finishing,,

[jeff oldham]

everyone tells me that Danish oil is their choice of finishes,,but I tried the watco brand,,and put about 3 coats on a bowl waiting about 7 hrs apart before applying the other coat and then waited 24 hrs and the bowl itself was rough just like I hadn't sanded it at all,,and I went thru to 600 grit,,i tried buffing it and the finish never actually looked any better,,lol,,I believe the next finish I try will be laquar,,if anyone can help me on a quick and easy finish,,please tell me,,thank you

[Dave Fritz]

Jeff, since no one else replied I'll chime in with my limited experience. Danish oil is an oil finish and is put on heavy, then wiped off the first coat. Letting it dry overnight before another coat isn't unreasonable. Multiple coats can be applied again letting it dry overnight between each. When you're satisfied with the sheen let it cure for some time, then buff if desired. As you can see it's not a "quick and easy finish".

One thing you can do that will produce a smooth finish is wet sand with Danish oil starting at 220 grit. The finish can be like glass.

A spray lacquer can be a "quick and easy finish" but has it's own properties and pitfalls. I'm curious to hear other comments from those with more experience.

[William C Rogers]

Agree with Dave. However I like minwax antique oil as well or better.

[jeff oldham]

thank you for the info,,i will try that,,lol,,,pulling my hair out here to try and get a good finish,,

[Travis Porter]

I am by no means an expert. I am a hack. From my personal experience, Danish oil just soaks into the wood. It doesn't do much to the texture. If you want to get it smoother, you could do a wet sand and sand with a high grit while it was wet. I personally have not tried it.

If you are going to go and try lacquer, have fun. It is a different world all together. I am finishing my new kitchen, and I have been spraying solvent based precat lacquer. If you get it right, it is a wonderful thing. If you get it wrong, it will drive you nuts.

I am to the point that I think I will primarily use solvent lacquer going forward for most projects. It is wicked stuff, but it dries so fast and is so forgiving it is really unbelievable. I have used WB lacquers and poly, oil based poly, BLO, etc, and for me, spraying solvent lacquer just is a sweet thing.

[George Troy Hurlburt]

I use Antique Minwax also, many times I will use a lacquer before I put it on to keep the wood less dark. Dale Nish showed me how he used it back in the mid eighties at Arrowmount.

[Marshall Harrison]

I know that experience will be the greatest teacher. But, can anyone recommend a good book on finishing?

I love to read and when its too cold in the shop (AKA my driveway) I love to read about woodworking.

[Marvin Hasenak]

If you want to use an oil/varnish finish like Danish Oil, I recommend reading an artcile by Frank Whiton called "Classic Gunstock Finish". Not easy, but the results are first class.

[John K Jordan]

everyone tells me that Danish oil is their choice of finishes,,but I tried the watco brand,,and put about 3 coats on a bowl waiting about 7 hrs apart before applying the other coat and then waited 24 hrs and the bowl itself was rough just like I hadn't sanded it at all,,and I went thru to 600 grit,,i tried buffing it and the finish never actually looked any better,,lol,,I believe the next finish I try will be laquar,,if anyone can help me on a quick and easy finish,,please tell me,,thank you

Jeff,

In my experience there are many ways to use such "danish" or similar oil/varnish mixtures, the method changes the look. What I do depends on the wood, the look I'm trying for, and the time I want to take. I've used everything from a quick single coat (perhaps followed by something else), to many coats in a process that might take 4-6 weeks. I have one piece I finished in November that I'm still adding oil to on occasion, just because. (and so I can see what it ends up like)

Same as Dave mentioned, I soak in the first coat, giving it as much as it will take. Let soak for a while (a few hours) then let dry overnight.

I've read that it is better to let the first coat dry for two or even three days and I do that sometimes if I'm not in a hurry. My shop is heated and air conditioned so a colder or damper shop may need more time than warm and dry. If the wood is very porous and thick, the oil that soaked in deep might take much longer to cure.

Then I apply a second coat. If it is still quickly soaking up oil in spots I repeat what I did for the first coat, otherwise I wipe off after 30 minutes or an hour then let dry overnight. Depending on the type of wood and the finish I'm looking for (and the time I have) I might repeat this 2, 3, or even 10 times over the next week or more. Each coat adds a very thin layer of resin. None of this gives the "plastic" look that you can get with poly and other heavier film finishes. I can still see and feel the wood texture even after multiple coats.

If I want to fill the pores better on open-grained woods such as walnut, I like to wet sand with the oil on the first or second and maybe a later coat (again, depending on the wood). I might use 400 or 600 paper (coarser if the pores are large), let sit for an hour, then wipe off gently. The next morning I wipe the surface vigorously (with a bit more oil if the surface is a little tacky), examine the surface, repeat the wet sanding if desired, or just continue with the normal coats. Wet sanding creates a slurry which sticks in the pores and hardens when the oil hardens. Repeated wet sanding can give you a glass smooth surface but does hide some of the natural wood texture from the eye and touch.

