Order of steps?

[Jeff Fender]

Being new to the forum I've gathered plenty of great tips, including how to ebonize oak. The picture of my avatar is the first project that I used this method on. I did run into some problems with the finish.

Originally I had stained the fenders with cherry minwax stain
Then I applied BLO

At that point I wasn't getting the dark finish I was looking for and found the Vinegar/Rust method.

I mixed a batch and applied it.
It had little if any effect so I sanded down through to the grain and reapplied the solution. It worked great! The fenders I made are from 1930's era 1/4 sawn white oak.

So I had the black I wanted and applied more BLO then reapplied the red cherry to bring out the lighter parts of the grain.

The came out excellent, but even after sitting in the sun for two days, they still had a gummy stickiness to them. I fixed that with some gumout, but just wanted to know if I should have proceeded with this in a better way. Thanks and it's great to be here.
http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/11/l_c3dda457741646d881ae5367417540c8.jpg

[Jim Becker]

How old is the BLO you are using? Also, you cannot leave it sitting on the surface indefinitely. You need to wipe off any excess after about 30-60 minutes. BLO is not a film finish. It's just oil and it will not dry if it's "thick" and on the surface of the wood.

Also, BLO is not going to be a protective finish in any way for those fenders relative to moisture and water. You'll want to consider a marine grade varnish with the understanding that it will need to be reapplied periodically just as it would in a marine situation. I'm not talking 'borg "spar varnish" here, but real marine varnish. Steve Shoene has posted a number of times some suggested brands and products.

[Jeff Fender]

The BLO is just about a year old, in the original gallon container. When I apply it I spray it on via my airbrush then rub it in. I was afraid that the blackening wasn't letting it soak in well.
As far as weather resistant, with these being aged white oak and linseed, I'm pretty secure in the resistance they'll have. I havn't had a customer complaint or feed back as of yet......:) But thank you for the heads up. These fenders mainly for on bikes that people aren't normally going to leave out in the elements, but are made with the intention of being able to do so.

[Steve Schoene]

Linseed oil is adding almost zero protection from water. Switching to a varnish such as , even with only a couple of wiped on coats will dramatically improve the durability. Even switching to an oil/varnish mix, which will look just the same as the linseed oil will make a meaningful improvement. But with oil or oil/varnish mix, after a short period of half and hour or so, all the excess on the surface should be vigorously wiped off or you will have a very soft material on the surface. Varnish doesn't require wiping off.

[Jeff Fender]

Great, thanks for the input!