Danish oil on pine...will it be blotchy?

[Michael Donahue]

Hey folks. I used Watco danish oil on a recent project and was pretty pleased with it. I was wondering how well it might work on pine. Will it be blotchy like some stains can be? I have some pine that I want to darken up a bit but I haven't had good luck with regular stains in the past. Thanks for the help!

[Howard Acheson]

Are you referring to Watco Danish Oil? If so, what color are you planning to use?

In general, any finish that adds color will tend to color unevenly on pine. Even the "Natural" Watco Danish Oil has an amber or yellow color.

The only way to tell how blotchy it will be is to apply the Danish Oil on some scrap from the same boards.

[Michael Donahue]

Are you referring to Watco Danish Oil? If so, what color are you planning to use?

In general, any finish that adds color will tend to color unevenly on pine. Even the "Natural" Watco Danish Oil has an amber or yellow color.

The only way to tell how blotchy it will be is to apply the Danish Oil on some scrap from the same boards.

I was thinking about the Watco stuff.I don't want to go to dark, maybe Fruitwood or Light Walnut. I just don't want to buy it for this project only to regret it if I don't have much luck.

Anybody have any luck with this?

Thanks!

[John Schreiber]

Howard knows more about finishing than I ever hope to, but here's my experience. I put "clear" Danish oil on my pine workbench not long ago and it looks great. I tried some "walnut" on some of the same wood for another shop project and it blotched something awful. I had to sand it off and go with a painted finish.

Testing is the only way to tell for sure.

[Michael Donahue]

Howard knows more about finishing than I ever hope to, but here's my experience. I put "clear" Danish oil on my pine workbench not long ago and it looks great. I tried some "walnut" on some of the same wood for another shop project and it blotched something awful. I had to sand it off and go with a painted finish.

Testing is the only way to tell for sure.

I was afraid of that. Maybe I'll just go with that natural and let the wood darken a bit the old fashioned way. :D

I'm looking for a color sort of like this in the pic...

http://www.pineantiquator.com/Pine%20Antiquator%20Wood%20Ageing%20Solution.htm%2 0how%20to%20use_files/frontpage_data/treatedandsealedwithwaxpolish.jpg

I found this stuff online called 'Pine Antiquator' but I have no experience with it whatsoever and I think it's only sold in the UK. I love the color though and I'd hate to try to do it with stain only to fail miserably :( The only reason I'm using the pine is because it was free from an old piece of furniture that I couldn't part with (but got the OK to reuse the lumber).

[Chris Padilla]

The problem with pine is the grain changes quite a bit and therefore absorbs stains differently. What you want with pine is a stain that doesn't absorb so much and stays more on the surface. A gel stain tends to work this way and it'll help even out a finish on pine....

[John Schreiber]

The problem with pine is the grain changes quite a bit and therefore absorbs stains differently. What you want with pine is a stain that doesn't absorb so much and stays more on the surface. A gel stain tends to work this way and it'll help even out a finish on pine....
I'm just a beginner at finishing, but an approach which has worked for me is to put a layer of shellac down first, then a gel stain (glaze) on top, then more shellac. That way, the color doesn't mess up the wood directly.

I wouldn't trust any one step product. And, I'd test anything first.

[Michael Donahue]

I'm just a beginner at finishing, but an approach which has worked for me is to put a layer of shellac down first, then a gel stain (glaze) on top, then more shellac. That way, the color doesn't mess up the wood directly.


Maybe that's the best way to do it. That way I could fill the knots with epoxy, cover the whole thing in shellac, some gel stain, then follow with more shellac. Sound reasonable? And maybe a few coats of wipe-on poly on top (going to be building a computer desk)?

I really appreciate all of the input folks! :cool:

[Neal Clayton]

yep, that's the way to do it. alternatively you can just dye the shellac to the color you want and skip the gel stain, use the shellac alone, and then put a varnish or wax on top afterwards.

you'll want to use a clear shellac for the seal coat(s) though.

if you plan to brush it make sure to use a very fine china bristle brush (the ones that say they are for oil paints). large bristle synthetic brushes will leave huge brush strokes. if you're spraying or wiping it's pretty forgiving, as long as you spray light coats so that it doesn't alligator or run on ya.

[glenn bradley]

+1 for gel if you want a minimal absorption. A wash of very thin shellac will help even out the blotchiness (is that a word?).

[Howard Acheson]

If you are going to use shellac, and if you plan to use a final clear coat, be sure to use a dewaxed shellac if you will be using an oil based poly or a waterborne finish.

As already suggested, the only way I ever stain pine is to first apply a thinned 1# cut of shellac. Then apply a gel stain, let it dry and then coat it with whatever final clear coat is appropriate.

[Chris Padilla]

As already suggested, the only way I ever stain pine is to first apply a thinned 1# cut of shellac. Then apply a gel stain, let it dry and then coat it with whatever final clear coat is appropriate.

I'm curious about this, Howard. I pretty much know what you mean but let me ask you this:

Is a thinned 1# cut of shellac the same as say, for example, a 1/2# cut of shellac?

[Prashun Patel]

I have used Medium Walnut Watco Danish Oil on a pine bench and on poplar edge banding before. It blotched both a little. That being said, if your pine piece is fairly rustic, as was my bench, it felt wholly appropriate to me.

[Brad Wood]

I think it is going to depend on your pine.

I read this post a few days ago and didn't chime in due to not really having anything valuable to add.. but...

I was in our downstairs bathroom this weekend and noticed a couple pieces I did a while ago that the LOML uses in there.... As soon as I saw them I thought "oh, I did those in Watco Danish Oil". (natural)
These pieces took the finish very well with no blotch at all and they still look pretty good a year later.

It sounds like you have a plan with the shellac/gelstain/topcoat, but I figured I'd toss this out there... a lot less work. If you have a test piece, give it a shot.