I have a table that needs to be refinished and have been quoted over £400 to have it done with an Acid Catalyst varnish! Due to this high cost, and the fact that it doesn't appear to be a good coating to tackle on a DIY basis, I have been concidering Polyx Oil, which I have never used before. Can anyone tell me what it is like to use and if there are any problems associated with it.
TIA
Stewart Jones snipped-for-privacy@tiscali.co.uk
We've used it on floors - easy to use and seems to be hardwearing. Darkens the timber more than a clear varnish.
We'll be using it again.
Andrew
Rustins Floor Varnish is an acid cat system. No reason not to use it on a table. I think their "Liquid Plastic" is probably the same, despite the off-putting name. Polyx sounds like snake oil to me. The claims for it on the website don't stack up too well. Water repellant and microporous? Hm, clever stuff then
Isn't Goretex water repellent and microporous?
A
Yes. It repels water but allows water *vapour* through.
MBQ
The message from Stuart Noble contains these words:
They're not mutually exclusive. Water vapour can pass through a film which will happily repel liquid water. Goretex, for example.
Perhaps it's cast from Polyxoil
I'd strongly recommend the Rustins 2 part varnish. Its over 15 years ago I used it -know it wasn't the floor version. Its very thin so no brush marks, quick drying so you are able to build up the finish and then either polish for gloss or use wire wool for matt. It was used on an Ercol table there are now dints in the top and a light brown ring "burn" in the wood (cast iron pan driect from oven) and the surface is still intact with no flakes/chips - you can scrub it and there is no area where the wood darkens so there is no water getting through. Quick search and I'm sure this is the stuff
Perhaps you need to read about it here
MBQ
Perhaps they do wood finishes
Wossit made of this table? There's loads of easy to use DIY excellent finishes available. Danish oil for one. Or if old oak then trad raw linseed oil half n half with turpentine.
cheers Jacob
Except that the also sell "Bar Top", which is very similar but is also heat resistant. A better choice for tables.
Both of these are an excellent choice for tabletops where real use is an issue. They're also quick and easy to apply, just by brush. They're rock hard when dry, which lets you easily sand out or polish the odd hair or dust spot that does make it through.
Both of them need to be applied to bare wood and really don't like any traces of old finish beneath them, including soaked-in oils. You'll have to prepare the surface first with some serious sanding, and it's only really practical on something without loads of carving etc.
On the down-side, the stink like a goat farm in use (it's the type of resin) and for the next hour or two. They're imperceptible with a day, but you will need good ventilation or a proper mask while you're using them
Isn't "Liquid Plastic" the non-Rustins equivalent from the other lot ?
If you want an easier finish that's still acceptable for a table, then try "Patina" from Screwfix. This is a gel polyurethane that you apply by wiping with a cloth, not a brush. _Very_ easy to get good results with, and because it's a gel it leaves a very thin coating that doesn't have the awful poly "Airfix kit" look to it. Two coats is often enough, three starts to develop a shine, four is too many and looks like a brushed poly varnish.
Great finish for hammer handles, but a poor surface quality for furniture. It's OK on some styles, but you'll get a near matt finish and not a particularly hard-wearing one either.
When was linseed oil used as a fine finish for furniture ? Give it 6 months and the stuff will be bright yellow.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Stuart Noble saying something like:
Bollocksoil, more like. Goretex seems to vary a lot, and it's not that good to start withl
Lasting well (5years so far) on our sycamore topped kitchen table and looks nice.
For several hundred years before the advent of french polish
Not old oak - it goes a lovely dark brown and very hard wearing and heat resistant. Good on old mahogany too.
cheers Jacob PS Polyx oil - just realised that thats what the wife bought and with which I am now doing the floor - I hadn't looked at the label beyond Osmo oil or some such. Goes on OK. Darkish so far. Quantities as per web-site info seem adequate. Bloody expensive.
Used it on our 60 year old oak plank floor after sanding a few months ago, and it worked very well.
I've just used it on the balustrading which is a mix of the original oak handrails and newel posts, but new white-oak balusters. Looks lovely.
It is really easy to apply - for the floor I used a large brush attached to a broom handle and for the balustrading a paint brush.
I used the quick drying (4 hours it says, but it is more like 6-8 hours) matt variant and it brought the grain out beautifully.
The floor coating is not especially "tough" in that the wood can still be damaged by things on it - such as dragging a piece of furniture over it - but I suspect that is true of most finishes.
It is easy to clean (can be washed) and can be re-applied wherever necessary if a touch up is needed.
I would want to check its toxicity if the table will be used for dining.
HTH. Tim Hardisty. Please remove HAT before replying by email.
Tim:
Curious about a few things, if you have a mo':
I've just had my white oak floors sanded, but have had to wait nearly a week before beginning to apply the finish, and I'm wondering if a touch-up buffing is needed.
Thanks Jacque
Did our floor with it and it looks OK so far (2 days after!) dark ans shiny after second coat. Rough floor, old pine boards impossible to sand smooth, and very worn out with grain in relief. Quanitiy (as per web site) was just enough down to the last brush stroke, but is an adsorbent surface. New boards would need much less. Just brushed it on - no effort particularly.
cheers Jacob
Thanks for your reply. It's American Cherry
I started with 40, then moved to 80, and finished with a quick once-over using 100 grit - all using a hired floor sander.
No, not at all. It wasn't necessary.
Not hard at all. I used a "proper" floor brush, that fitted to a broom handle, designed for applying the oil - this one in fact (the place I bought both the brush and the oil from BTW) :-
It really was very easy - I dipped the brush into a paint tray filled with the Polyx oil and brushed it into the floor, going over the area several times to work it well in before reloading the brush and moving to a different area. I used a smaller brush to do the edges rather than the more unwieldy floor brush.
I was doing the downstairs hallway, which was about 16m^2 and it took about 45 minutes to do each coat. I did first coat in the morning and the second at the end of the day. It was really really easy!
Well, I left our floor sanded, but very well protected, for about 4 weeks before applying the oil. I didn't do any buffing/re-sanding before hand except where a spilt glass of water had penetrated the polythene defenses and left a slight stain in the bare wood.
But, that said, I was not looking for a 100% A1 "brand-new" look - this is a 70 year old floor in a 70 year old house and I was quite happy for it to look "lived with".
You're very welcome! Tim Hardisty. Please remove HAT before replying by email.
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