Hi praireboy,
The polyurethane was what gave me the best wear resistance. I also went water based so it doesn't yellow long-term and because of ease of use. I had success with my tests with some minwax product. The current "natural hard oil" seems to scratch fairly easily although it hasnt had its full cure cycle yet.
I am open to a wax though, do you have any product in mind?
I might try it over the weekend.
Thanks,
The polyurethane was what gave me the best wear resistance. I also went water based so it doesn't yellow long-term and because of ease of use. I had success with my tests with some minwax product. The current "natural hard oil" seems to scratch fairly easily although it hasnt had its full cure cycle yet.
I am open to a wax though, do you have any product in mind?
I might try it over the weekend.
Thanks,
Hi Puppet,
I found a lot of literature mentioning that a water based topcoat is no problem just as long as the underlying oil is 100% cured. This is why I am letting it cure over 4 weeks.
I found a lot of literature mentioning that a water based topcoat is no problem just as long as the underlying oil is 100% cured. This is why I am letting it cure over 4 weeks.
I think your idea of non-yellowing is off base ... the oil will do the yellowing (personally, I think on walnut that's not a bad thing) so a 'clear' coat won't matter.
What wear? Will you be dragging these across the floor? As stated, at least with oil/wax touch up is easy; with poly not so much.
Really any wax will work, though the 'hard' stuff is difficult to buff. Iuse any of the beeswax based waxes - often found for use on salad bowls.
I don't plan on beating up the speakers. It will probably be on a desk with very little wear, but the current finish will get scratches with me just passing my finger nails on it (lightly) which was somewhat surprising. The poly finish required me actively trying to scratch it to even leave a mark which is what motivated my decision.
Ill try to get my hands on a wax and see how I like it.
Ill try to get my hands on a wax and see how I like it.
I used multiple coats of Tung oil, buffing with lint free cloth between coats for both pairs of my Speedsters. Like Prairieboy mentioned, I can hit them with another coat of Tung oil at anytime to make them look brand new again.
I’ve had hardwood floors that were only waxed, worked great, just reapplied every year or so depending on wear.
Lacquer finishes are a nice compromise, takes a few coats and is a different animal than urethane finishes, have used that on speakers before.
Lacquer finishes are a nice compromise, takes a few coats and is a different animal than urethane finishes, have used that on speakers before.
Nice thing about lacquer is it's easily touched up. I stand by my statement about water over oil. (been there, done that) I'd never roll the dice on work for a customer or anything I didn't want to "revisit" 😉 Over time the water based finish over oil based will separate (let go) and flake off in spots. Can't be touched up either. You can lay water under any finish. The reverse is not a good plan.
Since water based top coating was your choice, you should have started with that from the beginning. They're a great finish. Hard like a rock but proper steps will insure the success. Aniline die stain or water based stain, water based sealer or shellac then your water based top coat. If you can spray, a conversion varnish would be a good option here. Either that or lacquer would be my choice. Heck, even some of the rattle can lacquers have a nice enough spray nozzle to give a great result on a project this size.
Since water based top coating was your choice, you should have started with that from the beginning. They're a great finish. Hard like a rock but proper steps will insure the success. Aniline die stain or water based stain, water based sealer or shellac then your water based top coat. If you can spray, a conversion varnish would be a good option here. Either that or lacquer would be my choice. Heck, even some of the rattle can lacquers have a nice enough spray nozzle to give a great result on a project this size.
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