Avoiding the "plastic look" in finish
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
We were in Asheville this week and made the stop at the Grovewood gallery. Mr. Skaggs is well represented there along with many other talented woodworkers. We scrutinized (someone else's) a round table with nice pie shaped inlay and a plastic finish. A thick finish on an open pore wood becomes bumpy as the surface tension of the liquid distorts the finish around the pores. When the finish is applied thick the result is what looks like severe orange peel. But even on a smooth surface of a closed pore wood, or a filled open pore wood, a thick layer of finish looks like a sheet of Plexiglas applied to the surface.
Some wrongfully attribute the plastic look to the finish composition, when in fact it is a result of finish thickness. One hears, "I am not using poly because I don't like that plastic look". Urethane varnish now days is prone to a plastic look because it is formulated too "thick" (high concentration of high viscosity solids) so that it can meet VOC regulations. It is impossible to apply it as a thin coat unless the finish is thinned with solvent. Applied thinned it can look the same as shellac or lacquer.
Consider thinning a solvent based finish as another variable in choosing and applying a finish. Of course experiment on test pieces. Chemistry experiments on furniture are to be avoided.
I have almost no experience with water borne finish, nor whether their thickness can be controlled by thinning.