FB

Unforeseen challenges while finishing a table

Blog by Canadian Woodworking
Come Together

When I left you last week, I was wrestling with the idea of applying a finish to this coffee table.

The designer I’m working for wanted black Rubio Precolour Easy stain followed by a topcoat of Rubio Charcoal Oil to protect the surface. Her main goal was to create a black table with a low-sheen look.

A nice table, quickly

Before I tell you about how the finish process went, I should let you know I was working towards a Thanksgiving deadline. I got this job partially because I could produce the table in about two weeks’ time. Not super tight, but far from a relaxed timeline, especially when working with unique material like these very rough, worn boards that had spent their entire life outdoors in the elements.

The stain

I was familiar with Rubio stain, though I knew there were many factors that were working against me on this project. I had wood that had a lot (and I mean A LOT) of texture and age on it. It had cavities, cracks and depressions that were well over 1/4″ deep. The wood was also partially rotten in some places. On top of all that, this was softwood to begin with, which makes the wood even more like a sponge.

I went to my local retailer and chatted with them about how much stain I’d need. A table this size, with standard dressed wood, would typically need only one 100 ml bottle, but with all that was going against me, I bought three bottles.

Back at the shop, I began seriously considering how I was going to apply this stain, as it needed to be worked into all the deep areas, not to mention all the soft, punky grain. I decided on a regular 2″ wide paint brush, as it was stiff enough to press the finish into all the low areas. I tried some on an offcut, and things worked well. The result was a midnight black look, though the wood sure did soak up the stain.

No time like the present. I turned my attention to one of the four planks that make up the coffee tabletop. Starting with the edges, then working from one end to the other, I slowly (almost painfully) applied the stain to the plank. The end grain sucked up the stain. The side grain sucked up the stain. The face grain sucked up the stain. I was going through the stain incredibly fast. Not to worry, as the look the designer was after was coming to life and my local supplier, with a large shelf full of material, was only 10 minutes away.

I proceeded to stain one top board and the base, before regrouping. At this stage I was well into the final bottle, and it was almost dinner time, so I thought I’d stop for the day.

More unknowns

The following day started out with a trip to my supplier to grab more stain. I figured I needed about 300 ml more, though I would be smart and grab a fourth bottle, just in case. Much to my surprise, my supplier had only one more bottle of the stain I needed. They must have had 200 small bottles of product, but with so many colour options that meant they only had four bottles of each colour.

I hadn’t really considered this situation happening. Surely, someone else in town would have some. Nope, none to be had. I was going to have to consider driving to Oshawa, or possibly farther, if none of these places could ship it to me the next day.

A quick internet search revealed the nearest retailers were in Toronto, though the first place I contacted was closed for the day. The second place I called said they stock Rubio products, but they didn’t have any of the black stain I needed, nor did any of their other outlets. The third place I called, also in the Toronto area, didn’t have any either.

What do you mean, you don’t have any?

At this point I was starting to get pretty nervous. It never crossed my mind that obtaining more of this stain was going to be a challenge. I was sure I could get some somewhere, but my main challenge was timing, as I had a deadline looming. Doing the math on stain dry times, topcoat dry times, final assembly and delivery, I had about two days to spare, tops.

A few more calls revealed nothing positive, so I started to look at retailers much farther: Ottawa. I could drive there and back in a day, though I was hoping for a quick shipping option, rather than spending an entire workday driving. A supplier in Ottawa had what I was looking for and they even said it would very likely ship to me next day. Phew, the search was over. I had two extra days, so this could still work out.

The next day came and went with no packages. Even the tracking number showed the package was ready to ship, but it wasn’t in transit yet. I called them first thing the next day to see if it was going to arrive that day. They said they had a slight glitch with their shipper, but they assured me it had gone out for delivery late the previous night and should arrive today.

Finally

The stain arrived about midday the following day and I immediately headed to the shop to apply it. Thankfully, it was exactly what I wanted and over the next few hours I applied it to the rest of the top boards and left them alone to dry for 12 hours. The staining portion of the table was now complete. As a bonus, since I didn’t want to risk not having enough, I ordered a full litre and now had about 600 ml left over.

What’s next?

The stain was giving me so many troubles I didn’t put much thought into the next step: the topcoat. I was fearing this stage because of the heavy texture on the boards. Rubio oil is usually applied with a card and scraped over the surface or pad and worked into the surface, leaving only a thin layer of the product on the wood to cure. This was going to be impossible with this wood, as depressions of well over 1/4″ would allow a huge amount of the finish to pool. Not only would I end up using a massive amount of finish, but these deep pools of finish would likely never dry properly. I hemmed and hawed for about an hour, considering my options. The main challenge was that the designer I was working for was very keen on using Rubio oil, as it would leave a very low sheen, match the rest of the furniture in the client’s cottage and provide the exact look she was after.

I just knew in my heart that this Rubio product wasn’t the right choice for this project. I chatted with her on the phone and I pitched what I thought would be a much better plan; spray on an ultra-low matte water-based product to offer some protection, yet not much gloss to the table. Thankfully, she was receptive.

Immediately, I contacted my local supplier for a litre of finish. Thankfully, they had some in stock, and even though they were closing in five minutes, and it was going to take 10 minutes for me to get there, they took a credit card number and left the jug of finish outside for me to pick up. Things were starting to come together.

The following day, once the stain was dry, I sprayed on two coats of the topcoat. All was good. The sheen was low, the build was minimal and the water-based finish would only take an hour or two to dry. Once the two coats were on, I glued the boards to the sub-top, screwing them down from below, and left them to dry overnight. The next day, I delivered the table to the new owners in Lindsay with one day to spare. No need to mention the fact that this table almost didn’t make it in time.

This Thanksgiving I have just a little bit extra to be thankful for.

Soaking It Up

This soft, partially rotten wood soaked up a massive amount of stain. The end result was a very bold, even black, exactly what the designer wanted, so it was worth the trouble.

Soaking It Up

Come Together

The boards all have had a finish applied to them and are now being glued and screwed to the sub-top. A few clamps keep the boards flat on the sub-top until the glue cures. Although it’s hard to tell, the base of the table is underneath the top boards here.

Come Together

End Grain Details

Keeping a natural look to the freshly cut end grain was the hardest part of this project. I take that back…finding and applying the finish was the hardest part.

End Grain Details
Published:
Last modified: October 10, 2024

Rob Brown - [email protected]

Rob is a studio furniture maker and the editor at Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement. Instagram at @RobBrownTeaches

5 Comments

  1. Advertisement


  2. It is definitely a different piece and looks like it should belong in a cabin. It is very rustic and I really do like the finish & look!

  3. Hi Rob, I am long time subscriber, and even worked the booth at the wood shows for the previous publisher. I have always loved the magazine! But I don’t recall ever commenting in the past. That table top does look fantastic, and I felt the anxiety of trying to find more stain and meeting the deadline just reading the story. Your work is always inspiring. As I was contemplating the possibility of making this table top, the only thing I could hear was the voice of my wife in the back of my head. “No, you would never be able to keep the food crumbs and dirt out of the deep cracks. So not in my kitchen!” Can’t clean it, can’t eat on it. Food safety rules apply. Wondering what discussions took place about this between yourself and the designer, or was this simply overlooked. Or maybe the table has another purpose? Library table? Computer table?

  4. Interesting project! In the pictures it seem like the wood is charred; very striking.
    How did you go about “weathering ” the fresh cut end grain of the boards?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Username: Password:
Clicky