BLO is an oil stain.

[Matt Meiser]

Matt, Seal-A-Cell isn't the same thing as using BLO.

Right, I understand that. He uses Seal-A-Cell because it dries fast but I'm interested in the possibility that that's not required if I use BLO instead.

[George Neill]

"How often would you pour a little BLO onto a glass-like, sealed wooden surface?"

NEVER !!! I said to pour a little onto a real piece of glass. I do that just once ... to verify that it will exist in it's present form, practically forever, without EVER drying. The glass is a good overall test to check for physical properties ... if it doesn't dry when exposed to the air, how do you think it will perform once you seal it in with a top coat ??? You might as well use 10-W30.

You're comparing apples with oranges. BLO isn't applied in the thick quantities that you're describing.

"If applied to raw wood, BLO will sink in and dry relatively rapidly, becoming 'one' with the wood."

Wrong ... it WILL "sink in" but it will NEVER dry ... as to the "becoming one with the wood" ... now we're getting back to the nonsense about polymerization ... it simply doesn't happen, but if it makes you feel lbetter to believe that ... so be it.

It definitely does dry. I have been restoring antique furniture for 35 years from the period that used a lot of oil and it forms a hard skin close to and at the surface of the wood. Maybe your experience is limited or your technique needs reviewing.

[George Neill]

Here's a pretty good summary from : http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infpai/inflin.html


Why shouldn't you pick linseed oil as your first choice in a preservative?

Linseed oil has some negatives. Granted, it has been used with some success for many years. But welcome to the modern world! Today, there are scads of linseed oil-based paints and preservatives that expand on linseed oil's good qualities while overcoming (at least to some degree) its drawbacks.

Some of the problems with straight linseed oil, boiled or raw, are:

* Sometimes linseed oil can take forever to dry... or stays sticky or doesn't dry at all!! This is a nightmare situation that happens too often when linseed oil is applied either (1) too thickly, (2) onto damp materials or (3) when the temperature is too cold. Thinning linseed oil with turpentine can help somewhat, but even with thinning it is important to apply thin, multiple coats but allow each coat to dry before applying the next!
* No UV (ultraviolet) light resistance... UV causes more damage to exposed wood than any other factor, destroying wood fibers and setting it up for attack by mildew, fungus, and insects.
* Linseed oil is mildew food... Many vegetable oils are food products for humans... all vegetable oils are food products for mildew! Linseed oil is not completely denatured, so it can encourage rather than discourage mildew growth.
* Linseed oil does not harden sufficiently to offer enough resistance to abrasion to be a suitable deck floor preservative... at least by today's standards. Linseed oil has been used for interior wood floors, but it must be waxed for durability! Waxing an outside deck would be dangerous, even if you hang a "Slippery When Wet" sign!
* Difficult to remove from wood... Multiple coats of linseed oil are gummy and difficult to remove fully for refinishing.

No offence to the Natural Handyman, but like yours, it's just another opinion. I don't mind you being at odds with BLO either, but you will have a heck of a job turning the people for who it works.

[Jim Becker]

Some really nice (and expensive) furniture finished in BLO and wax...and some of it us used heavily in institutional settings.

[John Coloccia]

The other thing to consider is that BLO requires oxygen to cure. It's well known, or at least it should be well known, that it won't ever cure in a blob as oxygen can't get to most of the BLO, and in fact the whole point of the "boiling" process is to promote this curing. So if you don't apply the BLO correctly, i.e. if you're painting it on like house paint, it will never cure and you will have a perpetually tacky, ugly finish.

You know, there's a reason why BLO soaked rags spontaneously combust, and it has everything to do with the exothermic curing process that it undergoes when exposed to oxygen. Next we'll be claiming this is a myth too.

[Bob Wingard]

Maybe your experience is limited or your technique needs reviewing.

Your first statement is absolutely TRUE ... I have extremely limited experience with that stuff, as I refuse to use it !!! The second part is FALSE for exactly the same reason ...

Lemme ask you this ... if it won't dry out in the open air, how can you possibly believe it will dry IN the wood ??? or are we back on the magical polymerization track once again ???

[Bob Wingard]

The other thing to consider is that BLO requires oxygen to cure. It's well known, or at least it should be well known, that it won't ever cure in a blob as oxygen can't get to most of the BLO, and in fact the whole point of the "boiling" process is to promote this curing. So if you don't apply the BLO correctly, i.e. if you're painting it on like house paint, it will never cure and you will have a perpetually tacky, ugly finish.

You know, there's a reason why BLO soaked rags spontaneously combust, and it has everything to do with the exothermic curing process that it undergoes when exposed to oxygen. Next we'll be claiming this is a myth too.

