We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.
The big buzz in my mailbox this past week has been the “Finishes That Pop” DVD (click here to see more on the DVD and click here if you would like to purchase a copy). Overall, the comments have been positive, but a couple newbie woodworkers think the dye, oil and shellac process is too involved. (And forget about tossing glaze into the mix.) They are looking for a finish that’s dead simple. Maybe this is why so many woodworkers finish the first few projects with a couple coats of oil.
Included on the DVD is the oil/varnish method that I use for some of my pieces. To me, this is a dead-simple method that anyone can use. It’s a mixture of varnish, boiled linseed oil and turpentine or mineral spirits. But what about woodworkers who work in small shops or even in apartments, and those that are simply smelly-finish averse? Even if the oil/varnish mixture I use isn’t as involved, there’s still a nasty smell (although some do like it) due to the turpentine or mineral spirits in the recipe.
But if you grab most cans marked “_____ oil” (fill in whatever name) off the shelf of your woodworking or home-center store, you might as well use the oil/varnish mixture I concoct and show using on the DVD. I’m willing to bet that most of those oil products purchased are much more than simply oil. To get an oil finish that’s not manufactured with a solvent of some sort, reach for pure oil, 100-percent tung oil or boiled linseed oil.
With any oil, most woodworkers apply three or four coats and call it done. But with such a small number of layers of finish, the surface is flat and dull , if not as the piece is complete, certainly in a year or so. And there’s little surface protection.
But there is a group out there that doesn’t stop with such a small number of coats when oiling a project. I have heard rumors these woodworkers exist. If you’re a member of the group, please raise your hand.
From what I hear, many from this group work on gun stocks. It seems gun-stock refinishers know the secret about tung oil and boiled linseed oil finishes , furniture makers, not so much. The secret appears to be multiple layers, as many as 25 , 30 coats. With that amount of build, the finish has a nice sheen, is water resistant and durable.
One person I talked with has had this finish on his gun stock since 1982. He admits to the amount of work , he says the process is just as therapeutic as planing a surface with hand tools (boring!). And he admits his stock has dents, but there are no cracks or crazing. Best of all, he doesn’t agree with the often-reported application process described in articles and on the Internet: One coat of oil a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year then once a year after that. In fact, he hasn’t added to, touched up or re-coated his gun stock at all and it looks great.
If you are one of these multi-layer oil finishers, please take a minute to comment on your process. And if you’re near the Cincinnati area, drop me a photo of your piece. I need a good shot for an upcoming article , I doubt I have enough time to properly oil-finish a piece before my deadline.
Looking for More Free Woodworking Information?
– Sign up for our newsletters to get free plans, techniques and reviews HERE.
– Like tools? We do! Read our latest tool coverage HERE.
– Looking for free project plans? We have hundreds. Click HERE.
– Learn a new woodworking technique today. Click HERE.
– Want more videos? See all our free videos HERE.
– Check out our selection of half-price woodworking books HERE.
– Get 8 years of Popular Woodworking on one CD. Click HERE.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
One other point about an oil finish is that it can be totally food safe and easily repariable – if you use mineral oil. I made an island for our kitchen and used wide 8/4 walnut for a three board top. The top was initially "finished" with a 1/3 wax 2/3 mineral oil mix I heated up and let soak into both sides for 24 hours. Both sides then had numerous applications of pure mineral oil, untl the wood stopped soaking it up. I still apply a coat to the top every few weeks and let it soak in overnight, but I think the wood is slowly getting to the point of not soaking up much of the mineral oil.
Is this finish more work than every other finish I have applied – you bet. But since it’s non-toxic (I believe BLO has drying agents I would not want in my food) and not a film finish, it’s easy to repair the top that sees a lot of abuse.
My kids have left plenty of messes on the top, but so far the water marks clear up quickly with the Mineral Oil (found in the pharmacy – it’s also a laxitive).
My only regret about this finish, beyond the periodic applicaitons, is that it did not pop grain in the walnut. I had three slip matched wide 8/4 boards, with a few sections of curl, and some flame in the crotch at the end. The figure is pretty much lost on all but the diehard woodworkers.
Glen – Realize that many of the "tung oil" gunstock finishes that one sees at art firearms shows aren’t native tung oil – it’s tung oil that’s been polymerized by heating in the absence of oxygen and the presence of metallic compounds. I’ve tried this finish, and it builds considerably more quickly than 100% unadulterated tung oil. The end result, assuming that the wood species is closed-pore or open pore that’s been filled, is a glass-smooth, very thin finish. I’ve a couple of firearms finished this way, and can confirm that it’s remarkably water-resistant.
However, so is shellac applied by the french-polish method, and french polishing is considerably less labor intensive.
But, to your other point about some woodworkers insisting that finishing be easy, I’d say that’s inappropriate. Very little that’s easy is worthwhile, and very little that’s worthwhile is easy.
Glen,
I make a lot of humidors and free-form bandsaw boxes and I oil finish almost all of them. After I finish sand them to the smoothness I like I start the finish process using Liberon Finishing Oil.
I start with 220 or so wet/dry sand paper and liberaly sand the Liberon into the project, making sure that a wet surface is left. After about 20 minutes I wipe the surface and let the project sit for up to a week (but at least a couple of days). Then I repeat with 300 wet/dry sandpaper continuing the process up through 600 at least, depending on the wood. After the final coat has sat for at least a week, I finish with a couple coats of paste wax (again Liberon wax). A good buffing and I’m done.
It’s not uncommon for a finished project to wind up with a glass-smooth finish that just begs to be touched. If I want the finish to be satined a bit I apply the wax with 0000 steel wool.
It’s not uncommon for the finish to take longer than the project at times, but the outcome is well worth it. It’s actually easy, just time consuming. I have a humidor made out of Jatoba that is glass smooth and has nothing but oil on it. That finish is at least three years old and has never been touched up and looks as good as new.
Don’t get me wrong, I use other finishes as well, but on the right project, oil just "pops"!
John