Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top (completed)

Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top (completed) - Printable Version

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RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - Cooler - 05-03-2021

Because it is an antique and that should be respected. A period-correct finish should be applied.

I think that any other finish will diminish its value both aesthetically and financially.

Or leave it alone. Put a doily on it and let it be itself.

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - ilikewoodinsc - 05-03-2021

It lasted over 100 years without finish. Why not clean it up, smooth it out and leave it without finish?

Pine will never look like oak. Embrace the contrast.

TonyC

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - jteneyck - 05-03-2021

(05-03-2021, 07:42 AM)Cooler Wrote: Because it is an antique and that should be respected. A period-correct finish should be applied.

I think that any other finish will diminish its value both aesthetically and financially.

Or leave it alone. Put a doily on it and let it be itself.

The minute you touch it any antique value is gone. Have you looked at the price of used furniture, antique or otherwise? You can't give the stuff away. In any case, the OP wants to use it, not look at it, and shellac is a lousy choice from that perspective. Better to have a table with a durable finish that looks good and is easy to maintain than one with a period correct finish that you have to baby and looks beat up again in a year or two. My two cents.

John

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - Cooler - 05-05-2021

No finish now, but I would venture to bet that there was a finish at one time.

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - Ispock - 05-09-2021

I honesty don't think there was ever a finish on the top. There is a faint remnant of redish-maroon paint along the skirt and legs, which the owner felt was old blood paint - a concoction made from mixing livestock blood, milk, and lime to create a paint like finish - but the top is devoid of any sign of paint or finish whatsoever.

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - jteneyck - 05-10-2021

(05-09-2021, 10:55 AM)Ispock Wrote: I honesty don't think there was ever a finish on the top. There is a faint remnant of redish-maroon paint along the skirt and legs, which the owner felt was old blood paint - a concoction made from mixing livestock blood, milk, and lime to create a paint like finish - but the top is devoid of any sign of paint or finish whatsoever.

I had never heard of blood paint before. No wonder the top was left unpainted.

John

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - Ispock - 05-11-2021

Here's some info I found on the painter's forum:

Quote:The pioneer recipes for milk paint all had two things in common, Milk and lime. When combined they form a natural binding agent that is, in some ways, unmatched by today's modern coatings. Color can be added with any natural substance ( rust, berries etc.) or water soluble dye. The classic red barns are most likely the result of an abundance of milk and the availability of red pigments in the form of rust (iron oxide). Livestock blood was also added to milk to produce blood paint.

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - Ispock - 06-11-2021

Table is done. Obviously some will decry altering it in any way, but it was unusable as it was for our needs. I am thrilled with the result and the color matches our oak furniture in the dining room almost to a T.

After testing on the bottom, my final approach consisted of 1 coat of Zinsser Seal Coat (uncut), 2 coats of General Finishes American Oak gel stain, and 3 coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal, with a light sanding in between coats. I am going to let it cure for a month before putting anything on it.

Thanks for all the great advice and wisdom - I do appreciate it.

[Image: 6YOUoaw.jpg]

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - joe1086 - 06-11-2021

Hey, that turned out great.

RE: Advice needed for finishing an old pine table top - jteneyck - 06-14-2021

I agree. That looks great. Well done.

John