How long should I wait to put an oil based topcoat after applying boiled linseed oil to pop the grain?
Printable View
How long should I wait to put an oil based topcoat after applying boiled linseed oil to pop the grain?
Until the surface has no tackiness. You just put on a thin coat and wiped most of it off right?
Flooded the area and wiped it off after 15 minutes.
The next day is fine if you did the wipe off as noted. But do consider that you're going to get about the same effect from the first coat of an oil based finishing product on many species. Do some tests and see if you can eliminate the BLO just to save a step.
Actually Jim, on maple at least, it does make a difference. I did some side by side trials on a maple project I did several years ago. Upon initial application, the oil based poly looks just like the surface that had received the penetrating oil. But after curing, some of the wetting effect was lost with the poly. The samples, side by side had a noticeable difference in the way the figure showed. I can't say about other woods though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Becker
I just want to say that with ring porous woods, especially red oak, you really need to watch the surface for up to a couple of days. The BLO gets into those pores and can take days to all seep out. If those aren't wiped off when wet, they will leave shiny, tacky specks that never seem to fully cure. For that reason, I don't flood the oil on those types of wood. Rather, I just wipe light coats on repeatedly as it's absorbed over a period of 15 or 20 minutes. Then let it sit and give it a good wipe 20 minutes later.
Always good to test as I noted because yes, some species benefit with the oil vs just the oil based finish. For those of us that don't use oil based varnish or other finishes, BLO plus a wax free shellac barrier is our go-to for warming things up.
24 hours minimum has been my experience. A bit of gum turps or Japan drier or both speeds things up but they are not as user friendly as straight Linseed Oil. I used to buy raw Linseed oil and boil it myself then put it on hot. It is still a slow dry. Lately I use natural Minwax wood stain which is ready for any topcoat after 8 hours.