Questions on Antique Oil

[Jack Gaskins]

I have a couple bowls that I would like to put a nice gloss on. I have read a little about Antique Oil and ordered some from Ace Hardware today. My question is what do I apply it with? Do I sand between coats? What do I buff with? I do not have a beall buff so I would have to buff by hand while the bowl spins on the lathe. The bowls I want to put a shine on are ambrosia maple. One of them has two coats of BLO and 2 coats of DO. The other is still raw. I also have a can of spray laquer and some wipe on poly, are either of those better than the Antique Oil? Both bowls are about 9-10" in dia and will be used for wrapped candy dishes at work and one for home. Thanks for reading.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jack,

Here's how I use it.

1. Pour some on the inside of a bowl....wet the entire inside surface of the bowl and keep it wet for 10 minutes. Then.....wait 15 minutes and wipe off any excess. Allow it to dry overnight.

2. Find something that you can invert the bowl on and keep it suspended off the table top or bench top.....Say a quart jar for example.....doesn't matter what ....you just want to repeat the above process on the outside of the bowl....with the bowl suspended upside down.......wet the outside...keep it wet for 10 minutes....let it dry for 15 minutes...and then wipe off any excess.

3. Repeat the above process as many times as necessary to get the results you want. I don't sand between coats .....just do it.

Usually 2 coats on each surface is enough.


Then wait about a week and buff it out.

[Michael James]

Jack, I just started using it as a result of some of the nice finishes I saw here. I got it at ACE too, couldnt find it anywhere else.
I just rub it in with a paper towel. The can suggests 2 coats for more sheen. I guess the bench mark for me is do you want the finish in the wood, or on the wood? Once the wood is sealed you could probably build it up, but I haven't tried - I'd use shellac or lacquer to build up. I do like the product though.
just my 2 cents,
mj

[Bernie Weishapl]

Jack I pretty much do what Ken does. I soak the inside till it won't take anymore. After 10 to 15 minutes I wipe it off. I then put it on a stand of some kind to get it up and saturate the outside till it won't take anymore. I wipe it down and let it dry for 24 hrs. I do this for about 3 coats or so letting it dry for 24 hrs between coats. You can use a old T-shirt or I start using foam brushes. I get them in packs of 50 from hobby lobby I think for about $4. Makes them about 8 cents each and I just toss them when done. I will say that when you wipe them down with a cloth or paper towel make sure you put them in a metal container in case they combust.

[Jack Gaskins]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Is there a difference between wipe on Poly or AO as far as application and gloss? And if I do not have a beall buffing system what would be the best alternative method for buffing up the AO? Thanks.

[Nathan Hawkes]

There is a huge difference as far as gloss is concerned. If all you want is gloss, go for poly. If you want to see the shimmer (chatoyance for you $0.50 word lovers) and preserve some of the grain structure, go for antique oil. That isn't to say that you will lose it with poly, but in my experience, there is a depth with an oil based finish that you cannot replicate with polyurethane. The downside is that it takes far more work to build up antique oil than it does with poly. Like Bernie said, the first coat needs to saturate the wood as much as you can. With really punky spalted wood, you're going to use a lot of finish. Personally, I think any wood that you use AO as a finish on needs to be dry to work right--I let bowls sit for at least a couple weeks, usually much longer before I apply a finish. If the first coat really penetrates the wood, then you can usually get a very nice, semigloss surface with two additional coats. Occasionally, with very tight grained woods, two coats is all that is necessary. You really have to get that first coat to penetrate. I read somewhere, I think in an Ernie Conover book, "if you spare the oil, you'll spoil the bowl." Its my favorite, but I also like Behlen's salad bowl finish, which I think builds a surface much quicker, but isn't as glossy.

[Scott Crumpton]

I started out using plain old poly, diluted 50/50 with mineral spirits and wiped on multiple coats, just like I did for flat work. I was reasonably pleased with the results. Then for awhile I went through a carnuba paste wax only phase. Just recently I tried Watco danish oil. Put the nearly full can in the hazardous waste disposal bucket - I disliked it that much. Then I tried AO and I think I’ve found my finish.

