The problem with mixing oil/water varnish and stain 

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I once heard a chemist describe how he blended nitrocellulose with solvents (including a generous amount of alcohol) and shellac. He called his product "Boom Shellac, A Lacquer."

Said it before - will say it again - you are (by a margin) the best teacher of woodwork related topics on RU-vid. Comprehensive - logical - clear. Cheers

Awesome video! I'm just a beginning amateur with no training whatsoever, it's incredible to be finally taught in a concise and accurate manner. Reading instructions on manufacturer's pages was giving me headaches. I can't thank you enough for these "more technical" videos!

Great info! Especially the emphasis on drying vs. curing time.

Good thing is you summarized. Sad thing is about half way through the summary I started to forget the the beginning of the summary. I think rewatching this when I need it is indeed the way to go.

Really fantastic tips, James! Thanks a lot! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Another 5 star tutorial Mr. Hamilton!!!

Best way to start the day in Sydney lockdown! Thank you!

OMG Thank You ! I've been doing a lot of research on these topics & been getting conflicting answers! This clears up so much. Finally a true educational video! Thank you!

Excellent info. Also, Shellac to seal knots, prevent bleed through. Thanks for the video.

I always follow you, and really 7:44 now that I hace some experiene I may say that those very intentioned people make very bad advices in how to male woodworking, specially in those matters related to paint, solvents, finishings and others. I , now, stick to just a few persons like You that use science in your advices and tutorials. Thanks you for your dedication.

I always learn something from each of your videos and blog posts.

I should put this video on a continuous loop at the Woodcraft I work at. It's always amazing to me how many people who have been doing woodworking for years that have no idea of the difference between drying and curing. I've watched people's heads explode when you tell them it may take up to a month or more for that poly coat to cure. Also, so many new finishes that people have forgotten how versatile Shellac is. I know it's not as durable, but one of my favorite finishes is Shellac with a final coat of wax rubbed in with a grey scotchbrite pad, especially for kids toys.

Always get a copy of the mds of whatever chemicals you use. Knowing if something has some real nasty solvents in it you didn't expect, knowing what to use as a thinner, etc. A lot of useful info that will help you work better and safer.

This is the video I've been waiting for. Finishing is the bane of my existence

a very good video. thanks for sharing the video

Amazing amount of useful info James. You have an unnatural gift for repeatedly coming out with a video that directly addresses a subject that I have been pondering and deliberating over! Very spooky 👻 But very much appreciated nonetheless. Thank you.

You saved me! I have been trying to find this information for a while. What an excellent and educational video, you rock, thank you so much!

One of the less-used finishes that weren't mentioned are water-based glazes. I've experimented with these, trying to highlight grain on wood that I've stained, and I like the effect on some species (mostly oak). In those cases, shellac goes between everything. And it dries in an hour or less, which makes it simple to do if you have any concerns about the compatibility of two (other) finishes. When in doubt, shellac it out. oil stain -> shellac -> water-based glaze -> shellac -> poly top coat

Liked, Saved, Shared…GREAT INFO…and…THANKS!!!

A great summary with excellent warnings. A hint I found for use of BLO. A full cure can be sped up a lot by putting the oiled item out in the summer's sun. The warmth and UV kicks off the BLO a lot faster than when inside. Like for thin coatings a single day. Or at most two days with turning to expose all the surfaces. Also for those with sensitive noses you'll find that BLO changes its odor when it kicks off. So that's another clue of when a coat of oil is ready for any further treatment. Tung isn't so easy though.

Thanks stumpy. You're helping a very rusty woodworker. Cheers mate

Another top tip video :) Thank you

Another quality video, really informative and well presented. Keep the great videos coming. Such a brilliant way of learning.

That was very informative, definitely saving this! Thanks

Thanks again, James, for making a complicated topic clear!

You always have it under the sleeve stumpy great tutorial, just can't miss any of your videos no matter what👍💯💯💯

Very very helpful video! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for taking the time to share this

Great info, as usual. I will absolutely use your sanding sealer solution, I've wondered how to do just what you were using as an example (oil stain- water based clear coat) and wouldn't try it on a customers project till I found out. Thanks!

Thanks James, great info and saved for later viewing. Fred. 🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👋👋

Nice breakdown of finishes. Inwill be going back to this, from time to time.

Appreciate this. Thank you

Great video as always. However, there are waterbased finishes that will adhere to cured poly with no scuff sanding. In my country there are several flooring products like this. They do recommend a cross-hatch adhesion test though, to be certain.

More great info, James. Thanks for all you do for this community.

Good video

Very informative and complete. Thank you for all your knowledge

Great video. Thanks

Thanks for the info!

I have nothing to say really, but I appreciate your content, and wish to help with the yt-algorithms.

