I searched the forum with the exact "blo and beal buff" search term and came up with a lot of threads, unsurprising as the subject of Beal Buffing probably has North of 100 threads over the years. What did surprise me is I did not find the answer to my question, so here we are North of 101 Beal threads, I feel kind of bad about that...

I bought the Beal buffing system a while ago but have not yet used it. Just to entertain myself I made two Sapele bowls and finished one with straight BLO and the other with pure Tung oil thinned 50% with mineral spirits (MS) (I thinned it because out of the container the Tung oil was very viscous and I wanted it about the same as the BLO). Both bowls have been sitting around for a week or more curing. Today I pulled the Beal system off the shelf and re-read the instructions. I was a bit flummoxed when I read that recommended finishes are Antique Oil (AO), Danish Oil (DO) and Tung Oil (TO). Boiled Linseed Oil is NOT recommended. Urummff. I know that AO and DO are just BLO+MS+hardener (or varnish or polymerized Something Or Other) and things that call themselves "Tung Oil Finish" are the same BLO+MS+SOO).

So, my question is, have any of you used the Beal system to buff straight out of the can BLO?

I am going to wait a few of more weeks to try it out since I have read TO can take a long time to cure, as in a month or more. Which gives me plenty of time to pick your good peoples brains.

Oh, in case anyone is curious, sitting on a table curing, both unbuffed bowls look and feel the same. The BLO bowl is not noticeably darker than the TO bowl, I thought it would be. Also, both bowls are from the same 12/4 plank, apples vs apples after all.

Thanks!
Bruce