AO seems like a cross between a fast curing poly and the danish oil. I’ve been able to get everything from an almost unfinished look with one or two coats and appropriate wiping to avoid any hint of a gloss all the way to a full gloss effect like multiple coats of wiped on poly. It’s all in the number of coats and application technique of the coats.

For example, on the glossy bowl I just did, there were 3 initial coats to saturate the wood, with each coat wiped off per the instructions. While applying the third coat, I noticed that the wood wasn’t drinking up the finish any more. That told me it was sealed and ready to take finish coats for the gloss. Two more coats were then applied. But contrary to the instructions, I diluted the AO 50/50 with mineral spirits, applied it very thin, and allowed it to level and dry. I got the gloss level that I wanted, just as if it had been poly. A light sanding with 600 grit and another diluted coat could have made it even glossier. I haven’t buffed it yet and haven’t really decided if I will.

Back to that can of danish oil, I pulled it out of the disposal bucket and tried it on a reject textured bowl. About 10 applications later, I started to get a wet look in the texture that I really liked. 15 applications and its just right. Got the same effect on another with AO today and it took only 5 applications.

[Jack Gaskins]

Does the AO pop the grain like BLO? Just wondering if I should apply a few coats of BLO first then the AO.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I haven't had real good luck doing that Jack. I tried it a couple of times and not sure what I did wrong but it came out gummy. I let the BLO sit for a week the applied the AO. I use strictly AO and it does pop the grain. Give it a try on a scrap and see.

[Jack Gaskins]

I haven't had real good luck doing that Jack. I tried it a couple of times and not sure what I did wrong but it came out gummy. I let the BLO sit for a week the applied the AO. I use strictly AO and it does pop the grain. Give it a try on a scrap and see.



I'll experiment with it tomorrow when I pick the AO up from Ace Hardware.

[Thomas Canfield]

I have used Antique Oil in the past, but have changed to a home brew solution lately. The antique oil does give a rich feel and luster to most woods, but the home brew with the poly seem to be a harder finish with good feel and luster. For both, I applied a heavy coat with paper towel, both inside and outside, let sit on bottom on a paper towel for about 5 to 10 minutes wiping if it looks like it will take more, and then wipe with dry paper towel. I let that sit for 24 hours or more, then build up additional coat (usually 4 or 5 now). The latest home brew is 4 parts Danish Oil/1 part polyurethane varnish or equivalent using 4 BLO/ 4 Mineral Spirits /7 Poluurethane varnish when I ran out of danish oil. I buff with tripoli before and after each coat and apply Renaissance Wax for final. I think that you can adjust the gloss factor with the amount of poly. I have not seen a problem with the bottoms drying on the paper towels. I do use either Bounty or Viva and have not seen a lint problem.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jack,

Check this post out.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=1537571&postcount=8


The 1st photo is the inside of the bowl after I just finished putting on the 1st coat of AO......keeping it wet for 10 minutes.....wiping out the access....I came back in 30 minutes and wiped it down again.

The bottom and side shots don't have finish them yet so you can see if AO pops the grain.

[Bob Wolfe]

Jack, You don't have to spend much to get a descent buffing setup. I buy Ryobi buffing wheels (6" or so) and mandrels at HD that will fit in your jacobs chuck. They come stitched, which I use for the tripoli, and nonstitched, which I use for the white diamond and the wax. Another option is the set at Harbor Freight.

I started out with just one buffing wheel that I used to buff and wax, then later picked up more wheels and buffing compounds. I don't have buffs for the inside of the bowls though, I try to make the wheels work for the insides. Sometimes this doesn't work. I've also folded a wad of paper towels so it fits into the bottom of the bowl and held the bowl against the wheel flat face and allowed the friction between the wheel and the towels to spin the towels and buff the inside of the bowl.

This can be tricky to get the pressure and speed figured out, so best to try on a practice bowl first.