Very helpful info, Stumpy! Thanks!

Great advice. Love your channel its my favorite.

What an awesome video, it's just "coated" with lost of info. 😂 I will definitely be referring to this one time and again. Keep them coming! Take care and have a good one, Adios! 🖐

Another useful video James...thanks

So much useful info... Definitely saved.

Such a great explanation, thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you

On table tops I often use linseed oil to enhance the grain and poly after for protection, never had a problem

As a wood finisher and a baker, I almost cried watching you use a Pyrex dish for that finish! I get it, but I might strangle someone using my favorite crime brûlée dish( so I get more of the creme than the brûlée) for staining or finishing!

Naptha removes wax really well.

Thanks for the video; I ordered a small project from a Craigslist carpenter, and we specifically agreed on a polyurethane finish multiple times, but last second he slapped Tung oil on it and said it's better and practically forced me to take the item as is... Long story short, I ended up putting water based poly ontop and it took like 3 months+ to cure to the point where it was tolerable in the room, fumes-wise; if I had this basic knowledge earlier I maybe woulda tried oil poly :/

Excellent tutorial!

Test it in an inconspicuous place first, such as a hall closet.

Awesome info...thanks for the video.

Thank you! Informative video as always.

You posted this video at the perfect time for me. Thanks for sharing! What about water based grain filler? I was thinking about using aqua coat to fill my white ash table top but I wanted the final finish to be Oil Based Poly.

My whole life is bonding issues. 😂

Shellac and never look bac.

Great timing on this video~! I'm finishing a walnut project with Danish oil and was wondering if I could/should use a topcoat of some kind and if so, which one? I think I'll just go with multiple applications of the oil since that works well too. Thanks for the info~!!

Some great tips for those trying to up there finishing game. Think being patient in the difference between dry and curred screws allot of projects up. 🙄 Or so I've heard.

I just had a 100 year old dining set stripped because the finish was in bad shape. The wood is very, very dry. Before staining and sealing it, would it be a good idea to do a tung oil, or 50/50 tung oil/orange solvent blend on it? Then do the stain and sealing? Thanks so much. Very helpful video.

Excellent video SN! What about the differences between using de-waxed vs. waxed Shellac? Shellac happens to be my favorite go to finish because it is a purely natural product which holds up very well over time and is easy to reapply. 👍👍😉😉

I was just wondering this very thing the other day.

Lots to take in especially when you've got a memory like mine.

So, what you're saying is that I can actually use an oil based poly over let's say two coats of water based poly, as long as it is fully cured... This is a game changer for me, since a wipe on water based poly it's really easy to apply 🤔

Fantastic stuff. Any thoughts on hard wax finishes like Odie's Oil?

At 9:24 you maybe meant to say “fully cure”. Anyway great video saved for later review. Guess I can throw some Odies oil over the tung oil I used on a box to get a film finish

Thanks James, awesome video. My church wants to refinish 40 year old oak pews. I was wondering what type of product you would recommend using? Thank you.

I learned several useful things. Thumbs up to crush a troll.

Hello, thank you for your video, really good information. I wanted to stain a table, when I applied the wood conditioner, the color that emerged was really nice now I do not want to add the stain. The wood conditioner I used is oil based. Can I apply the water-based poly to it directly or should I use the Shellac you mentioned in your video first?

Parabéns pela explicação ! Admiro muito seus trabalhos !

Thank you. I have been struggling with the question for a couple of weeks. You explained much better than many other web pages and videos that I have watched. But I am still not sure of one thing after seeing your video. If I have something which has been stained with a water-based stain more than a couple of months ago, do I need to do anything special before applying an Oil-based Poly over it? Except some light sanding to create a mechanical bond, that is?

Book on finishing by Bob Flexner is good. Nice vid

Have been working on a bench that has a few engraved panels (those are covered with two coats of linseed oil to make the pine a bit yellow and preserve the texture of the wood). Everything else except those panels is stained with nitro based stain. One of the panels was covered with linseed about two months ago, and the other about a week ago. Now guys at the store and some local guys recommend me to use water base acrylic ower everything. Just the lacquer as there is already a base layer. Should I take their advice. I'm planning to spray it in a 7-10 days. Also wanted to say thanks for the video about kitchen counter tops. As this bench has a top similar to that, that video came quite handy to make it. I'm planning to start spraying polyurethane tomorrow ower that counter top (it was stained with nitro based stain so I got proper poly base and lacquer for it). Hopefully the harder won't fail as I'm keeping it in the fridge until I need it. I'm planning to do 1 layer a day except maby spraying base coat on both sides tomorrow (bottom first and after it dries the top so I can apply next two layers of lacquer to the bottom on Thursday and Friday). This is my first big project, and your videos were quite helpful. Special thanks for the tool safety videos, as I just got my tabesaw. Cheers!

