Pics of Live Edge Table and a Danish Oil Question

[Gene Waara]

Now that LOML has about run out of home improvement projects (deck and pergola, fireplace mantle and surround, stair rails, finish a 1300 sq ft lower leverl into a media room with all oak English Pub style wet bar, kitchen gut & remodel, etc.) I can give furniture a try in my spare time. I just finished a birch live edge table and although I can hold my own with carpentry projects, I am embarassed to post my first furniture attempt pictures given the unbelievable projects I see on this site. However, I have a couple of questions that require pictures (besides, as simple as it is I am rather proud of it :D).

I have always used stain/poly on my projects but decided to try Danish Oil after reading about it. Posted are the results of 5 coats. I have a couple of questions.

1) Note the blotching in the last couple of pictures. Although I like the look given the rustic look of the table, is the nature of birch to blotch or did I do something wrong in prep (I progressively sanded to 220 grit). The wood is perfectly smooth but additional coats of oil do not change the blotch pattern.

2) I read Danish Oil leaves a dull finish but am disappointed with exactly how dull. I assume I can put a couple of coats of satin poly to "gloss up" the finish. Any other suggestions?

And - by the way, try not to flame my simple project to harshly.:eek:



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[Steve Schoene]

What you are referring to as blotching is what most people would call "popping the grain". It's inherent with birch.

Sure, it's possible to apply a film finish over the Danish oil, though that will change the look of these pieces rather dramatically. And, since the wood does have a few knots and the like, the film finish will soak in differentially, giving the appearance of the wood being rougher than it is.

Before I tried the film finish I would alter the Danish oil a bit by mixing it with a bit higher proportion of varnish, than the typical equal parts of oil, varnish and thinner. Still wipe all excess from the surface, but you might end up with a bit more sheen.

And, if you do go to a film finish, I'd suggest you avoid poly, and use a good wiping varnish so you can keep the film thin. Waterlox is good, and you can turn the Satin version into an excellent wiping varnish by a bit of thinning. The Original/Sealer is already thinned for wiping, and gives a nice semi-gloss sheen.

[Prashun Patel]

Nice table! I feel your pride. No slamming from me - each piece is a learning experience.

Heresy alert: I've mixed polyurethane with Danish Oil to make a pseudo "Maloof mix". It worked fine. You still have to apply it the same way as the Danish oil: wipe on, soak, wipe off. It starts to build after a coat or two though. You'll notice that successive coats get gummier quicker, so don't let it soak for long. By buffing it almost all completely off, you get a hard, but in-the-wood finish.

I used a semigloss, but would be leery of a satin - I've found that hard to wipe consistently. The less built-up the finish, the less glossy 'gloss' is, anyway.

[Zach England]

I believe the term is "chatoyancy".

[Bill White]

Oil will give ya a flat but deep finish. Wiping varnish over the oil will work. I try to stay away from poly whenever possible.
I also use a gloss finish which is then rubbed out to a semigloss final sheen. I find that a gloss will yeild a "clear" finish after rubbing. The flatting agents seem to dull the finish somewhat.
Bill

[Darnell Hagen]

If the blotches look light from one angle, then dark from another, that's figure. Birch almost always has some, the really figured boards look like you could stick your whole hand into the curl. It's grain changing direction, and reflecting light in a different way.

[glenn bradley]

1) Birch and other woods blotch. Your example is not the unpleasant blotching that I don't care for though. Your's seems to be more figure enhanced than blotchy. Could be the photo but I like it.

2) I prefer shellac and a paste wax like Johnson's. But then, I prefer shellac for most surfaces that will not be roughly treated or exposed to vodka.

Most importantly, I really like your table. Nice work.

[Kent A Bathurst]

1) Birch and other woods blotch. 2) I prefer shellac .

Cherry is notorious for blotching. My solution is a 1# - 1.5# cut of dewaxed ultra pale / blonde / whatever shellac as a "seal coat" or "wash coat". In fact, that worked out so well I do that on most pieces. [except walnut - use garnet for that].

