Finishes Mixing Your Own??

[kmmcrafts]

Okay, I've heard many times about mixing up 50/50 BLO and Mineral Spirits... I just did that for my first time a month or so back.. even though I've read it over and over for years..

Other day I seen a youtube video where they mixed BLO/Wipe On Poly/Mineral Spirits .. Anyone ever mixed in the poly like that? I'm not a chemist and the way my luck goes I'd mix an explosion,  .. I've also read where that was basically what Danish oil is? I do like the look that Danish oil and the 50/50 mix look but I also find the Danish oil looks dried out and looses its warm glow so to speak once dried a good few weeks.. haven't had this mix of BLO long enough to see how that looks longer term.. I like the idea of having some sort of sealer of sorts in the mix.. 

Anyway, just looking for thoughts on certain dipping type finishes.. Not looking to dip and then top coat with a spray poly.. done that once and really wasn't impressed with my outcome.. maybe I'm too particular with spray finishes because of my autobody spraying background.. I have never once seen a fretwork piece with a spray finish mine or others from craft shows that I thought was acceptable... many people do it.. and say they get good results.. I haven't personally seen that yet.. any fretwork sprayed finish I've seen has not had even good coverage in the fret cutouts.. in the nooks and crannies..       

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Kevin Danish oil is a mixture of mineral spirits, poly, and blo, and driers. Formulated to manufacturer. I love Watco and have used it for all my years. It was some 15 years ago I believe (could be wrong on time line) but Watco stopped making Danish oil when all the rage about environment. They got such a calling to bring it back that they did so with a slightly different more friendly mix. I have some of the old stuff left and use the new stuff and I notice the difference.

But with that said I always dip and if I spray it will be either a Deft lacquer or a waterbased lacquer if doing large projects. I never use poly. Makes it look plastic. Lacquer has the properties to burn into each layer and thus no need for sanding between coats and it adds depth not layers of plastic.

 

 Blo is that plus mineral spirits to thin it out and help absorption into woods. It will always dry dull because no poly in it. 

As you probably know also wood choice can determine luster, plus sanding to a higher grit plus blade used to cut project. These are factors in all projects you make and maybe some people do not realize them. Wood--- tight grained wood will allow for less absorption of oils, open grained wood will allow more. Soft woods will dull more as opposed to hard woods such as oak. Blades--- the more teeth used when cutting will leave the grain smooth and closed more so than a course blade. Need to find that happy blade. Sanding--- the higher the grit the more you close the grain and less oil allowed and can polish easier. I use red oak for most of my projects and sand to 220 grit on all projects and use a #5 FD silver reverse blade on most projects. I also use a Watco satin polish on most projects to give that soft luster and feel. The frets are closed so they do not dull much but are not shiny either. I like the look. 

Not sure if any of this helps. Good luck.

[Sycamore67]

I use Watco Danish Oil for any irregular shaped things.  

[Bill WIlson]

You can safely mix mineral spirits, BLO and oil based polyurethane (or regular oil based varnish) together without concern that you are creating a WMD.  In fact, you can adjust the proportions to accentuate certain characteristics.  Example, you want more sheen - add higher percentage of varnish/poly.  Want it thinner - add more mineral spirits.  Want more of a hand rubbed look & feel, add more BLO.  This became all the rage on woodworking forums several years ago because many woodworkers already had all of these ingredients in their shop, but would go out and buy Danish oil @ $15 a qt.  Someone figured out you could get essentially the same thing by mixing your own "home brew".  It really is that simple.

For those that like to use wiping varnish - just take regular oil based varnish/poly and thin with equal part mineral spirits, that you already probably have and you end up with essentially the same thing.  It may be chemistry, but it ain't rocket science. 

[kmmcrafts]

6 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Kevin Danish oil is a mixture of mineral spirits, poly, and blo, and driers. Formulated to manufacturer. I love Watco and have used it for all my years. It was some 15 years ago I believe (could be wrong on time line) but Watco stopped making Danish oil when all the rage about environment. They got such a calling to bring it back that they did so with a slightly different more friendly mix. I have some of the old stuff left and use the new stuff and I notice the difference.

But with that said I always dip and if I spray it will be either a Deft lacquer or a waterbased lacquer if doing large projects. I never use poly. Makes it look plastic. Lacquer has the properties to burn into each layer and thus no need for sanding between coats and it adds depth not layers of plastic.

 

 Blo is that plus mineral spirits to thin it out and help absorption into woods. It will always dry dull because no poly in it. 

