Finishing London Plane

What is the best finish for London Plane wood? Find it out here, a great woodworking resource showing tests for many different finishes.

A set of 10 consecutive veneer sheets (from “1” to “10”) were employed, each split into two samples (“A” and “B”); therefore, all samples ending with “A” are just consecutive layers of the initial log and start from very similar PZC values; the same applies for samples “B”.

We tested these finishes:
Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO)
Blonde Dewaxed Shellac “Light” (1 part in 13 parts of Alcohol)
Blonde Dewaxed Shellac “Medium” (2 parts in 13 parts of Alcohol)
Blonde Dewaxed Shellac “Dense” (4 part in 13 parts of Alcohol)
Light dark brown dye (1 part out of 10, the remainder is Alcohol), followed by Medium Shellac.
Medium dark brown dye (1 part out of 5, the remainder is Alcohol), followed by Medium Shellac.
Dense dark brown dye (1 part out of 2, the remainder is Alcohol), followed by Medium Shellac.
Furniture restoring oil
Transparent epoxy resin
Nitrocellulose lacquer (NCL)
VELECA Nitrolux
Rubio Monocoat

It was concluded that:
1) chatoyance remains quite low with clear finishes
2) chatoyance can be increased using dyes (darkening the surface)
3) sanding this veneer (even at high grit) had a negative effect on chatoyance

Tables below summarize the results:

Pictures below show the results on as-received surfaces:

As received + 3 BLO coats – PZC = 14.1
As received + 3 Medium Shellac coats – PZC = 18.2
As received + 1:10 dark brown dye, then 2 Medium Shellac coats – PZC = 23.7
As received + 1:5 dark brown dye, then 2 Medium Shellac coats – PZC = 25.8
As received + 1:2 dark brown dye, then 2 Medium Shellac coats – PZC = 24.6
As received + 2 Furniture restoring oil coats – PZC = 16.6
As received + Epoxy – PZC = 11.2
As received + 2 Nitrocellulose Lacquer (spray) coats – PZC = 16.8
As received + 1 Nitrolux coat – PZC = 15.5
As received + 1 Rubio coat – PZC = 10.8

Pictures below show the results on fine-sanded surfaces:

1500-grit sanding + 3 BLO coats – PZC = 13.4
1500-grit sanding + 3 Medium Shellac coats – PZC = 16.9
1500-grit sanding + 1:10 dark brown dye, then 2 Medium Shellac coats – PZC = 21.2
1500-grit sanding + 1:5 dark brown dye, then 2 Medium Shellac coats – PZC = 22.2
1500-grit sanding + 1:2 dark brown dye, then 2 Medium Shellac coats – PZC = 20
1500-grit sanding + 2 Furniture restoring oil coats – PZC = 14.9
1500-grit sanding + Epoxy – PZC = 15.2
1500-grit sanding + 2 Nitrocellulose Lacquer (spray) coats – PZC = 17.3
As received + 1 Nitrolux coat – PZC = 16.6
As received + 1 Rubio Monocoat coat – PZC = 10.6

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