[Gene Waara]

Thanks for all the great advice. After researching poly vs. shellac vs. varnish I understand why a wiping varnish might be a good choice. As Prashun said - this is a learning experience. To clarify, the color is not refracted from different angles, the color differences look the same from every angle. I assumed it was the wood, not my prep, but wanted to be sure. I stumbled across this wood for a grand total $22 so figured it would make a good practice project. Thanks again!

[Kent A Bathurst]

Yeah - that sounds like blotching. Stuff Happens.

AFAIK, just about any darn thing you want to use for a finish can go on top of the shellac. I used wiping poly on a walnut & QS Sycamore blanket chest, over the shellac [anticipated neice abuse]. Works ducky.

[Andrew Joiner]

Try this for more gloss.
Wet sand with #400 grit paper covered with oil. Sand with the grain, and add more oil as necessary by wetting the surface of the sandpaper. Wet sanding causes the wood's pores to absorb a slurry of oil and dust. When adding more oil during the wet sanding, take care not to wash away this slurry. Wipe off excess oil across the grain before it drys. Wait 48 hours or longer and do the same thing with #600 grit.

It looks to me like you have some nice figure in the wood that is enhanced by natural colored oil and sanding. Not really what I call blotching. Any color( stain) added to the oil would have made it blotchy.

[Prashun Patel]

Andrew-
With due respect, his post was about getting a harder and less blotchy surface - not filling the pores. I'm a huge fan of wetsanding the finish - but I think it has more of an impact on feel than on the look - just my 2C.

[Andrew Joiner]

Andrew-
With due respect, his post was about getting a harder and less blotchy surface - not filling the pores. I'm a huge fan of wetsanding the finish - but I think it has more of an impact on feel than on the look - just my 2C.

Good point Prashun.

I saw no mention of a "harder" finish by Gene. My experience tells me wet sanding is an easy way to increase the sheen a bit at this point for Gene.

[ian maybury]

This is a bit of a heresy vs. the usual wipe it off recommendations for Danish oil, and isn't a really high end finishing approach - but i've had good results with 'brushing' (more like wiping really) on coats using a sponge 'brush'. You need to move on quickly, and also to take care not to put on so much to get runs etc.

It sometimes leaves tiny holes in the finish visible in cross light which seem to correspond to pores in the wood - the chances are that wet and dry sanding the first couple of coats when still wet would fill these.

The sponge seems to strike a balance between getting enough of a build to create a finish, and not building so much that it looks like varnish. Three to four coats is usually enough - the first two tend to be a bit patchy because some parts soak more oil than others, and they delay getting a gloss.

After the last coat you can cut it back with a very fine steel wool and then wax it if you want a satin finish. Polishing with compound would probably bring up a higher gloss, although i've not tried it.

One thing to watch out for is that while the Danish does bring out the grain beautifully, it dulls off a little over time and so can use the odd re-waxing...

[Andrew Joiner]

What brand of "Danish Oil" are you using?
I used Watco for years from 1970 til the late 80's. I bought some Watco around 1998 and it seemed thinner. I called Watco and they said the formula was changed. I started mixing my own of about 1/3 mineral spirits, 1/3 linseed oil, and 1/3 varnish. In looking over my older pieces I think the more varnish in the mix the more gloss.
I started using just heated linseed oil to avoid fumes last year. Those pieces don't have as much shine to them even after paste waxing. Surprisingly they resist water spots as well as the heavy 1/3 varnish mix and my brain cells and liver feel sparkling clean after 3 coats!

[Gene Waara]

I used Watco Danish Oil, natural color. I did wet sand to fill a few open pores, which it did nicely. All the wood surfaces are ridiculously smooth - a nice surprise since I have previously exclusively stained and poly'd. I wanted to try something different on this piece and now continue to wrestle with what to apply as a top coat to give the wood some protection and gloss. The more I read the more confused I get :confused:. One nice thing about poly is it dries fast and since I don't have a finishing room it eliminates crap in the finish. Is there an easy to use, high gloss wipe on varnish that dries quickly? Seems that would give me a clear, non-plastic looking finish that I could rub to the sheen I think looks right. Or am I asking too much?