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Watco vs. BLO


hawkeye10

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The main difference is 2 different products. Danish oil has polyurethane in it to give a warm gloss to the project as BLO does not. Danish oil has blo in it but other ingredients too. I use a ton of Watco Danish oil for just about all my projects. It leaves them with a soft glow and smooth to touch feel. Sometimes with things like shelves magazine racks and things of this nature I will top coat with Watco satin polish. I do use BLO when I want to pop the grain of wood but want to top coat with either a lacquer or a poly. That stuff does not interfer with the top coat and I do not have to put a shelac to break that bond.  

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BLO dries faster. But not by much. You still need to let that cure before top coating. If you are going to top coat than of course it is cheaper. But if you are using the Danish oil as a top coat then hands down that is the way to go. As I said i do not often top coat scrollsaw projects but if I do I will use the BLO instead of Danish oil because of the mixing of  materials as I mentioned. I use lacquer and not poly for top coating on 99.9% I always dip my projects. I always spray my top coats. 

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I'm mentioning this because I'm not sure, but does the difference between the two methods differ for different woods? In other words, I know poplar is soft and soaks up the finishes fast and dries quickly. But what about oak or cherry? I know cherry is dense and the blo mix provides a nice sheen, but I've never tried Danish oil on cherry. Comments?

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No problem with any woods. I use it on exotic woods all the time. My go to wood is red oak. I use that more than any other wood. The other woods are accent woods. Just have to wipe to get rid of any puddles. Blo is the same results. 

 

This is mahogony and maple and it is so hard to show a finish but it is one coat dipped. soaks in well and just a light wipe is all that is needed. I make all sorts of wood combinations in these baskets.

 

IMGP0031_zpsqf2qvhko.jpg

 

 

Copyofcraftshow-6-1.jpg

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No problem with any woods. I use it on exotic woods all the time. My go to wood is red oak. I use that more than any other wood. The other woods are accent woods. Just have to wipe to get rid of any puddles. Blo is the same results. 

 

This is mahogony and maple and it is so hard to show a finish but it is one coat dipped. soaks in well and just a light wipe is all that is needed. I make all sorts of wood combinations in these baskets.

 

IMGP0031_zpsqf2qvhko.jpg

 

 

Copyofcraftshow-6-1.jpg

WOW John those are beautiful.

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Dan, regarding the differences in these finishes used on different woods, BLO and Watco are both products that are meant to soak into the wood.  The Watco will build a film finish, but only after a lot of coats.  Danish oils in general are designed to give wood a low luster, hand rubbed look.  That said, the grain of the wood will impact it's ability to absorb the oil probably more so than the hardness.  Pine is notoriously hard to finish, because it doesn't absorb evenly.  Oak is much harder, but has an open grain, which will absorb oil much more readily and evenly.  Cherry and maple have a tighter grain and do tend to splotch more than oak does.  Oil on cherry really pops the grain, but you may have to apply more coats of a Watco finish to get an even sheen than you would with oak.

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One other factor that needs mentioning when finishing with Danish oil, the grit you sand to can have an effect on how many coats you need to apply if you are looking for a even smooth coat. I always sand to 220 grit on scrollsawn projects. The higher the grit the more you close the pores of the wood and the more the material sits on top. It is the same for different wood species. The closer the grain the tighter the woood pores and the less liquid is allowed to penetrate. 

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I always sand my boards before and after scrolling. Most times I am dimensioning my lumber so that requires resawing, planing, and sanding to just get started before i put the pattern on. Then after cut I always run a random orbit sander over to rid of fuzzy and any tape residue if there is any. Then I blow the dust off and out of the frets with a small compressor. doing this outdoors at all times. Then pick a good day to dip and and let dry out doors. Oils will smell for a long time. So I make sure to do these projects in the summer time so I can leave a window open in the basement after I bring them in. After a few days the smell dissipates. I love my Watco. I loved it much better before they decided to stop making it and when they came back they made a slightly different formula. I could tell the difference right away.  

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I forgot to take out the trash. My wife asked why. I told her that my noggin lacked storage space for all this info you guys are providing. This is great stuff. There is no doubt I'll be trying Danish oil in the near future.

 

BTW, how many Danes does it take to make a quart of oil?

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