Cost Of Finishing

[BadBob]

This is not a question.

A potential customer wants the items finished with a natural oil. I did some research, and it appears that Tung oil is the only one, and that can even be iffy. Sometimes, it isn't pure tung oil but tung oil with additives. Along the way, I decided to get prices for finishes to do a cost comparison.  I used cost per gallon because some of these come in weird sizes and it was easy to calculate. I was shocked at how expensive some of these are. Some of the most expensive ones are just oils with waxes and hardening chemicals added. All the prices were gathered from Amazon. Here is my list for your info.

These claim to be Oil Finishes

• Tung Oil $70/gallon
• Mineral Oil $25/gallon aka Cutting board Oil
• Hard Wax Oil $480/gallon
• Boiled Linseed Oil $44/gallon
• Danish Oil $94/gallon
• Teak Oil $74/gallon
• Walrus Oil Furniture Butter $472/gallon
• Odie's Oil $794/Gallon

Other Finishes
These don't claim to be oil finishes. Shellac is the only one that I am sure does not contain oils.

• Shellac $85/Gallon
• Polyurethane Water Based $69/gallon
• Polyurethane Oil Based $66/gallon
• Arm-R-Seal $180/Gallon

 

[OCtoolguy]

Outrageous! The times we live in.

[kmmcrafts]

Max warehouse has been cheaper for my finishes for the last few times I've had to restock. I don't use much Watco Danish oil anymore but used to use about 4 gallon a year and that used to be cheaper at Home Depot with free shipping than Amazon.. Still expensive to use finishes.. especially aerosol cans.. 

I mostly use Lacquer these days.. and had been looking into buying gallons instead of spray cans.. still not sure the cleanup etc is worth it in buying the gallons and using a spray gun or not.. sometimes convenience is worth the cost.  

[preprius]

I use Arm R Seal most of the time. 

I use so little.  I had 1 quart for about 3 yrs.  I formed a skin inside the can. So I poked a hole in the skin. After 3 yrs the skin was about 1/4" thick.  So this time I bought a pint. 

Thank you for $/gallon cost list. Crap 180 / gallon. 

 

Each product has a different Sq ft coverage per gallon. So $ sq ft might also be and interesting comparison.  But with Arm R Seal the can does have a shelf life so in my case the can won't cover the same sq ft as the label says. And it says to use 3 to 5 coats.  

 Since I do functional scroll products I choose Arm R Seal for durability. 3 or more coats.  

I also use Osmo polyx.  1 coat.   Tiny amount. I was surprised as it penetrates the wood like oil based Arm R Seal.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Ctutor]

I find using lacquer and  GIZMO CALLED tHE cRITTER WHICH USES MASON JARS IS SIMPLE AND RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE. THE CRITTER USES PINT MASON JARS. i KEEP 3 CAPPED. oNE WITH LAQUER ONE WITN SANDINGN SEALER AND ONE WITH ACETONES. aFTER USING ONE OF TE OTHER TWO i RUN A BIT IF THE ACETONE THROUGH TO CALEAN UP TJE I NSIDE OF tHE cRITTER

[BadBob]

12 hours ago, preprius said:

Each product has a different Sq ft coverage per gallon. So $ sq ft might also be and interesting comparison. 

I agree. I didn't do this because of time constraints. I was looking for something quick and simple. I also could have looked at things like thinners you might require. I can apply some things straight from the can while others I thin with 50% solvent. Shellac goes both ways for the things I make.

[BadBob]

13 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

I mostly use Lacquer these days.

I didn't include lacquer because I have nearly zero experience using it to finish wood; only rattle can lacquer.

[BadBob]

I use shellac more than most finishes because it cures fast. I can thin it, dip things in it, spray it, or brush it on.  It has a very short shelf life. I love to use polyurethane, but the cure time is way too long for my projects. 

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, BadBob said:

I didn't include lacquer because I have nearly zero experience using it to finish wood; only rattle can lacquer.

I like the Lacquer because of the fast dry time.. I also like the water base poly because of the quick dry time... that said, I don't honestly know the actual "cure" times.. 

My experience using same brand (Watco) the quart can mix is different than what is in the spray cans. Quart can dries too fast for me.. I tried reducing it with adding more lacquer thinner and that didn't help much at all. I may experiment more with reducing it with slower drying higher quality of lacquer but those type reducers = more $$ so then I have more investment.. Then is it really worth it.. as far as cost goes there is more to it than just the price.. there is clean-up of spray equipment.. my spray area would need to be plumbed for air line from compressor or a new small compressor for just this purpose.. there comes a point and time where the convenience outweighs the cost. Many times I'm only spraying 1 ornament that was custom ordered etc.. not really worth using a spray gun for that just to save a few pennies worth of finish. At the end of the day the cost goes into the finished piece anyway.. Now if I could save enough percentage to a point where I could significantly lower my final cost to the customer I'd be all over it.. Also if I could get set up to a point where I could do a large production run of spraying 100 or more ornaments at once.. the spray gun method probably would be more worth it.. at some point I might get to that position.. 

[BadBob]

12 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

I like the Lacquer because of the fast dry time.. I also like the water base poly because of the quick dry time... that said, I don't honestly know the actual "cure" times.. 

