I made my wife a floating shelf out of poplar. The wood has a nice light color and we’d like to leave it relatively natural. I’m overwhelmed by the clear coat options and don’t have a lot of experience with natural wood look. Any recommendations? Any help is greatly appreciated!

  • @RagnarokOnline
    12•6 months ago

    This is what I like:

    1. Sand to at least 220
    2. Apply 1x coat of spray shellac and let it sit 30 mins
    3. Gently scuff surface w/ sandpaper and wipe clean
    4. repeat steps 2 & 3 two more times
    5. Apply a wax (paste wax is fine) and burnish in with double-zero steel wool
    6. Let the wax sit a few minutes then wipe it off
    7. repeat steps 5 and 6 until you’ve got the finish you want

    Ends up with a very soft-to-the-touch finish that’s matte and not shiny.

    I did this on a coffee table that gets heavy use and I’ll only probably need to reapply wax once a year. A shelf should need zero maintenance.

    • @[email protected]
      3•6 months ago

      How does it hold up to sweating glasses and spills? A less permanent finish sounds appealing due to ease of touch-up, but we have young kids… Granted, they’re the cause of the need to touch up things with poly.

      • @RagnarokOnline
        2•6 months ago

        Great question: we use coasters religiously on it, so I haven’t found out yet.

        That said, I bet condensation from a glass fogs it up pretty good :( Feels great to the touch, tho.