Re: Tru oil over Howards restore a finish ?
To answer your question it is helpful to know what is in there. According to the Howard MSDS, Restor a Finish contains a wide variety of different chemicals used as solvents, including heavy paraffinic and light paraffinic distillates (maybe kerosene, or something closely related. Those terms cover a lot of territory), isopropyl alcohol, xylene, acetone, and butanone (aka methyl ethyl ketone). What all of these chemicals have in common is that they act as solvents for different finishes. Seems to me that, since this product is designed to work on any sort of finish it encounters, lacquer, varnish, whatever, they just use the shotgun approach. No matter what you have, one of those solvents will work to soften the finish’s. It also contains asphaltum, a petroleum-derived dark brown pigment. So the action of the product seems to be as follows: break down and soften the existing finish (the abrasive action of the steel wool the directions call for as an applicator would speed this along), then after softening kind of spread it around for re-distribution so as to create a more consistent look, then deposit the asphaltum in bare spots like water rings on your coffee table and such. The asphaltum concentration probably varies according to which type you buy (Oak less, walnut more, and do on).
But notice that nowhere in the ingredients is there any actual finish! Some sort of resin would be there if there was, or an oil. Nothing of the sort. So it is not, strictly speaking, a finish. It just uses the finish you already have. And coloring.
The general rule in finishing is “fat over lean”. That makes Tru Oil quite compatible with a great many finishes. It is very “fatty”. It consists of boiled linseed oil, other proprietary oils, solvents, and dryers. Easy to use, difficult to screw up, cures rock hard, and end results are quite nice when you follow the instruction, which aren’t that demanding. Letting it dry enough between coats is important. Not only can you use it in your case, I think the results could look great!
Last edited by multidon; Sep-06-2018 at 7:38am.
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