As you probably know also wood choice can determine luster, plus sanding to a higher grit plus blade used to cut project. These are factors in all projects you make and maybe some people do not realize them. Wood--- tight grained wood will allow for less absorption of oils, open grained wood will allow more. Soft woods will dull more as opposed to hard woods such as oak. Blades--- the more teeth used when cutting will leave the grain smooth and closed more so than a course blade. Need to find that happy blade. Sanding--- the higher the grit the more you close the grain and less oil allowed and can polish easier. I use red oak for most of my projects and sand to 220 grit on all projects and use a #5 FD silver reverse blade on most projects. I also use a Watco satin polish on most projects to give that soft luster and feel. The frets are closed so they do not dull much but are not shiny either. I like the look. 

Not sure if any of this helps. Good luck.

Thank you for taking the time to go into the depth that you did to explain this.. I've read in the past that Danish oil was basically the same as the 50/50 mix with BLO / mineral spirits.. 

I do remember early in my scroll sawing days when they discontinued Danish oil for a short time.. and then they mentioned the changes and many people saying the "new" oil wasn't as good.. that was when I started learning of the self made mixtures.. though I never actually tried until a month or so ago, LOL

I sand my work down to 320 grit papers.. never tried lacquer on wood projects.. painted several cars with it years ago ( maybe different lacquers though ).. Typically never use a blade larger than a #5 and many times my go to blade is actually a #3 depending upon the saw I use and how aggressive the cutting is..

Again, Thank you.. I'll probably just stick to the Danish oil that I've been using of the years.. think i'll try a can of lacquer to see how that goes.. but I can say for sure that I don't like the poly on my clocks.. I do use it for sealing up thin fretwork such as portraits.. which I don't do a lot of..

    

[dgman]

Kevin, I mix my own blo/ ms mixture. I basically use this as a stain. It brings out the natural grain and color of most hardwoods. Personally I don’t like the look of poly. So I use spray lacquer as a top coat. The blo/ms mix is not intended as a final finish.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

47 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Thank you for taking the time to go into the depth that you did to explain this.. I've read in the past that Danish oil was basically the same as the 50/50 mix with BLO / mineral spirits.. 

I do remember early in my scroll sawing days when they discontinued Danish oil for a short time.. and then they mentioned the changes and many people saying the "new" oil wasn't as good.. that was when I started learning of the self made mixtures.. though I never actually tried until a month or so ago, LOL

I sand my work down to 320 grit papers.. never tried lacquer on wood projects.. painted several cars with it years ago ( maybe different lacquers though ).. Typically never use a blade larger than a #5 and many times my go to blade is actually a #3 depending upon the saw I use and how aggressive the cutting is..

Again, Thank you.. I'll probably just stick to the Danish oil that I've been using of the years.. think i'll try a can of lacquer to see how that goes.. but I can say for sure that I don't like the poly on my clocks.. I do use it for sealing up thin fretwork such as portraits.. which I don't do a lot of..

    

Kevin if you are going to use lacquer then I suggest you dip in blo and not Danish oil. Poly and lacquer do not play well together. You can adjust the sheen by satin, semi-gloss and gloss lacquers. 

[OCtoolguy]

Geez, you people know so much. I envy all of you. I have always done the building and left the finish work to my wife. Now, she can no longer do it so I am left to try to do it myself. Lot's to learn but so far you all are a fountain of knowledge and I sure do appreciate all your input. Keep it coming, I'm soaking it all in. The thread has been very helpful. I'm not into painting anything yet. That's another can of worms what with all the mixing of paints to achieve the desired colors etc. Thanks again to you all.

 

[kmmcrafts]

Me To Ray, I've done a lot of finishing with steel ( cars, motorcycles and equipment ) but when it comes to wood I am sort of in the dark.. I've always used Danish oil.. I've tried most of the spray finishes ( Deft, Poly, Shellac etc..) and have never cared for the way the look turned out.. not horrible.. just not great.. My favorite finishing to date is Danish oil, Mineral oil & beeswax mix that I make myself, Not a fan of painting wood.. I like to use different types of wood to achieve the colors i need.. Probably would love to do intarsia.. but haven't gotten around to that one yet.. LOL

[OCtoolguy]

36 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Me To Ray, I've done a lot of finishing with steel ( cars, motorcycles and equipment ) but when it comes to wood I am sort of in the dark.. I've always used Danish oil.. I've tried most of the spray finishes ( Deft, Poly, Shellac etc..) and have never cared for the way the look turned out.. not horrible.. just not great.. My favorite finishing to date is Danish oil, Mineral oil & beeswax mix that I make myself, Not a fan of painting wood.. I like to use different types of wood to achieve the colors i need.. Probably would love to do intarsia.. but haven't gotten around to that one yet.. LOL

Too much sanding and shaping for me. I have a neighbor who is into intarsia. She has the Foredom too and works outside. Not for me. I like what I'm doing right now. Mostly learning. I want to do some box making so that I can incorporate the marquetry that I learned. I have a book that has a little box in it that will allow me to do both. I look forward to that one. Right now, I just rec'd. a box of wood from Ocooche for a votive holder that my wife wants. It's made of walnut and red cedar. I'm doing the plans now. And that means more learning of Inkscape. Grrrrrr!

