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I plan on spraying GF Enduro-Var on some beech IKEA butcher block countertops. The GF site says it will add an amber tone which is what i want, but how much amber? I opened up the can and there's a tad bit of amber but not enough to convince me it's going to be significant. I brushed some on and I can't that any amber tone was imparted. It says I can top coat over a fully cured oil finish, but I want to have the finishing done before the weekend so I can install them next week. I don't have that kind of time to wait and I don't want to tempt fate that the Enduro-Var won't stick.
I could add some dye but don't want to overshoot the color. So if you've used Enduro-Var, were you satisfied with how much amber you got? How would you compare it to a 1# cut of dewaxed shellac on the same wood?
Thanks,
Paul
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EnduroVar is intended to mimic the yellowing of traditional finishes. It ambers like a typical oil. Unless you are at a high altitude and it is in direct sun we are talking years. I would be surprised if there was a compatibility problem.
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I have some of both, if I get a chance I'll make a board up later today and try to post a pic (no promises, it is the season to be busy). It's very hard to explain just how much amber it has (at least for me) but I didn't find it excessive, to me it wasn't as amber as a Linseed oil based varnish.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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fredhargis said:
I have some of both, if I get a chance I'll make a board up later today and try to post a pic (no promises, it is the season to be busy). It's very hard to explain just how much amber it has (at least for me) but I didn't find it excessive, to me it wasn't as amber as a Linseed oil based varnish.
Fred, thanks for the offer. I've heard enough so need to make the test board. If it's not as amber as linseed oil based varnish, then it's not amber enough for me. I'm going to start playing with dyes. Thanks, Paul
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That's only my opinion, for what it's worth.The other thing is I don't know how they color the Enduro Var, but my guess is it's with a dye. If that's true, it will act the opposite of an oil finish. Dyes will lighten over time, while oil finishes tend to get darker. At least that's the way it's worked for me.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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EnduroVar continues to get more amber over time unlike a dye. I originally had a bad feeling as I felt it was too amber. The piece was in direct sun at 9500' most of the day and became real amber in about a year. A similar piece not in direct sun (in the basement) did not amber excessively. Do test finishing is very much a matter of personal æsthetics. I've used BLO under EnduroVar without problems, but the amber tone was good for the poplar but would be too much for other woods.
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I've used it on maple and birch plywood as well as cherry, and it gives a nice warmth. You can control how much color to a certain degree by the number of coats applied: I used 3 coats and ended up with good results.
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JR1 has it right. EnduroVar ambers over time, like a traditional oil based varnish. Or at least that is what GF says; personally, I haven't seen it age in the 4 or 5 years I've been using it. It has a very slight amber tint straight out of the can and that's the way it continues to look to my eyes. If you want a deeper amber from the get go I suggest you add whatever Transtint dye to it that gives you the color you want. I've done that with good success to match the color of an existing finish. The top left color swatch in this photo is where I added Transtint to EnduroVar to adjust the color of the dye toner underneath.  And this is the piece. The top is what I replaced. I see this piece from time to time and it hasn't changed color in the two years since I did it.  Be careful what you put EnduroVar over. It's fine over dewaxed shellac, but if you want to put it over anything oil based you should wait at least 4 days or it might not bond properly. It would be better to add dye to the EnduroVar as a way to get the color you want than risk putting it over an oil based product that is not completely dry. John
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John, were any of the other swatches just Enduro-var by itself? Were those just one coat or multiple coats?
When you add tint, do you tint a whole batch and apply it several times (gets darker) or do you tint the first/last coat only and apply the regular Endur-var by itself?
Thanks
Paul
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I think the bottom left swatch was just one coat of EnduroVar, but I can't be sure. The top 1/3 of the board had Transtint Dark Vintage Maple in Amber shellac cut with DNA. I sprayed two coats of this on the dresser top. Then I sprayed 1 toner coat of 10 drops of Transtint Medium Brown in 250 ml EnduroVar Semi Gloss. On top of that I sprayed 3 coats of straight EnduroVar Semi Gloss. That combination is what you see on the top left of the sample board. As I remember, the additional coats of straight EnduroVar did not change the color much at all.
John
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