My experience using same brand (Watco) the quart can mix is different than what is in the spray cans. Quart can dries too fast for me.. I tried reducing it with adding more lacquer thinner and that didn't help much at all. I may experiment more with reducing it with slower drying higher quality of lacquer but those type reducers = more $$ so then I have more investment.. Then is it really worth it.. as far as cost goes there is more to it than just the price.. there is clean-up of spray equipment.. my spray area would need to be plumbed for air line from compressor or a new small compressor for just this purpose.. there comes a point and time where the convenience outweighs the cost. Many times I'm only spraying 1 ornament that was custom ordered etc.. not really worth using a spray gun for that just to save a few pennies worth of finish. At the end of the day the cost goes into the finished piece anyway.. Now if I could save enough percentage to a point where I could significantly lower my final cost to the customer I'd be all over it.. Also if I could get set up to a point where I could do a large production run of spraying 100 or more ornaments at once.. the spray gun method probably would be more worth it.. at some point I might get to that position.. 

If I am making one item, I either dip it or brush it on the finish. If I am making a lot of something, like toy trucks, for example, I will break out the airbrush. Some things, like wheels, always get done with a brush since getting finished in the hole causes problems when gluing.

I started this because a potential customer wants a natural oil finish. There is only one: tung oil. My definition of natural is that you put it in a press and squeeze it, and oil comes out. There are other oils that fit this definition, but they all will turn rancid.

 

[Joe W.]

Finishing has been a journey for me. 
Started out using Watco Tung Oil. Used Shellac a few times. Spray on Poly and Lacquer also.
Mainly used Tung Oil, so decided to try my hand at making my own:  1-to-1 ratio of pure tung oil/MS/clear gloss poly.
It wipes on easy and dries quickly, allowing me to put several coats on if I want.
I'll still use the other finishes for various items, but I think I'll be using my own tung oil mixture from now on for the majority of what I make.

 

[Dave Monk]

On 2/23/2025 at 4:07 PM, kmmcrafts said:

Max warehouse has been cheaper for my finishes for the last few times I've had to restock. I don't use much Watco Danish oil anymore but used to use about 4 gallon a year and that used to be cheaper at Home Depot with free shipping than Amazon.. Still expensive to use finishes.. especially aerosol cans.. 

I mostly use Lacquer these days.. and had been looking into buying gallons instead of spray cans.. still not sure the cleanup etc is worth it in buying the gallons and using a spray gun or not.. sometimes convenience is worth the cost.  

I go a year without cleaning my gun. It might depend on the type of gun I use. I keep lacquer in it all the time and spray several times a week. I will clean the tip occasionally. If I let it set for a long time it might create a problem. I was using pre cat from SW. I started the first of the year buying pre cat from Klingspor and like it a lot. 

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, Dave Monk said:

I go a year without cleaning my gun. It might depend on the type of gun I use. I keep lacquer in it all the time and spray several times a week. I will clean the tip occasionally. If I let it set for a long time it might create a problem. I was using pre cat from SW. I started the first of the year buying pre cat from Klingspor and like it a lot. 

They won't ship that stuff to Michigan now... and my local supplier for the Watco spray cans has changed up to something different as well and went from $8.49 a can to $15.** for whatever they replaced it with.. I ordered several cases of the Watco spray cans from Max Warehouse late last fall.. The local shop was still selling quarts / gallons but I assume that'll be gone as well once sold out. I like the water base poly other than the water tends to lift the grain of the wood so I have to sand after the first coat.. and that's tough to do when I have double layered ornaments unless I spray before I glue them together but i prefer to glue wood to wood rather than wood to a painted surface.. Shellac doesn't work either because I use alcohol based craft paints to paint details on the ornaments and certain finishes make the paint bleed. So far lacquer and the water base poly is the only things that have worked for these painted ornaments. 

[sydknee]

On 2/25/2025 at 3:34 AM, Joe W. said:

Finishing has been a journey for me. 
Started out using Watco Tung Oil. Used Shellac a few times. Spray on Poly and Lacquer also.
Mainly used Tung Oil, so decided to try my hand at making my own:  1-to-1 ratio of pure tung oil/MS/clear gloss poly.
It wipes on easy and dries quickly, allowing me to put several coats on if I want.
I'll still use the other finishes for various items, but I think I'll be using my own tung oil mixture from now on for the majority of what I make.

 

I think I’ll give that recipe a whirl.    Finishing products cost a small fortune here in New Zealand.   I converted nzd to usd and a gallon of Tung oil is on average about $95 usd.  Danish oil $137 usd.  So anything to lower the cost but not the finish always interests me

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Yes finishing products are expensive but still cheapest part of what we do. When you buy finishing products it is for multiple projects. Materials such as wood is costly unless you have a source. You buy wood for 1 particular job at a time. 

[Joe W.]

14 hours ago, sydknee said:

think I’ll give that recipe a whirl.    Finishing products cost a small fortune here in New Zealand.   I converted nzd to usd and a gallon of Tung oil is on average about $95 usd.  Danish oil $137 usd.  So anything to lower the cost but not the finish always interests me

https://vanduynwoodwork.com/2018/09/18/danish-oil-finish-top-3-reasons-to-mix-your-own/

I found the above link helpful and there are also a variety of You Tube videos with variations of the formula for reference. 
What I like about making my own is being able to create small batches at a time and store any leftover in small containers.
One video mentions the need to eliminate excess air from the container as the air poly will cure from it and skim over.
One suggestion was to add glass pebbles what would raise the level to the top of the container.
Another was to turn the sealed container upside down, allowing any poly to skim on the bottom of the container. 
I have used plastic prescription bottles with success to store small leftover amounts.
If you wanted to, you could forego using poly altogether and just use a mixture of pure Tung Oil and MS (or turpentine).
I've done a few pieces with my home made Danish Oil and liked being able to apply two wipe on coats in a day, and the way they looked.