Best process to finish and treat elm timber

[Ratman]

All waxed up, legs on, and screwed to the wall. Pretty happy with it although the piece of wood itself is a bit warped which is slight annoying, all part of the rustic charm though I guess 
 
 

Nice slab Steve! And if it wasnt dry before it will be soon enough above that radiator! [emoji6]

[Ian C]

Good job that wall is there, a table is supposed to have four legs! Doh

[spudulike]

Always think Elm has one of the best grains about. Nice job!

[Steve Bullman]

First coat of oil down on the coffee table 

 

 

[MattyF]

Very nice , what grit did you finish on Steve?

[Steve Bullman]

20 minutes ago, MattyF said:

Very nice , what grit did you finish on Steve?

300. There’s a couple bits I’m not 100% happy with though. Considering sanding more tomorrow. 

[Mr. Squirrel]

I’ve always found going too fine with the sanding has, in my opinion, a negative effect on the finish. It depends what you’re looking for though. I’ve chased a ‘perfect’ finish up to 600 but then it’s hard a really polished look, which I’ve not actually liked 😂

Stopping at 240 seems optimal to me. I tried various oils and waxes before using Osmo top oil which is spot on. Our coffee table is finished with that and it’s so hard wearing and easy to clean. Brings out the grain just enough without darkening too much either. 
Cracks I fill in using epoxy mixed with really finely ground coffee. It seems a subtle option which doesn’t try to hide the fact there are imperfections, but doesn’t scream about them either. 
 

Edit: realise now you don’t need/want any further recommend on finishing as you’re pretty well done with it! Looks good!
 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Mr. Squirrel

[sime42]

I’ve always found going too fine with the sanding has, in my opinion, a negative effect on the finish. It depends what you’re looking for though. I’ve chased a ‘perfect’ finish up to 600 but then it’s hard a really polished look, which I’ve not actually liked [emoji23]
Stopping at 240 seems optimal to me. I tried various oils and waxes before using Osmo top oil which is spot on. Our coffee table is finished with that and it’s so hard wearing and easy to clean. Brings out the grain just enough without darkening too much either. 
Cracks I fill in using epoxy mixed with really finely ground coffee. It seems a subtle option which doesn’t try to hide the fact there are imperfections, but doesn’t scream about them either. 
 
Edit: realise now you don’t need/want any further recommend on finishing as you’re pretty well done with it! Looks good!
 

Interesting idea to use coffee as a filler. Never come across that before. Do you use it just for the dark colour, (it certainly looks good), or is there some other benefit as well?

[Mr. Squirrel]

1 hour ago, sime42 said:

5 hours ago, Mr. Squirrel said:

I’ve always found going too fine with the sanding has, in my opinion, a negative effect on the finish. It depends what you’re looking for though. I’ve chased a ‘perfect’ finish up to 600 but then it’s hard a really polished look, which I’ve not actually liked
Stopping at 240 seems optimal to me. I tried various oils and waxes before using Osmo top oil which is spot on. Our coffee table is finished with that and it’s so hard wearing and easy to clean. Brings out the grain just enough without darkening too much either. 
Cracks I fill in using epoxy mixed with really finely ground coffee. It seems a subtle option which doesn’t try to hide the fact there are imperfections, but doesn’t scream about them either. 
 
Edit: realise now you don’t need/want any further recommend on finishing as you’re pretty well done with it! Looks good!
 

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Interesting idea to use coffee as a filler. Never come across that before. Do you use it just for the dark colour, (it certainly looks good), or is there some other benefit as well?

Aye it's all about aesthetics really. Personally I really don't like the look of resins with dye/sparkle in them. The coffee soaks up but also stains the resin, so the resin doesn't stand out. It sands down really nicely and for a natural looking texture/finish and is spot on for what I look for in a bit of furniture. Tried it out years ago on a bit of cherry which would otherwise have been for the log pile and loved it. Been doing it ever since. Not wildly different to using some sanding dust mixed with glue, but sometimes trying to hide obvious flaws just makes them look 10x worse. 

Use the finest ground coffee you can find, espresso spec as a minimum. I went to a friendly wee coffee shop and asked for any old unusable beans ground as fine as humanly possible. Work fast 🤙

[sime42]

Aye it's all about aesthetics really. Personally I really don't like the look of resins with dye/sparkle in them. The coffee soaks up but also stains the resin, so the resin doesn't stand out. It sands down really nicely and for a natural looking texture/finish and is spot on for what I look for in a bit of furniture. Tried it out years ago on a bit of cherry which would otherwise have been for the log pile and loved it. Been doing it ever since. Not wildly different to using some sanding dust mixed with glue, but sometimes trying to hide obvious flaws just makes them look 10x worse. 
Use the finest ground coffee you can find, espresso spec as a minimum. I went to a friendly wee coffee shop and asked for any old unusable beans ground as fine as humanly possible. Work fast 🤙

Thanks. I'll give it a try sometime. I know what you mean about artificial looking resin filled cracks.
Useful stuff coffee grounds. I was in Crete a couple years ago and in one restaurant they were smoldering coffee powder to ward off mosquitoes. It seemed to work a treat. Didn't smell nice though.