I managed to wrap it well enough to keep it dry. I am delighted to say it is delivered, set up, and we even had dinner on it...and they lived happily ever after! THE END
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The finish schedule is a bit different than I typically use. Since the table was made for my daughter, I told her to find a finish she liked. While she was making her decision, I sanded the table to 220 and used a Timbermate slurry as a grain filler and sanded again to 220. As it turns out, the schedule she chose used a grain filler mixed with stain. So, in addition to the Timbermate filler the schedule is a follows:
1) 2 parts Old Masters grain filler to one part Weathered Oak Stain (Minwax), applied with a brush, allowed to sit for 20 minutes and excess wiped off and dried for 24 hours.
2) A second coat of stain applied, allowed to sit for 20 minutes and excess removed.
3) After 24 hours of drying, I began applying wipe-on poly (Minwax). The first two coats were gloss, all subsequent coats were satin finish. In total the top has 8 coats, the other parts received six coats.
4) I sanded after every second coat with a 1000 grit sanding pad and a Festool finish sander. ( I really like this approach, it does a great job of removing nibs but you don't worry about sanding through the finish.)
Not sure what I will be building next, but it will be a smaller project!
I delivered the table to Jacksonville, FL this weekend. Despite having to drive through torrential rain (with the tailgate down!), I managed to wrap it well enough to keep it dry. I am delighted to say it is delivered, set up, and we even had dinner on it...and they lived happily ever after! THE END
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The finish schedule is a bit different than I typically use. Since the table was made for my daughter, I told her to find a finish she liked. While she was making her decision, I sanded the table to 220 and used a Timbermate slurry as a grain filler and sanded again to 220. As it turns out, the schedule she chose used a grain filler mixed with stain. So, in addition to the Timbermate filler the schedule is a follows:
1) 2 parts Old Masters grain filler to one part Weathered Oak Stain (Minwax), applied with a brush, allowed to sit for 20 minutes and excess wiped off and dried for 24 hours.
2) A second coat of stain applied, allowed to sit for 20 minutes and excess removed.
3) After 24 hours of drying, I began applying wipe-on poly (Minwax). The first two coats were gloss, all subsequent coats were satin finish. In total the top has 8 coats, the other parts received six coats.
4) I sanded after every second coat with a 1000 grit sanding pad and a Festool finish sander. ( I really like this approach, it does a great job of removing nibs but you don't worry about sanding through the finish.)
Not sure what I will be building next, but it will be a smaller project!
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