Danish Oil Question

[Dave Fritz]

I'm finishing a natural edge cherry burl bowl with Danish oil. In order to get finish on the uneven rim I dabbed it on pretty heavy with a brush. I tried to wipe off the excess with a paper towel but found I missed one little spot. The oil has come off the rim on the side and left a tacky spot.

I'm wondering how to deal with that?

Just let it dry and then rub it back with fine steel wool?

Thanks for your input.

Dave Fritz

[Prashun Patel]

Moisten a rag with a little mineral spirits or even a little more danish oil and then wipe the spot gently. Then buff the area with a cleaner cloth if necessary.

[Dave Fritz]

Thanks Prashun, worked beautifully.

Dave

[Reed Gray]

Oil will also bubble up from any crack or hole. This can be a real problem with burl pieces, and bark. You can leave it clean at night and find blemishes in the morning. I will take the air hose to it to blow out most of the excess out. If it is too dry/set up when you get to it to remove it with thinner or more finish, then the steel wool works well.

robo hippy

[Dave Fritz]

Reed, that's exactly what happened. So if I understand correctly, you apply a coat of finish, wipe if off, then blow it out and wipe it off again?

Dave Fritz

[Prashun Patel]

or you can just come back every so often and dab up any bleed.

Finishes with oil can do this when applied heavily; that is, if you soak a porous piece heavily. To eliminate that problem, you can apply the oil more lightly. Apply it to a rag in quarter-sized puddles and wipe it on instead of directly to the wood. Rub the finish in until it basically disappears. Hand-rubbed polishings like this give a good looking, quicker drying finish. The downside is that you need a little bit of elbow grease and may need a couple more coats vis-a-vis 2-3 soakings.

Although, this is all nitpicking. You've seen how easy bleed-back is to remedy. With enough patience and willingness to put on one more coat, it's really hard to screw up a DO finish unless you let it pool and gum for a long time.

[Reed Gray]

Generally for this type of finish, I will thin it by half with mineral spirits. This mostly lets it penetrate in much deeper. If there are holes that I know will bleed, then I will blow them out and wipe it off. I try to get one more wipe off session before I go to bed. At least 2 coats of the thinned out finish, then a couple of coats of the straight from the can finish. I do like to let the first coat dry for a couple of days before I put the next coats on.

robo hippy

[Dave Fritz]

Thank you guys, this has been really helpful.

Dave