Best way to finish old barn boards

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Yes, mineral spirits, too. I just like to use the safest possible solutions.

 

[tjbnwi]

Most (I don't, I prefer to be healthy) now adays use hand sanitizer, it's active ingerdient is alcohol in a much lower percentage than most shellac.

Shellac has a proven track record. Safe is in the hands of the user.

Tom

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Ah, yes...I agree to disagree...always wanted to say that...if the wood is very dirty (which I assumed it was) , then I would still go with my proven method - which I mentioned earlier on this thread. However, if the surface is not really that dirty, but just has a bacterial induced oder, then yes, a spit coat of shellac would certainly be a good solution.  Hope this helps.

 

[rizzoa13]

I've got a whole wall of the stuff as an accent wall behind my basement steps. I seriously recommend doing nothing to it. It took years to get that character and there's no improving on it! Let it air out and see how it smells, maybe leave some pieces in the room that the mirror frame will be in and see if you can even smell it.
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[tjbnwi]

Ah, yes...I agree to disagree...always wanted to say that...if the wood is very dirty (which I assumed it was) , then I would still go with my proven method - which I mentioned earlier on this thread. However, if the surface is not really that dirty, but just has a bacterial induced oder, then yes, a spit coat of shellac would certainly be a good solution.  Hope this helps.

Proven by???? Alcohol was used as the a disinfectant long before even Lysol was invented in the 1800’s.

Again, do you know it has bacteria in it causing the odor?

Scrubbing/washing would have also changed the character of the wood. The request was to retain that character.

Tom

 

[Jonhilgen]

Well, I finally got around to making the frame yesterday.  I scrubbed the bejesus out of them with a stuff bristle brush and the boards ended up looking great.  It took off the dirt, but left the character.  It's old heart pine to boot!

Made a doozy of a mistake while running the boards through the table saw, though.  I got carried away with a new idea on how to support the mirror with a piece of 1/4" plywood behind it...

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So I had to get creative:

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Not a bad save, and I only lost an 1 1/2 of mirror width.

Once I had that figured out, I assembled it using pocket screws and epoxy.  Then added a band around the mirror to cover the newly exposed wood side I had I rip the boards to a uniform width.

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Jon

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Nice!

 

[tjbnwi]

Nice save, the jack miter looks very nice.

Tom

 

[Michael Kellough]

Nice project! The wire brush scrub and shellac solution seems effective to me. Mechanically removing the vast majority of the decay and odor producing organisms and residue is nothing to sneeze at (unless you forget to wear a dust mask) and shellac is the time proven blocker of even fire residue odor.

 

[Jonhilgen]

Thanks guys!

I actually used a hard bristle scrubbing brush that I it at lowes in the broom isle (non wire).

Also decided not to use shellac, the bare wood looks too good and the newly exposed heart pine smells awesome.

Jon

 

[tiralie]

Looks fantastic! Love that jack miter.
Tim

 

[Jonhilgen]

Looks fantastic! Love that jack miter.
Tim

Yeah...I meant to do that... Thanks Tim!

Take a look at this end grain!  Unbelievable.

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[overanalyze]

A little late to the party, but I built some tables out of rough sawn oak this year. This wood has been sitting outside for years air drying. It had plenty of dirt and character. The client didn't want them sanded smooth. I used a wire wheel in my grinder to clean them up and then some compressed air. They wanted a little gloss so I hit them with some satin lacquer.

 

[greg mann]

A little late to the party, but I built some tables out of rough sawn oak this year. This wood has been sitting outside for years air drying. It had plenty of dirt and character. The client didn't want them sanded smooth. I used a wire wheel in my grinder to clean them up and then some compressed air. They wanted a little gloss so I hit them with some satin lacquer.

They look very utilitarian. So is the client a pipe-fitter? [poke]