Advice on wood finish please...

Please post pics when you get it finished - nixie clocks are waaaaay coooool (neato, groooovy,spanky,cat's pajamas - bee's knees, Arch).

Since all finishes can be manipulated to a non-gloss, I'd recommend you instead choose one which compliments your wood selection. Oils and varnish will darken the tone of the wood somewhat. Blonde Shellac and lacquer will maintain the "truest" wood color.

Apply several coats of finish, wait the appropriate time to allow the finish to cure and then use steel wool or fine sand paper (800-ish) to cut the finish sheen but not so much that you get down to the bare wood.

I'm doing this process with lacquer on several pieces but in the end I plan on buffing the shine back up to high gloss. In this process the finish has a beautiful smooth dull sheen.

You might consider what's commonly called the "Sam Maloof" (the famous woodworker) finish to give you that look. There are all kinds of modifications to his mixture but, basically it is composed of the following....

1) An oil (or two) such as Boiled Linseed and/or Pure Tung, etc. which will dry/cure and protect the material. These will, to varying degrees, darken and maybe yellow the wood but you can get some great depth to the colors and patterns to the wood this way.

2) A thinner such as mineral spirits/paint thinner, etc that is compatible with "3)" below. The thinner... A) Allows the oils above to penetrate deeper into the wood B) Makes the finish dry quicker C) Lets you hand rub the finish easier

3) A film finish such as polyurethane (oil based of course). With enough thinner and oil, the film build is very slight with each application. This protects the wood and gives you the level of shine that you desire just by how many coats you apply. 2 to 3 coats will give you a nice matte finish depending on wood used, etc.

For a simple, one step mixture, mix the above ingredients in equal parts. To have a little more control, start by mixing more thinner and oil compared to the film finish. Coat a few times and then go to the equal mixture for a few more coats.

What you do is just rub this mixture into the wood and let sit for around

10-15 minutes. Once the finish becomes (or just before if you can time it right) tacky, wipe it off the surface. Don't let it dry that way. Do this several times with just very light and fine sanding between coats. The more you coat it, the more it becomes glossy. It won't get real glossy like in a gloss lacquer application but that's not what you're wanting, right?

This is often what's called an "in the wood" type of finish. Looks quite good without being plastic-looking. For added protection, buff very very lightly with carnauba wax and some clear oil (mineral oil here in the USA). Do too much buffing and you'll get more gloss so watch out.

You can buy a commercially made "Sam Maloof finish" from various places and that's fine but I prefer to make my own. Like I said above, there's all kinds of variations in each of the parts. Do an internet search on Maloof Finish and you'll get tons of them.

- Andrew