BLO+Sand+BLO ?

[Don Baer]

I am finishing an Oak dresser that I built for my grandaughter and have the first coat of BLO on it. Do I sand it b-4 I apply the second coat or wait until the second coat is on then sand ?
and oh btw will the second coat of BLO bring out more of the grain or is it worth it ?

[Tom Pritchard]

Don, I have never sanded a piece between coats of BLO. I have always completed all of my sanding before I put on my BLO. Also, to answer your question, yes, I do feel that subsequent applications of BLO do enhance and darken the wood in a controllable manner. When the wood looks the way you want it to, you wipe it clean and let it dry. If after drying you decide you want it darker, you can add an additional coat.

Remember to let the BLO dry completely before you put on any additional finish, such as shellac or varnish. Mine take about a week to dry in my basement workshop. Best way to tell is to wait until you can't smell it on the wood anymore.

I'm sure your granddaughter will love her dresser!

[Michael Stafford]

I agree with Tom to a point. I do not feel the need to "sand" anymore after the first coat of BLO, but I always rub it out between coats with a 3M white non-abrasive pad. This will remove any little whiskers that may have been lifted by the oil and will give the wood a wonderful sheen. I highly recommend rubbing out each coat. ;)

[Doug Shepard]

Like the others said, BLO isn't something you need to sand between coats like poly or others. However - there is one school of thought that advocates using wet/dry sandpaper (something fine like 400 or 600 grit) to wet sand the 2nd and later BLO applications. I think the theory is that it's both knocking down any existing little dried oil nibs as well as making a little pore-filling slurry with the wet oil. You then wipe off the excess as usual and let it dry. It's been years since I tried it once on some maple, but it did leave a pretty nice finish.

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

as well as making a little pore-filling slurry with the wet oil. You then wipe off the excess as usual and let it dry.

I read your post the way you wrote it - and the first thing that I thought about was that you said the project was made out of oak. Oak means pores and SOMETIMES pores need to be filled. Hence the sanding between coats of BLO.
That's all!
Daniel :rolleyes:

[Don Baer]

Thanks;
I have some 400 grit I'll try on it then more BLO. I'll post Pix when It's completed.

[Doug Shepard]

I read your post the way you wrote it - and the first thing that I thought about was that you said the project was made out of oak. Oak means pores and SOMETIMES pores need to be filled. Hence the sanding between coats of BLO.
That's all!
Daniel :rolleyes:

Just to be clear - the tips that I saw a few years ago wasn't to sand between coats (though that's certainly feasible too) but to apply the 2nd and later BLO and use the 400 or 600 grit to actually sand with the wet oil - then wipe off the excess. I'm not sure it's any better/worse/easier than doing it between dried coats. I'm sure it's messier. It's just something I tried once after seeing the tip and was fairly happy with the results. My only point about not needing to sand was that BLO isn't something that needs the roughing up of the previous coat to get a mechanical bond like polyurethane does.

[Don Baer]

I have been finishing using stains for years and always would sand between coats. Same with various varnishes. This is the first time using BLO so since I am sailing in uncharted waters for me, I asked the question.
I can say that the results so far look very good. I did a test piece half with BLO and then clear satin finish and the ther half just clear varnish and I will say that the BLO does realy make a differance.

Once again Thanks for the help.

[Jim Becker]

Don, I don't generally sand "between" applications of oil since I normally work in cherry or maple and sand them to a higher grit to begin with when committing to an oil finish. But sanding in the first application or two of oil can help where you need some minor grain filling as the slurry created will fill small voids nicely. You may need to allow for a little longer cure when using the slury method for filling just because there will be small areas with "more oil" that needs to cure. When the smell goes away...it's cured. (But don't use the oil on the inside of a cabinet unless you plan on sealing it with shellac...the smell will never go away--same goes for oil varnishes)