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Thread: a couple questions about BLO

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    I live in Madison, Ohio
    Posts
    418
    I finish gunstocks with blo. My shotgun is finished with it and I use it heavily for competition rain or shine. It does require some mantainence so I'm not sure I would leave it as the final finish for a bathroom vanity.

    The old rule for guns goes something like One a day for a week, Once a week for a month, once a month for a year and once a year for a lifetime.

    I do a grain fill by wetsanding with a drop or two of blo. You have to work your way up the grits starting with 220. it will leave a mud coat that you rub in good each time and let it dry. by the time you get up to 800 your peice is like glass and has and incredible luster.

    I have used it as a figue enhancer as well. If it is a hunting gun and I know it is going to be out it poor weather all the time. Sometimes blo will cloud up when it gets rained on but it will dry out again. Watco dannish oil can give a similar finish and seals the wood a little better.

    If it were my cabunet I would wetsand with blo untill tou are happy and then let it cure for a month and top coat it like the other fellas mentioned. a bathroom can be pretty moist (especially if there are girls in the house). And you have other things to do than constantly maintaining your vanity (especially if there are girls in the house).

  2. #17
    For gun handles and tool handles, BLO may work fine. That's because you can dry them. Also, they are usually stored out of moisture's harm to protect the steel.

    A while back, they finished roof shingles with BLO in a nearby town. The shingles had to be replaced within a few years because of black mold that infested the roofs. It was speculated that the BLO actually did more to harm the roof than protect it. It's minor resistance to water meant that rain was able to get in, but not able to evaporate away as easy. Some people think BLO actually CAUSED the water damage. But this is all hearsay; it was before my time, and I'm only relaying a story of a resident at the time.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Shoreline, CT
    Posts
    2,923
    For exterior applications the Forest Products Laboratory research has shown than BLO actually does encourage mildew. BLO is about the worst possible finish for shingles roof or wall. There is no really good reason for using it. You can almost alway substitute a oil/varnish mix and achieve virtually identical appearance, with much better moisture resistance.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Evansville, IN
    Posts
    1,188
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Schoene View Post
    For exterior applications the Forest Products Laboratory research has shown than BLO actually does encourage mildew. BLO is about the worst possible finish for shingles roof or wall. There is no really good reason for using it. You can almost alway substitute a oil/varnish mix and achieve virtually identical appearance, with much better moisture resistance.
    I cant speak for alot of finishes but you know I was kind of thinking the same thing. The deft lacquer I use seems to make the grain look just as good, IMHO.

    I got so much to learn about finishing though...
    "To me, there's nothing freer than a bird, you know, just flying wherever he wants to go. And, I don't know, that's what this country is all about, being free. I think everyone wants to be a free bird." - Ronnie Van Zant

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Tomball, TX (30 miles NNW Houston)
    Posts
    2,747
    Doug,

    No need to let BLO cure for a month. The metal driers will have it cured in 24 to 48 hours.
    Scott

    Finishing is an 'Art & a Science'. Actually, it is a process. You must understand the properties and tendencies of the finish you are using. You must know the proper steps and techniques, then you must execute them properly.

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