BLO is an oil stain.

[Chris Padilla]

BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) is nothing more than an oil that tends to enhance a wood's grain and color.

Basically, it is an oil stain.

It needs 24 - 48 hours to dry, typically.

It is a stain therefore it does nothing to protect the wood...from anything...because it is a stain.

The next argument could be: Fine. BLO is stain...but WHAT KIND of stain? Is is dye or a pigment?

I'd say due to its penetration depth...which I think is deep...it should be classified as a dye.

Go for it.

[Scott Holmes]

BLO is sometimes used on cutting boards ::BLO would be an oil finish in my book. Not a good one, and it may impart taste in the food, yuck!

Not protective from much of anything. Cutting boards are usually finished with oil never a film finish in my shop. I use mineral oil (no taste, no smell) which never dries. I also mix it and melt either beeswax or pariffin wax to help it block (or fill) the pores of the wood. It really never "seals" the wood. It needs to be reapplied often.

This is the only "oil" finish I use. I use lots of different finishes made from oil...or varnishes blended with oil (BLO).

Nut and vegtable oils tend to go rancid so I don't use them.

[Pat Barry]

LOL - this should spark some controversy. I'll take the view that BLO is not a stain by intent, but then again, everything stains a bit doesn't it?

[David Christopher]

I dunno if its good or bad, but Ive been putting it on my garden tool handles for a long time, and they are still in good shape

[Chris Fournier]

It is neither, it is an oil finish. There are no suspended colourants to qualify it as a stain. Now you may make a case for calling it a dye because it does impart colour but this would be disingenuous.

I think that like a crumpled BLO soaked rag left unattended the OP is trying to start a conflagration!

Look up "hydrophobic" and you'll see that oil is not a bad idea if you wish to repel water, not great but it is non-polar and water don't like it. BLO as Scott points out is a terrible choice for cutting boards as it has metallic salts in it from the "boiling" process. Poison! Food grade white mineral oil 70 is the stuff for cutting boards and it is readily available and way cheaper to buy from commercial lubricant distributors than it is to purchase from your pharmacy.

Is mineral oil a dye I wonder. For that matter, water imparts a "colour" to wood - is it a dye?

[Howard Acheson]

The reason linseed oil "pops" the grain is because of its natural amber color. Amber, no matter the vehicle will highlight grain or figure. Therefore amber shellac, oil based varnish (which is made with linseed oil) and solvent lacquer will cause the grain of any wood it's applied to to highlight its grain.

I wouldn't call linseed oil either a dye or a pigment stain. It's colorant.

[glenn bradley]

I will expand the discussion to include coffee as a dye.

[Bob Wingard]

The only good use for linseed oil is to preserve axe handles & such. I won't allow that stuff anywhere near my finishing materials. If you REALLY want to see how long it takes it to cure ... put a spoonful on a piece of glass and set it aside. If you're lucky, it'll turn into a gummy mess in a few months. Put it on your wood, and it WILL dissipate/soak in over time, but it's NOT going to dry in a day or even a week. Yeah .. I know .. they used it in the old days ... but then, that's about all they had back then, and it was better than nothing.

I was always taught to apply my final finish ONLY to a clean, smooth surface .. free of rust and oil/grease ... linseed oil does NOTHING to enhance any finish, and can cause adhesion problems & peeling down the road. With so many great finishes available today, I can't believe this crap is making such a comeback. Hopefully, it will be a short-lived one !!!

[Chris Padilla]

I wouldn't call linseed oil either a dye or a pigment stain. It's colorant.

I love it: a colorant!

[Scott Holmes]

Bob,

I suspect your experience is with linseed oil, as in raw linseed oil.

Boiled linseed oil will dry out to a rubbery gel with in a few days. BLO is not really boiled, only heated so the added driers will dissolve faster. Lead is no longer used as a drier; now it's probably barium sulfate or titanium dioxide.

[Bob Wingard]

Nope ... my experiences have been with the mis-named "BOILED" variety of linseed oil. Exactly WHAT does linseed oil do FOR you that can't be accomplished with a more sane material ?? As you said, it will eventually turn to some form of gel or sludge, but it will never really dry/cure/harden completely. If that's what you wish to apply your topcoat onto, so be it ... I just have absolutely no use for the stuff.

[John Coloccia]

BLO seems to cure just fine for me. It looks nice and adds a bit of protection to the item you're finishing. When you pick it up, it actually feels like wood. I don't really see what's so horrible about it. Not everything is walked on, sat on, submerged in water, cut on or eaten on. Some things are designed to have a warm, soft glow and feel good when you pick it up to admire it. Items finished with BLO will develop a patina with handling over the years. Some people, myself included, like that for certain items. Maybe I can get it with some other combination of finishes but I use a couple of light coats of BLO.

[Clint Barden]

I've used BLO on quite a few projects. No adhesion problems after a 48 hour dry time (typically using shellac). One thing you have to watch for is bleed back from an open pored wood. If you flood it on thick you can have spots come back after you think you wiped it all up, which can cause adhesion problems.

[Jim Becker]

Nope ... my experiences have been with the mis-named "BOILED" variety of linseed oil. Exactly WHAT does linseed oil do FOR you that can't be accomplished with a more sane material ?? As you said, it will eventually turn to some form of gel or sludge, but it will never really dry/cure/harden completely. If that's what you wish to apply your topcoat onto, so be it ... I just have absolutely no use for the stuff.

Unfortunately, my experience is also different than yours, Bob. I have had no issues with BLO curing or causing any issues with my finishing regimen. I use it specifically for highlighting figure and enhancing the natural color of cherry and other species I work with without using any dye or stains. Occasionally, on decorative projects, it "is" the finish; perhaps with bees wax or not. I have never had a "gummy" problem. Further, there are some times when I use the same "accelerated" finishing technique that Jeff Jewitt wrote about awhile back in Fine Woodworking...BLO applied and wiped off after about 30 minutes; immediate coating with de-waxed shellac and on to my water borne top coats about an hour later.

[Matt Meiser]

BLO applied and wiped off after about 30 minutes; immediate coating with de-waxed shellac and on to my water borne top coats about an hour later.

Really? When was that published--I need to read that article? A friend of mine uses General Finishes Seal-A-Cell, followed by Target's shellac, followed by one of their topcoats but he lests the Seal-A-Cell dry for at least a day at elevated temps and wipes with acetone after that. That's the schedule I used on the kitchen I did last year and it worked great. But I'd love to cut a day from the schedule.