Tried And True Varnish Oil

[bill epstein]

Visited Klingspor today and asked about a similar finish to the amber shellac and SW Classic Varnish top coat I usually use for Walnut but something different, less amber, for Bubinga. Guy there pointed me toward the Tried And True as looking natural, less colored, and a favorite of Christian Becksvoort. I'm a big fan of his, T&T comes in pints, and I promised to apply it as the counter guy advised,"really, really, thin".

Some Googling when I got home turned up that my Shaker preserving idol had issues with the stuff after his first infatuation and lot's of others panned it for not drying, etc., but I owned it.

Got out 2 pieces of Cherry I'd milled and prepped (but not sanded) for face vise jaws I didn't use. Just as in the video, I burnished one with a 3M Pad, dampened a corner of a Handi-Wipe and distributed the gooey oil on it, dipped again and squeezed out excess and applied "really, really, thin".

It's 60 minutes later. I wiped down the finish with the Handi-Wipe getting off just a bit of oil. The surface is dry to the touch. The color is virtually unchanged. I wouldn't say the grain "popped" but it looks good. You be the judge if the pic (the second piece in line is from the same board unfinished) does it justice.

I like it. I'll post again after 3 coats.

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[Stan Calow]

I think the original T&T product is just oil and wax, no varnish. I think thats the one people have problems with.

[Patrick Walsh]

I really really like the stuff.

That and true oil..

[Don Stephan]

Six or eight years ago I tried it on a couple bowls. After several weeks one bowl bottom was still leaving an oily ring on paper so I gave the remainder of the can away to a friend. Come to think about it, haven't heard much from Jim in several years . . .

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I use the Danish and Varnish oil varieties on almost everything I make. The first coat of the varnish oil cures in 24-48 hours depending on temperature, the Danish about half that. I give subsequent coats at least 72 hours. I think it’s a great finish and well worth the wait.

[Jim Becker]

I've been using T&T products since I started woodworking in the late 1990s. Professor Dr. SWMBO's cherry desk downstairs in her office...my first real furniture project...was finished in the oil/wax product and still looks like new. I routinely use the polymerized oil for projects as I like it and I also like that it has no metallic driers in it. When my shop wasn't heated, that was important because I had to bring stuff in the house to dry in warm air and we have birds.

The varnish oil product is the only one I never really took to. It's a good product, I'm sure, but I never gave it the time I should have to really get to know it.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Another thing I like about T&T is that, although there is a faint odor that can linger for up to 2 weeks, all of their products are zero VOC.

[bill epstein]

As advertised, here's the milled, planed, and scraped but not sanded Cherry, accompanied by the likewise prepped, except sanded to 220 Bubinga ,after 3 coats of Tried&True Varnish Oil.

The Bubinga was the reason for the purchase of the T&T. The aim of the finish was to affect the color as little as possible while enhancing the grain. I'm wondering about the reddening of the blotchy area on the Cherry but it doesn't seem that the Bubinga looks any more red so I'm satisfied. There's also a nice tactile feel, almost waxy. Applied thinly in my heat-pumped 70 degree environment there is no sticky residue with just 24 hours between coats.

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[Jim Tobias]

I am a big fan of T&T. Started using it a couple of years ago and I use it on every project that wiping on the finish is feasible. You DO have to put it on thin.
I also found that if I sand the item(especially smaller items) to a high grit(800-1000) it doesn't seem to absorb as much and it leaves a silky smooth feel after a couple of thin coats and a little buffing.

Jim

[Jim Becker]

Bill, the color of the cherry will even out more over time...