I sometimes use 0000 steel wool before applying another coat.
If I want more of a matte finish I might use rottenstone, pumice for more shiny but not glossy.
If a glossy surface is desired, I wait a week after the last coat and polish with the Beale buffer or by hand.

All this leaves anything from a nearly matte, a soft sheen, a soft shiny, to a gloss.

If I want a thick glass-like mirror gloss I uses something different - lots of people want this but I don't usually care for it.

JKJ

[George Troy Hurlburt]

Reads like you don't when to quit John K. lol.

[John K Jordan]

Reads like you don't when to quit John K. lol.

Sorry, the story of my life!

Fortunately, retired now since '06. I don't have a clue how I managed when I was working 8-12 hrs a day. And I'm between surgeries and procedures at the moment with extra time during occasional lucid stretches when the pain pills wear off. Or maybe not so lucid. Good fun.

JKJ

[Damon McLaughlin]

Danish oil is my finish of choice these days for larger items and while I'm not an expert in finishing here is what I do (similar to JKJ).

I will typically sand up to 320 grit, apply a coat of thinned danish oil and then wet sand starting with 320 and up to anywhere from 400 to 800 (depends on what I feel like at the time). I then apply another coat of thinned danish oil and let it sit for the night. The following day I give it a light sanding with 600 or 800 grit to knock down any fibers that may have raised and apply another coat of thinned danish oil, let it sit for the night. The following day I apply a coat of danish oil (not thinned), let it sit for 15 minutes and wipe the excess off, let it sit for the night. From there I will either stop applying oil or continue, depending on how much sheen I want. Between coats if I feel any roughness to the surface I'll give the turning a good rubbing with 0000 steel wood. Once I'm satisfied with the number of coats I let it sit another day or two to continue curing, then I'll either buff with buffing wheels on the lathe or I'll polish by hand using micro mesh and finally some renaissance wax.

One variable for me is the color of the wood and how porous it is. If I'm turning wood that is very porous or is light colored such as birch and if I want to stay as close to its original tones as possible I will skip the wet sanding and just sand through to 400 or 600. I'll then apply a coat of thinned sanding sealer (thinned 25% alcohol as it dries faster), wait ten minutes and apply a second coat. 30 minutes after the second coat I start with the danish oil. This has worked out very well for me, my turnings are silky smooth with a satin to an ever so slightly semi gloss sheen. A high gloss finish can be achieved with additional coats of danish oil and/or more buffing. One note, when the oil feels dry it may only be dry on the surface, the oil below the surface may not be fully cured yet and if you buff it too much right away you may go through the dried surface and hit wet oil. If I'm feeling impatient then I'll hand polish otherwise I'll wait several days to a week before I put the piece to the buffing wheel.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I used Formby’s danish oil for years, buying it local. It became harder to find and the price was $12 a pint. I like the high gloss kind because it built a finish quickly and dried to the touch in a few hours. I began reading about oils and wipe on polys and it seemed that most were a mix of oil and polyurethane in vary amounts. I purchased a quart of each and mixed them about 50/50. Worked like wipe on poly, but still took a long time to dry. I read about house painters using japan dryer to speed up the drying time. Purchase a pint at Rocklar and put a small amount in my finish. Drying time was cut to 3 to 4 hours and now put two coats on in a day. More poly quicker build. There are two things to consider when using Japan dryer. It contains heavy mental and would not be good for bowls for food. The other is it is brown in color and will darken the wood. Most of my bowls end up as lookers rather than users. I also will shoot a couple coats of Mohawk Cat lacquer over the oil. Heres a walnut bowl that only has two coats of my finish.
FB9238A0-6DA6-4DA0-9B32-679063334C1E.jpg 3B36D1A3-C676-4AF9-9DC8-CF11DEB296CD.jpg

[John K Jordan]

I used Formby’s danish oil for years, buying it local. It became harder to find and the price was $12 a pint. I like the high gloss kind because it built a finish quickly and dried to the touch in a few hours. I began reading about oils and wipe on polys and it seemed that most were a mix of oil and polyurethane in vary amounts. I purchased a quart of each and mixed them about 50/50. Worked like wipe on poly, but still took a long time to dry. I read about house painters using japan dryer to speed up the drying time. Purchase a pint at Rocklar and put a small amount in my finish. Drying time was cut to 3 to 4 hours and now put two coats on in a day. More poly quicker build. There are two things to consider when using Japan dryer. It contains heavy mental and would not be good for bowls for food. The other is it is brown in color and will darken the wood. Most of my bowls end up as lookers rather than users. I also will shoot a couple coats of Mohawk Cat lacquer over the oil. Heres a walnut bowl that only has two coats of my finish.
FB9238A0-6DA6-4DA0-9B32-679063334C1E.jpg 3B36D1A3-C676-4AF9-9DC8-CF11DEB296CD.jpg

That's a great point. What kind of oil did you use? Some people I know mix about 1/3 each of BLO, poly, and mineral spirits.

That's a beautiful finish on the walnut.

JKJ

[jeff oldham]

it really is beautiful,,im like john,,what is the oil that you used and how did you mix it