I think I started to soon with water based poly. It's been at least 1 day after the BLO when I started the poly. I got 2 real thin coats and had to stop last night. I walked it to the shop and could still smell the BLO.

THANK YOU, this was SUPER helpful I feel like I really understand this now. I've seen people do this on youtube before and never really understood the logic of what you should or shouldn't layer. My only question is, why would someone want to layer multiple different finishes? I get it for refinishing something old, but if I'm putting together a brand-new piece of furniture, at what point in the project would I look at it and think that I need multiple types of finishes?

I have an antique walnut wood desk I’m finishing. I’ve applied 2 coats of minwax oil stain, may add a 3rd. Next I’m thinking to apply 3 coats of tung oil, 7 parts solvent to 3 parts oil, let that cure, then repeat, cure, the apply a final 6:4 or 5:5 ratio. Finally, after that cures, I’m thinking to apply 3 coats of oil based minwax poly at a 7:3 ration and fine sand between each coat. Do you think this is a good method to get a beautiful finish and durability? Or is this over kill? Or should I just go with one coat of danish oil and call it a day?

Beware any furniture that has been coated with a polish with added silicone ( often added to aerosol spray can furniture polish ) silicone causes any subsequent finish to ‘fish eye.

Tried getting answers on this a few times 😆

So I accidentally bought and applied an oil based finish first, then used the same brush 30 min later; I applied a water based finish to a different part of the instrument. Would that work or would I have to strip the water based finish due to the brush (I used a foam brush unwashed between coats)?

best advice here: save this video. I thought about this & went to go do some sanding, then forgot the bottom line on the way to my lame shop

Great video! Question: if I want to nourish an old wood but also make it smooth, does it make to first use a mix between linseed oil and mineral spirit to penetrate and nourish the wood, and then wait lets say, a month, and use a water based sealer to keep the natural color but filll and seal all the gaps. and then if needed use any extra finish? My objective is to obtain a natural look that's somewhat smooth, not that grainy, do you recommend other way to get that taking into account that the wood now is somewhat dry and has no finish at all (sanded)? Could I maybe only use oil, first very dilluted with mineral spirit, then adding a less dilluted coat and sanding, and so on, so the wood is "filled" by the same oil instead of using a sealer? I have no rush in finishing but the best natural look possible.

I know a 93yr old cabinet maker and he uses a finish of 1/2 BLO and 1/2 denatured alcohol. Is there any benefits with this? And does it protect the wood?

Would I need to apply a dewax shellac over a fully-cured, water-based stain before applying my finish (Waterlox) if it is oil-based?

Do yall think I should use pre stain conditioner on Red Oak before staining?

So I have used danish plus water based poly after 3-5 days.....I haven't had any issues but I know danish is a blended finish.

I’m refinishing a solid oak dining table. I’d like it to have a grayish stain with a whitish grain. It needs to have a very durable finish as it will be our main dining table. I was planning on an oil based stain. I’ve already sanded the table down to bare wood. How can I accomplish this?I was thinking of using liming wax but after watching this I realize this is not a good idea as a polyurethane finish won’t work over the wax. I’d appreciate any help…thanks!

That appears to be an exterior door. I'm curious what you chose to finish that with....maybe a spar varnish?

Great video, but can you touch on topcoat paint? There's been a few times where I've wanted to try this out to protect certain projects for some extra protection. I've recently gotten into tinting my laquer and want to experiment with opaque coloring. But I haven't found a ton of information on this

Any info on how cyanoacrolate and acrylic resin?

what is difference between water based stain and alcohol base stain? Can I put water based polyurethane over alcohol based stain?

I think I missed what grit you recommended for scuffing the old finish.

Awesome tips! Do you include hemp oil in with the tung and linseed oils?

You have covered all types of finishes in great detail and it’s been tremendously helpful, but I don’t believe you have covered and waterborne polys or waterborne lacquers .. look forward to your next video

Several times you emphasized dewaxed shellac. Water base finishes will not adhere to regular shellac, peals off in sheets.

I use CA when I turn pens (and a few other things). Can I use oil/water under that?

Will a penetrating oil still cure after it has been covered with a filmbuilding cover? I think it needs oxygen so isn't it necessary to wait weeks bevor adding poly even if oil based?

If Bees Wax is used as a food-safe finish, what can we use to remove it that won't be problematic? Mineral spirit doesn't seem like a good idea - thought please!!

Great video thanks Stumpy. I oiled a table I made 5 years ago. Since then it has had many applications of furniture wax. I assume I have to de-wax it before anything, but will the de-waxing affect (re-activate) the cured oil finish?