# Modern Cottage



## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

A recently completed interior wood finishing, painting, and floor finishing project.


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## lilpaintchic (Jul 9, 2014)

Nice work!!

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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

Looks like a very cool place.

What products did you use?


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

Yes, a pretty cool place. Photos only represented 20%. of the space, was a lot more to it. Project duration was 10 months with an average daily crew size of 4 on interior. Was pretty much given free run on finish choices, being hired pre-construction as a finish consultant working with the design team. 

Trim paint used was Moore's Satin Impervo c235 (still my favorite). Predominant trim colors were senora gray and DKC-7. 

Drywall finish was Moore's Regal Classic flat in dry locations, eggshell in wet locations. Prep was a high level 5 skim, primed with Moore's 023, the re-primed with alkyd 024. All texture from prime coats was painfully hand block sanded out. Finish coats were cut with a touch of extender and water to aid in leveling utilizing a fine 3/16" nap. The end result was it looked like Formica. Predominant wall color was Donald Kaufman DKC-7. Predominant ceiling color was OC-17 white dove. 

Butternut floors were finished with Bona Naturale commercial matte rolled. The wood was too soft to accept anything else. The 2K commercial matte minimized any compression dents from visually jumping out if and when...

Butternut verticals were bleached with IFP wood bleach 2 x's, neutralized, wet location millwork and cabinetry was sealed with 2# cut de-waxed shellac with 3 coats Emtech Superclear PU w/crosslinker. All surfaces were wooled after cure with 0000 and wool lube. All dry location verticals received a couple of wash coats of de-waxed shellac just to harden the stringy wood fibers associated with Butternut and to impart a bit of color. All were finished with multiple applications of HF Staples paste wax buffed out to 0000. Wax was warmed up to point where it was almost liquified and brush applied with chinex dampened with mineral spirits. 

Walnut countertops and built-in bench seating not pictured received ~6 coats of a beeswax/tung oil mix by Sutherland Welles. Process involved slopping the stuff on, wet on wet, until complete saturation over the course of a day. Walk away from it overnight, re-wet it next day and remove the gummy mess with synthetic pads. Product is Millie's All Purpose Oil. 

Oak cabinetry and accents were bleached, colored with a tung oil dye stain, and finished with a tung oil/resin mixture. All products were by Sutherland Welles. 

There was a lot of back painted glass not pictured. That was coated with a polyamide epoxy provided by Glassprimer.


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## PPD (Mar 19, 2018)

Alchemy Redux said:


> Trim paint used was Moore's Satin Impervo c235 (still my favorite). Predominant trim colors were senora gray and DKC-7.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




WOW!!! This is seriously a work of art- BRAVO! I’m infatuated with every last finish- thanks for sharing all the details  I’m looking to achieve a lot of the same finishes during our own remodel thats just begun & wonder if u might answer a few Q whenever you have a moment? 

Could you tell me what “The 2K commercial matte minimized any compression dents from visually jumping out if and when...” means?

Is the bedroom trim color finished in Senora Gray or the DK? Its a great combo next to the walls!

No adhesion issues using Emtech Superclear over layers of de-waxed, or do u do a fine sand? I’m always worried about mixing after having some issues with a few products (even tho it shouldn’t happen).

Do u use green pads to remove the leftover residual from the walnut tops or is there another type of synthetic pads you prefer? I’ve been trying to talk the Mr into allowing wood countertop in part of the kitchen but he’s not convinced...

Is it the island that you bleached & colored with tung oil dye? Its a beautiful color next to all the bleached butternut!

Wish you lived nearby....I’d love to work with you for our finishes, its so stressful thinking bout all the finish work coming my way n how critical it can get when its your own :-/


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

Thanks PPD. Happy to answer any questions, although I’m only glad I didn’t post any of my weathered gray white oak finishes...

Butternut being only slightly harder than Eastern White Pine, has a tendency to dent, so a guest with heels, a dog with nails, or someone dragging something across the floor might pose a problem. When a dozen or so mock-ups were put to the abuse test, every other finish left highly visible marks, scuffs, scratches, and dents. The commercial matte, when used in conjunction with the manufacturer’s specified sealer, left noticeable marks too. By eliminating the sealer, it worked like a charm, dents in the wood/finish not being that obvious to the eye. I would not use the finish on anything other than a light colored natural floor because it has a tendency to develops WLS aka white line syndrome at joints. WLS is where the finish stretches rather than breaks forming white lines due to seasonal movement. Conversation varnish probably would have been the best option but VOC regulations in my county don’t permit the use of CV for floor finishing. 

Shellac as you probably know, can pose problems when used in conjunction with WB finishes due to high pH associated with WB clears. Shellac is intolerant to alkalinity and the acetic acid in denatured alcohol somewhat counters this. The pH of the SuperClear is lower than most of the WB clears that floor finishers use over shellac, so it posed no problems. The SuperClear is self sealing, so I only used the shellac to impart a bit of color and to minimize grain raise. As long as the shellac is fresh, and applied thinly with a 2# cut similar to Sealcoat, it will be fine, and yes, the sealer was sanded w/#320. I performed ASTM adhesion tests with zero failure, taking high tack blue tape, pressing it into the finish with an eraser, taking a razor blade creating a cross hatch in the finish and into the wood, yanking the tape off. All finish remained in tact. I also performed standing water tests after one week, and although it did fail, allowing water to pass through the finish, it fully recovered. The shellac didn’t blush/turn white and the film was fine. I tried the test again, waiting 4 weeks, and it passed beautifully. Target Coatings/Emtech also has a WB shellac which is slightly amber and can be used with the SuperClear. I haven’t tried it though. All of the finishes were hand applied, otherwise I probably would have opted for a 2K finish if spraying were an option. 

