Watco Danish oil finish??

[Jerry Olexa]

I have an old oak table and 4 chairs kitchen set that I purchased and finished +20 years ago...It has served us well but recently, we had some heat damage to a portion of the tabletop...I want to repair/refinish but do not want to refinish the total set. Fortunately, I have on hand a 1/2 gallon of the original stain (Watco danish oil finish). I plan to resand the top to bare wood and then apply the stain. May try to blend the damaged area into the old area by sanding/finishing that area only..Generally, this will not work well..
My question is the choice of topcoat. Originally, in my youth I had applied a form of Poly varnish and probably will do so again as it is a heavy use table..How about adhesion, compatibilty, or best product to use, etc? Thanks,

[Joe Chritz]

We really need a terminology sticky. :)

Danish oil finish is likely an oil/varnish blend. It offers some protection but not much. It very well could have some kind of stain or dye added to it.

If adhesion is a problem a barrier coat of thin dewaxed shellac will allow you to top coat with about whatever you want.

Personally I don't use poly anywhere except floors. Look into Behlen's rockhard (thin with their thinner for a wiping varnish) or Waterlox original.

A search here will give you hours of reading on the various differences of those finishes. Essentially they are all varnishes with different resin's and oil bases. Poly is a varnish with a urethane resin, very abrasion resistant but relatively soft. Behlen's is a phenolic resin/linseed oil varnish. Waterlox is a phenolic resin/tung oil varnish. They have slightly different coloring when cured.

Joe

[Steve Schoene]

In general, sanding is not a good way of removing old finish. Using chemical stripper is more effective, especially in terms of leaving the wood ready to accept nw stain or finish, and in not affecting the natural patina caused by aging of the wood. Unless the heat damage has actually scorched the wood, you would need little sanding and would have a more even appearance blending old and new together.

Unless the Watco was one of the tinted varieties--eg walnut or cherry, using the Watco under an oil based top coat would have very little affect on the appearance. And, as an oil/varnish mix, Watco should only be applied to bare wood where it can penetrate, with any excess thoroughly wiped off before it cures.

I agree with Joe's choice of varnishes, though if you want a very light colored varnish Pratt & Lambert 38 is a good choice. If however, you used a polyurethane varnish in the past, it will likely have darkened (yellowed) quite a bit and you would get a better match with the darker Waterlox or Rockhard varnishes.

[Jerry Olexa]

Top was scorched and after several failed mini experiments, I had to sand in order to remove. This morning I sanded from 080 (to remove the scar) up to 220 and then applied the old stain...So far, looks even and will know better after its fully dried. Label says 72 hrs(?) before topcoat. I'll use one of your suggestions for final varnish. I have 1 gallon of P&L #38 in shop...
Thanks for your thoughts and guidance...

[Jerry Olexa]

Bad news....after sanding oak down thoroughly to bare wood, applying 2 coats of Watco Danish oil, the faint outline of the damaged area reappears...after rub off and a full 24 hours of drying..
The uneveness of the surface is gone but the faint reminder of the past damage is disappointing.. Perhaps, the top coat of varnish will level it out and blend it somewhat....:confused::mad:

[Henry Ambrose]

Bad news....after sanding oak down thoroughly to bare wood, applying 2 coats of Watco Danish oil, the faint outline of the damaged area reappears...after rub off and a full 24 hours of drying..
The uneveness of the surface is gone but the faint reminder of the past damage is disappointing.. Perhaps, the top coat of varnish will level it out and blend it somewhat....:confused::mad:

Nope, but more sanding will fix it.
Sand it or you'll have to look at it with remorse every day for years to come.

[Scott Holmes]

I agree with Henry and Steve. A chemical stripper will get the old finish out of the pores; sanding will not, unless you remove a lot of wood, as in sanding a floor.

old finish in the pores will cause uneven penitration of the Watco and it will show.

As for using P&L it is a very good varnish, one of my favorite, it's an alkyd resin/soya oil varnish. Of the 4 varnishes mentioned; poly (no), P&L, Behlens and Waterlox I give the nod to Waterlox as the best performing by a little bit over the the other non-poly varnishes, it will be much better than any OTC poly.

[Jerry Olexa]

Thanks to all....Had to compromise a bit (oak, stain and poly are not my favorites). Your advice valuable. Just applied last coat of varnish. Thanks again...:)