I am finishing a sapele kitchen table intended for everyday use. I see many times people swear by Danish Oil and they say it needs to be protected by a harder finish, and recommend Arm-R-Seal.
I am trying to justify spending $25 on Danish Oil as I always though Oil based arm-r-seal does the same job in enhancing the wood texture as DO so why bother ?
Are there still benefits in doing two step finish and potentially making the film weaker( I guess the polyurethane on top of Danish Oil is not as destructible as polyurethane directly on wood ) ?
Why would I want to put Danish Oil under Arm-R-Seal?
About the only reason I would use danish oil under arm r seal would be if I wanted to add some color. If you're happy with what arm r seal does to the color of the wood, then just use it. Oil based finishes always add some amber color. I like that, but some may not.
As mentioned, color would be the only reason I could think of as Arm-r-seal is half oil already. But I personally don't like the stain-like pigmentation that most Danish oils use. You'd be better off using a dye mixed into the ARS, IMO.
Arm r Seal only, will get a nice looking, and protective finish on Sapele. Use some scrap, and prep it to the same you will prep the project, and take a look. If you think it will require something more, consider adding it to another piece of scrap, and trying that to see what you think.
No reason to use do or blo under poly (ars is poly). Poly will create all the chatoyance of plain oil. No need to use something soft under it. If you want some color just add dye to the poly, which is much better for color vs pigment in otc do. This might be a helpful read.
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