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Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 11 Jun 2020, 14:25
by 100leelee
Hi
The time has come to protect the newly fitted 15mm birch ply units/worktop.
Seems a shame to paint it, would rather stain and varnish etc
Has anyone done this?
Thinking decent varnish, satin or Matt finish??
Cheers
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 11 Jun 2020, 15:41
by AngeloEvs
I prefer matt or satin. Clear water based varnish such as Ronseal Diamond will not colour the natural colour of the wood, dries within 20 - 30 minutes and you only need soap/water to clean brushes. If you want to stain then you can use virtually any stain varnish but drying time and cleaning will vary depending on the type of varnish.
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 11 Jun 2020, 17:48
by Fugeh
Varnish can yellow up the ply - I'd go for a water based polyurethane personally.
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 11 Jun 2020, 20:57
by Ant-t
I stained mine with a water based stain, I learnt to let them completely dry out before varnishing. I've also gone for a satin finish but have used gloss on the inner kitchen surfaces as its hard wearing and waterproof.
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 11 Jun 2020, 23:03
by Ads1987
Danish oil works well and brings out the grain, then you can periodically polish it up with a good quality beeswax, I made my previous interior out of plywood and used this and was happy with the results.
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 12 Jun 2020, 11:01
by phinw
I'd agree with a water based PU varnish is the most fuss free, ideally 3 coats, de-nibbed between each with fine wire wool or 600 grit paper. The Ronseal Diamond mentioned is a good one.
Osmo hard wax oil is also a good option but it will yellow more over time in a sunny van.
There is some pics of my 15mm birch ply interior on this thread:
https://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic. ... 0&t=165782 done with PU varnish. If you have exposed cut edges like mine make sure you polish them up to a fine grit otherwise they will drink varnish!
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 12 Jun 2020, 13:43
by clift_d
Danish oil is a nice finish for interior joinery, but I'm not sure that I'd class it as being ideal for use in a campervan.
I'd suggest you use something more hard wearing like a decent water based floor lacquer instead - something like
Bona Mega which won't noticeably colour the plywood.
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 19 Jul 2020, 20:59
by mckenzie798
sorry for the late reply, I work with ply alot and have done many "finished" projects recently including the bed and storage unit for a T25 in ply.
I would recommend a starting coat of 1:1:1 of polyurethane varnish, clear wood oil (linseed,ikeas own) and thinners. This mix gives a nice hue with minimal darkening that soaks in well and gives water resistance. The finish is fairly matt and smooth.
If you want a harder, glossier wear resistant finish. It can be finished with a few thin coats of varnish to achieve this.
before and after photos (the wood is still drying, i didn't get a dry shot of just the oil varnish mix dry, the last one is after a few coats of varnish)
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 22 Jul 2020, 13:43
by 100leelee
Looks great!!
Will give it a go...
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 06 Aug 2020, 19:41
by mariner
phinw wrote: ↑12 Jun 2020, 11:01
I'd agree with a water based PU varnish is the most fuss free, ideally 3 coats, de-nibbed between each with fine wire wool or 600 grit paper. The Ronseal Diamond mentioned is a good one.
Osmo hard wax oil is also a good option but it will yellow more over time in a sunny van.
There is some pics of my 15mm birch ply interior on this thread:
https://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic. ... 0&t=165782 done with PU varnish. If you have exposed cut edges like mine make sure you polish them up to a fine grit otherwise they will drink varnish!
Really like the finish you've achieved. Having failed to convince any local chippys to give it a go, and not wanting to pay silly money to the bigger companies, I'm planning on giving it a go myself and you're proving good inspiration.
Low on tools at the moment, was the router for making door/hob openings etc?
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 07 Aug 2020, 18:28
by mckenzie798
So this was for the bed section and I made sure it was all rectangular cuts so that the frame could be glued and pinned. I was using a sliding rail saw that I borrowed from a friend
you can use a hand saw but they are generally long cuts and lead to cutting errors they are 25 pounds a day to hire and I had all my cuts on a cutting list and a cutting diagram ready to go. It took about an hour to cut it all and a few hours to assemble.
If cutting a kitchen unit treat it as a rectangular box and you can have a flip up lid with front cover attached by a set of piano hinges so they all pull up and reveal the cooker in one go. either that or make long rectangular lengths that can be fixed. The rail saw is so accurate it can give cuts of 10mm x 2440 with ease. where about are you located ?
https://www.premierplanthire.co.uk/wood ... plunge-saw
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 07 Aug 2020, 18:52
by mariner
mckenzie798 wrote: ↑07 Aug 2020, 18:28
So this was for the bed section and I made sure it was all rectangular cuts so that the frame could be glued and pinned. I was using a sliding rail saw that I borrowed from a friend
you can use a hand saw but they are generally long cuts and lead to cutting errors they are 25 pounds a day to hire and I had all my cuts on a cutting list and a cutting diagram ready to go. It took about an hour to cut it all and a few hours to assemble.
If cutting a kitchen unit treat it as a rectangular box and you can have a flip up lid with front cover attached by a set of piano hinges so they all pull up and reveal the cooker in one go. either that or make long rectangular lengths that can be fixed. The rail saw is so accurate it can give cuts of 10mm x 2440 with ease. where about are you located ?
https://www.premierplanthire.co.uk/wood ... plunge-saw
Down in Bristol. Van is off for respray in 3/4 weeks so will start stripping it out in the next few weeks - maybe one last trip before I do! Planning to use the original units as a template with a few tweaks. I've removed the old water tank that sat hidden within the current units. It's given me a great bit of extra space but need to work out the best way to access it! Thanks for the link.
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 12 Aug 2020, 14:35
by phinw
mariner wrote: ↑06 Aug 2020, 19:41
phinw wrote: ↑12 Jun 2020, 11:01
I'd agree with a water based PU varnish is the most fuss free, ideally 3 coats, de-nibbed between each with fine wire wool or 600 grit paper. The Ronseal Diamond mentioned is a good one.
Osmo hard wax oil is also a good option but it will yellow more over time in a sunny van.
There is some pics of my 15mm birch ply interior on this thread:
https://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic. ... 0&t=165782 done with PU varnish. If you have exposed cut edges like mine make sure you polish them up to a fine grit otherwise they will drink varnish!
Really like the finish you've achieved. Having failed to convince any local chippys to give it a go, and not wanting to pay silly money to the bigger companies, I'm planning on giving it a go myself and you're proving good inspiration.
Low on tools at the moment, was the router for making door/hob openings etc?
Sorry for slow reply, we've been away in the van! Yes, router for cutouts for hob and the big pockets you can see at the back (for which I used a sink jig, although you can do them square) + rounding cut edges and trimming laminate for the tops. You could probably do it all with a cheap 1/4 router. Clamp it all carefully and keep two hands on the router. They are not a tool to use when you are not paying attention! As mentioned a saw on a rail makes life a lot easier for super straight cuts.
Re: Varnish/stain birch ply
Posted: 23 Aug 2020, 19:07
by mariner
Cheers for this. Current units coming out this week after which I’m kind of committed to giving it a go! Really useful to hear how you got on. Will let you know how it goes once I get fully stuck in!