[Bill WIlson]

Finishing really can be an art, unto itself.  It sounds intimidating and complicated, which is why many woodworkers dread it and usually pick the simplest type of finish and use it for everything.  Personally, I think that philosophy leads us to miss out on a lot of benefits of using different products and application methods that may be better suited to specific applications.

I recommend either or both of these books for anyone who wants to learn more about finishing. 

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Finishing-Comprehensive-Troubleshooting/dp/1565235665

https://www.amazon.com/Tauntons-Complete-Illustrated-Finishing-Taunton/dp/1627107673

Every woodworker who struggles with choosing and applying finishes would benefit from either of these books.  They really contain a wealth of knowledge, borne out of the authors' own experiences.   

[hineps]

I kept hearing about the finish Arm-R-Seal. everybody was raving about it. Finally bought a quart of the satin finish. I wanted something that would give a nice soft luster to a cuckoo clock I have been working on. I have put 3 coats on the clock so far. Really like the look and feel of it. Probably will try a couple more coats. I applied it with a brush, which was tedious for sure. I'm like Kevin in that I haven't been able to get a spray coating to look good. I has thoughts of dipping the clock in the Arm R Seal and then using an air gun to blow the excess off. Not sure how that would turn out. Need to try it on a smaller project that I wouldn't care if it flopped. Hope to be posting some pictures of the build soon.

 

Phil

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

37 minutes ago, hineps said:

I kept hearing about the finish Arm-R-Seal. everybody was raving about it. Finally bought a quart of the satin finish. I wanted something that would give a nice soft luster to a cuckoo clock I have been working on. I have put 3 coats on the clock so far. Really like the look and feel of it. Probably will try a couple more coats. I applied it with a brush, which was tedious for sure. I'm like Kevin in that I haven't been able to get a spray coating to look good. I has thoughts of dipping the clock in the Arm R Seal and then using an air gun to blow the excess off. Not sure how that would turn out. Need to try it on a smaller project that I wouldn't care if it flopped. Hope to be posting some pictures of the build soon.

 

Phil

satin lacquer is the key if looking for satin look. Deft spray works well and is easy to do. 

[Karl S]

2 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

satin lacquer is the key if looking for satin look. Deft spray works well and is easy to do. 

BUT__ Impossible to purchase locally around here. Great stuff but it's gone!

[Jim McDonald]

11 minutes ago, Karl S said:

BUT__ Impossible to purchase locally around here. Great stuff but it's gone!

Watco makes a great fast drying lacquer (satin, semi and gloss) and the gloss even has levelers in it.  Don't know if you have Menard's that far south, but I'm sure there is somewhere to buy the brand locally.

[OCtoolguy]

Can any of this stuff be purchased through Amazon? Just sayin...............

Well, I just answered my own question. It looks like they have the whole line available.

Edited June 25, 2018 by octoolguy

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

7 hours ago, Karl S said:

BUT__ Impossible to purchase locally around here. Great stuff but it's gone!

Cabot and Watco are also very good lacquers. Ebay has them as well as Amazon. I do not like Minwax. 

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Cabot and Watco are also very good lacquers. Ebay has them as well as Amazon. I do not like Minwax. 

What is it that you don't like about MinWax?

 

[rjweb]

I believe that Lowes is dropping their Cabot line and got it all on clearance sale if anyone needs it, RJ 

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

8 hours ago, octoolguy said:

What is it that you don't like about MinWax?

 

Not as clear and does not spray evenly as others. Something with their nozzles. Just my opinion. More known for their poly sprays. 

[Karl S]

18 hours ago, Jim McDonald said:

Watco makes a great fast drying lacquer (satin, semi and gloss) and the gloss even has levelers in it.  Don't know if you have Menard's that far south, but I'm sure there is somewhere to buy the brand locally.

Since Deft is no longer available here I have switched to Behlens spray Lacquer and I like their finish and the spray nozzle is really good. As long as I have to order it I get what I like best, and so far Behlens is good for me.

 

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

Not as clear and does not spray evenly as others. Something with their nozzles. Just my opinion. More known for their poly sprays. 

I've never used any of their sprays.