The Millie’s Tung Oil/Beeswax is a beautiful product. It’s something that “can’t be messed up. I’ve even used it on exotic flooring on an occasion or two. The 3-M green pads are good for the initial de-gunking. I use the gray ultra-fine 3-M pads or bronze wool for final polish when using the Millie’s. I’ve done quite a few kitchen countertops over the years with the product, and as long as they receive a periodic maintenance coating, the finish is fine. Most of the high end live-edge walnut tabletops are finished in a similar fashion. 

The Señora Gray is the trim color. The DKC-7 putty color is very chameleon-like, transitioning from a greenish gray to a bluish gray based on changes in lighting. I personally thought the DK color was a bit too green. I think we tried Moore’s Gray Owl OC-52, which read less green. 

Yes, the island color was bleached 1x just to kill the pink undertones and to minimize the figure repetition on the slip-matched veneers, with a pre-mix tung oil aniline dye for color. Don’t believe everything you’ve read about oil anilines and UV colorfastness or lack there of.. 

I’m out on the east coast but feel free to hit me up with any questions you might have, and best of luck with your project. FYI, I’m my own worst critic when it comes to my own work...


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## PPD (Mar 19, 2018)

Ahhh gotcha- I’ve not seen butternut in our area, wonder if its an eastern tree? We’ll prolly be doing high grade white oak n I’m hoping to leave it natural if the shipment doesn’t arrive to pink. 

I love the beauty that comes along w/ living finishes (un-lacquered brass, marble, & natural wood) so am prepared for scratches, dings, and dents but we both work in rough & tumble fields n have animals so I’d like to give it an advantage & try to avoid ‘too much’ patina (its a fine line ya know?) ;p

Looked the DK color up in my book after your post but I haven’t used it...good to know the undertone is so finicky. Our space is open concept w/ West, East, and Northern light sources so it would pull blue & green in different areas, which would drive me crazy. 

Thinking I may have to tone each side differently depending on how the light mixture works out after the support wall is down...but have fingers crossed I can find a single color fix.

I’d not heard of the sutherland welles products before. Just spent some time looking @ the site & going over the data sheets...it all seems very well formulated! Have you used any of their hard coats?

If I remember correctly, you added cross link additive to your Superclear as well ya? I’d imagine that would help any potential adhesion issues like over application or if cuts slightly off?

Thanx for sharing the test results...thats exactly what I woulda gone through before applying so u saved me some serious time  I’m amazed there wasn’t any blushing when it failed! 

Realistically, we won’t be patient enough to give it 4 wks before normal life resumes but good to know it’ll be cured to such a tough film by then! I have no reservations about it....now to convince the Mr with your test results haha. 

I’d love to see the weathered gray white oak finishes! Are you not thrilled with the result?


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

PPD said:


> Ahhh gotcha- I’ve not seen butternut in our area, wonder if its an eastern tree? We’ll prolly be doing high grade white oak n I’m hoping to leave it natural if the shipment doesn’t arrive to pink.
> 
> I love the beauty that comes along w/ living finishes (un-lacquered brass, marble, & natural wood) so am prepared for scratches, dings, and dents but we both work in rough & tumble fields n have animals so I’d like to give it an advantage & try to avoid ‘too much’ patina (its a fine line ya know?) ;p
> 
> ...


SWelles hard finishes, IMO, are only good when used over darker colors due to ambering. I’ve used tons of their finishes over the past 20 years, and have worked with founder and wood finishing guru, Frank Welles on a couple of award winning/publication projects. SWelles has more of a dedicated cult following including some top names in the interior design/architecture industry. With their finishes, it’s either you get it, or don’t get it kinda thing. They are minimalist finishes. A good example of the hard finish look can be found on a stock image photo licensing site, Alamy, under Gibson Farm House. I had used hard finishes on every surface there. I can’t post pics of that project due to a confidentiality agreement. 

Did use cross linker for the Emtech. There is also a retarder for brushed applications. If you decide to go the Target Coatings route, best to check w/Jeff Weiss @ Target to see which product would befit your project. Just finished up a 5 month interior bleached/weathered gray white oak project with the Emtech 9000 flat in a brushed application. Their flat is not flat, probably having a 10+% sheen level. Was very happy with the product. 

Yeah, that DK color has a mind of its own, reading different colors in different planes. I have 4 variations of putty colors in my house including the DK color to account for different natural lighting conditions. 

The butternut is a north eastern species....Butternut Valley, NY...it's a relative cousin to black walnut w/identical figuring....aka white walnut

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. Good luck with the project!


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## ScottsPainting (Jan 21, 2018)

Nice!


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