Homemade "Danish Oil" Questions

[Jerry Bruette]

If I mix equal parts of varnish, blo, and mineral spirits to make my own "danish oil" finish can it be used like a wipe on varnish and is there a way to color or tint it so it's like a Watco product?

It'll be used on a vertical surface oak panelling that shouldn't see any wear.

Jerry

[Steve Schoene]

No it can't be used like a wipe on varnish--if you tried that you would end up with an excessively soft film. It should be used like other
oil finishes including Watco, ie. you wipe on liberally, let penetrate for a short time and then vigorously wipe off all the material that remains on the surface.

If you want it darker like a walnut Watco you could add asphaltum. You will have to experiment to find how much you need to achieve the effects you are after.

[Jerry Bruette]

Thanks Steve. Sounds like a can of Watco would be less trouble.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> Sounds like a can of Watco would be less trouble.

Your home brew will make for a better, more durable and protective finish. Watco is almost all thinner with very little in the way of varnish or oil.

[Steve Schoene]

Actually in the end, the thinner all evaporates leaving the Watco at 100% varnish and oil, just like the home brew. It will likely take a couple of extra coats to achieve the same additional solids in the surface. You would tell if you have enough solids by whether you have an even satin sheen. With similar sheens the production and durability should be approximately the same. For large projects that means the Watco would be more expensive since you pay full price for mineral spirits, which is the cheapest material..

[Jerry Bruette]

Is there a way to fortify the Watco with varnish to get a better finish?

[Bob Wingard]

If I mix equal parts of varnish, blo, and mineral spirits to make my own "danish oil" finish can it be used like a wipe on varnish and is there a way to color or tint it so it's like a Watco product?
Jerry

I know I've said this before, but here goes ... ... ...

Your "PLAN" is to make a mixture of blo / thinner / varnish ... mind you, I called it exactly what it is ... a "MIXTURE" ... meaning it is made up of individually identifiable molecules of each ingredient. This mixture is in no way ever chemically changed into any kind of compound by heat/Catalyzation/or any outside influence intended to change it's physical or chemical properties. It gets all thoroughly mixed ... then applied to your project. Let us assume for a moment that your project is a highly porous .. very finely textured material .. maybe balsa wood, although a superfine sponge would be even more dramatic. You slosh your well-intended mixture onto the dry surface and it spreads like water ... penetrating everything ... BUT ... has it penetrated evenly and/or equally ??? ANSWEWR: NO ... that would be absolutely impossible because you are throwing 3 physically different substances at it. One open molecule might randomly get soaked with a molecule of solvent ... another smacked with the blo ... yet another gets a good taste of varnish. Each and every molecule on the surface of that project can only absorb one of the three available ingredients in your mixture.

Some here will argue that this is such a wonderful "touch-feely" technique that was even used by artisans like Sam Maloof ... after all ... he pretty much invented it. Granted, it does feel nice to the touch, but that is largely due to the blo on or near the surface that will never cure or harden, and wouldn't provide any real protection even if it did. In an interview, Sam once blurted out when asked about his concoction that he needed something fast, cheap, foolproof, and nice to touch. Unfortunately, he left out the primary purpose of a finish ... PROTECTION. He never claimed his concoction provided any such protection, and he simply let it go at that. If Sam had stuck with making his wonderful chairs, and had hired someone with experience and background to do his finishing, it's hard to tell how much better his pieces would have been, but then, with his fanatic following, I doubt very much that it ever really bothered him.

Think about this ... if his finish was some kind of magic or miraculous product ... would ROCKLER be formulating and selling it ?? And, I might add, at a ridiculously high markup. As long as people wanted it, Sam cashed in on the cult like following, and made it available to them. He was a nice guy, and an absolute artist ... but even more so, he was an entrepeneur. Couple that with the old saying that there's a sucker born every minute, and you have a pretty profitable long-lived legacy of a product.

[Jerry Bruette]

So I guess my question is should I just buy a can of Watco slop it on and wipe it off after 15-20 minutes or should I stir up a mixture and get touchy feely with my project.:confused:

I'd like to keep the finishing process simple and relatively fast.

Like I said it's going on some oak panelling that will be in my cabin, and I don't forsee a whole lot of traffic on it.:)

Jerry

[Prashun Patel]

Why not just make a wiping varnish by eliminating the blo?

As for the validity of a maloof finish, some furniture doesnt require the protection of a film finish.

[Bob Wingard]

That has always been my go to finish ... several coats of very thin wiping varnish, until a little bit of build happens, then a little thicker finish for a few coats until I get the look & feel I want. NEVER will I allow blo anywhere in my shop ... it is relegated to the shed to be used on shovel & ace handles & such.

[Jerry Bruette]

Why not just make a wiping varnish by eliminating the blo?

As for the validity of a maloof finish, some furniture doesnt require the protection of a film finish.

What's the recipe for wiping varnish? 50/50 varnish and mineral spirits?
Or is that something I'd buy in a can like ArmRSeal?
Jerry

[Prashun Patel]

Yes, you can thin most oil varnishes 50/50 with mineral spirits. ArmRSeal is also a wiping varnish. I like it very much. Know that is a polyurethane varnish, which some people find objectionable. Unless this is a heavy use table, I like to apply my finishes thin as Bob does. I find for thin film finishes, polys like ArmRSeal are very forgiving to apply and look great. I use semigloss. I prefer to flood on the first coat, then rub it around with a cloth, then wipe most of it off. Next day, I wipe on with one cloth and wipe off with a clean cloth- just as I would do with an oil-varnish. I have to work a little quicker with a wiping varnish than an oil-varnish because it starts to dry a little quicker. Repeat every few hours until the sheen is satin and even. You'll get no build this way. Yes, it wastes a little finish. Yes it is not super protective, but for some applications, it's enough protection. The tradeoff is that it is easy to apply, and masks imperfections like open grain, or minor tear out, or out of flat areas. F

Don't be afraid to experiment.

[Bob Wingard]

Actually, I carry it a bit further ... my first several coats are more like 70% VM&P Naptha and 30% Waterlox (or other varnish of your choosing). The extremely low viscosity drastically reduces surface tension and allows the finish to flood the pores of open grained woods and the Naptha dries faster than most other solvents, so the finish cures more quickly and dust free.