Thanks for making my case ... if it can't dry/cure/whatever in the open air ... it certainly can't do so embedded in a piece of wood with a topcoat over it. Rags soaked in 10-W30 will spontaneooulsy combust as well ... slop some on your next project. Oh ... and it's NOT an EXOTHERMIC CURING PROCESS ... it's an exothermic chemical reaction with oxygen that makes that happen. "CURING" implies a chamical change is taking place ... this stuff will be the same a year from now.

[Matt Meiser]

Some really nice (and expensive) furniture finished in BLO and wax...and some of it us used heavily in institutional settings.

Oh come on, you know Moser is a hack wannabe. I mean he doesn't even stain his cherry.

[John Coloccia]

Thanks for making my case ... if it can't dry/cure/whatever in the open air ... it certainly can't do so embedded in a piece of wood with a topcoat over it. Rags soaked in 10-W30 will spontaneooulsy combust as well ... slop some on your next project. Oh ... and it's NOT an EXOTHERMIC CURING PROCESS ... it's an exothermic chemical reaction with oxygen that makes that happen. "CURING" implies a chamical change is taking place ... this stuff will be the same a year from now.

So it's a chemical reaction with oxygen in which no chemical change takes place. Bob, I respect your opinion but we're just going to have to agree to disagree. It will probably be banned one day anyway.

[Bob Wingard]

OK .. OK .. you guys find fault with the glass test ... try this ...

A paper towel is made from what ??? Cellulose fibers .. wood. Soak a paper towel in your magic finish .. blot off as much as you can .. hang it out explosed to the atmosphere for a year or so, and see if it ever did dry.

[George Neill]

OK .. OK .. you guys find fault with the glass test ... try this ...

A paper towel is made from what ??? Cellulose fibers .. wood. Soak a paper towel in your magic finish .. blot off as much as you can .. hang it out explosed to the atmosphere for a year or so, and see if it ever did dry.

Does it dry? Yes. Does it go hard? No.

Oilcloth used to be made with linseed oil. It dried in the cloth and remained flexible enough to be made into sou'westers, oilskin coats, tents etc. However, if the host is rigid (like wood), then the dry oil will effectively be as hard as the wood it has impregnated.

[Jack Clark]

Well, this is turning into a very informative, albeit lively, discussion. Timely for me because I'm about to start exploring for the best way to finish cherry.

Paul Snyder's website has a pretty good discussion about finishing cherry (www.finishwiz.com). On the home page click on Cherry. In the section on "Oils and Oil Finishes" he has an example where he used both BLO and Danish oil on the same cherry sample piece with lacquer as a top coat. Interesting comment by Paul: "I don't know which is which and they both look the same."

[Bob Wingard]

Look to Charles Neil's website for a great perspective on finishing woods that are prone to blotching .. including Cherry. I just finishes a large Federal Style Bookcase using his advice and his product. It turned out great with absolutely no blotching .. no color mismatch between heartwood/sapwood/veneered ply. Blotch control coupled with dye is the easiest and most spectacular method I've seen. Oh ... before anyone comments ... I have no affiliation with Charles other than being a satisfied customer.


https://charlesneilwoodworking.3dcar...trol_p_47.html

[Bob Wingard]

Does it dry? Yes. Does it go hard? No.

Oilcloth used to be made with linseed oil. It dried in the cloth and remained flexible enough to be made into sou'westers, oilskin coats, tents etc. However, if the host is rigid (like wood), then the dry oil will effectively be as hard as the wood it has impregnated.

Then, if wood sits out in the rain and gets soaked .. the water is as hard as the wood ?? Linseed oil was a COMPONENT in the manufacture of oil cloth .. not the solitary substance.

[Bob Wingard]

You're comparing apples with oranges. BLO isn't applied in the thick quantities that you're describing.

Here's some more great advice from a "furniture refinish expert" .. .. .. http://www.refinishfurniture.com/finishwood.htm


Linseed Oil, Boiled

Linseed Oil was the choice of the old timers.

I put the boiled after the linseed oil to draw attention to it rather than to indicate that there will be other types covered. The other type is raw linseed oil, it will never dry, but will become gummy and sticky, so be sure to get BOILED linseeed oil if you decide on that kind of finish.

Linseed oil gives a fantastic finish, but you need a year to apply it. The general rule of thumb for a linseed oil finish is once an hour for a day, once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year. The finish was usually french polished once a year after that. That's a lot of work.


Lemme' see .... 24 + 7 + 4 + 12 = 47 COATS of linseed oil and it takes a year ... THEN you topcoat with shellac !!!!