Boiled Linseed Oil What grit to stop at?

[kevin nee]

I am making a birdseye maple bench and I have sanded to 220 grit. I have quit for the evening.
I plan on using boiled linseed oil for a finish. My question is how far do you guys go when sanding
before the application of boiled linseed oil. Thanks in advance, Kevin

[Jamie Buxton]

Oil finishes really soak into the wood, and unlike film finishes, they don't fill in the scratches left by sandpaper. So the roughness you leave with the sandpaper is what you're going to get in the end. I can see 220-grit scratches. I'd go to 320 grit at least.

[Steve Schoene]

I agree that with oil finishes sanding a bit finer--320 or 400 even is a good thing.

But, I'd not use BLO as a finish. One coat to bring out figure before applying a film finish top coat is fine, but as the finish, it offers virtually zero protection, and requires relatively frequent maintenance. For virtually the same appearance you would get much better results using a mix of oil and varnish--ie. a Danish Oil. Applied in the same way as the BLO, it will give a very similar appearance but will do a much better job at preventing water spots, and will not need refreshing so often.

[Jim Becker]

I agree in in general with Steve, albeit I will point out that some makers, such as Thomas Moser, use a BLO type finish exclusively on very expensive furniture, including pieces that go into commercial spaces, such as libraries. I generally only use an oil-only finish (or oil and wax) on decorative items because, as Steve points out, an oil-only finish requires maintenance over time and doesn't provide much protection from water/moisture.

[Steve Schoene]

I know Moser does that, or at least advertizes that it does that, but marketing is what drives Moser.