I applied some BLO to old Oak wood, but am not too happy with the result, and wonder, which lacquer or varnish can I over paint the BLO infused wood with?
I need a smoother, harder surface.
I need a smoother, harder surface.
BLO and lacquer?
- Thread starter Janne
- Start date
Yacht varnish.
Tru-Oil.
Oil based polyurethane. Do the polyurethane over de-waxed shellac if worried about interaction.
What is the item you are finishing, how big an area, flat or shaped, what will it be used for, what sort of durability do you need.
"Smoother harder" could mean very different things to different people and result in quite a wide variation in advice.
Interesting reading.
https://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/finishes/choosing-best-wood-finish
Tru-Oil.
Oil based polyurethane. Do the polyurethane over de-waxed shellac if worried about interaction.
What is the item you are finishing, how big an area, flat or shaped, what will it be used for, what sort of durability do you need.
"Smoother harder" could mean very different things to different people and result in quite a wide variation in advice.
Interesting reading.
https://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/finishes/choosing-best-wood-finish
I am restoring a 1940’s German oak tripod.
Old wood has flat and concave surfaces.
New wood is convex ( round staff)
The staff moves in the concave grooves.
The BLO surface is fully dry, but kind of ‘grippy’.
(Sorry for weird English)
Old wood has flat and concave surfaces.
New wood is convex ( round staff)
The staff moves in the concave grooves.
The BLO surface is fully dry, but kind of ‘grippy’.
(Sorry for weird English)
hmmm. Okay, not what I had imagined. Not entirely sure that I understand what the thing looks like, but if you have the staff moving against other wood surfaces I think you want to stick with a drying oil, something that penetrates the wood and does not build up a surface film. Urethane or spar/yacht varnish moving against itself isn't all that smooth, unless you can lubricated it with something. Danish oil will sink in, and you can burnish the surface after it is fully dry, then wax it.
Might have been better had you not used BLO in the first place. There are finishes that will give a similar look but with better hardness, protection and faster drying, but they are not compatible with that oil now in the wood.
If the current surface is grippy, it may not be as dry as you think. If the finish is flush with the wood and fully cured it shouldn't be all that grippy, should be fairly smooth. Could try wire-wool and burnishing.
Might have been better had you not used BLO in the first place. There are finishes that will give a similar look but with better hardness, protection and faster drying, but they are not compatible with that oil now in the wood.
If the current surface is grippy, it may not be as dry as you think. If the finish is flush with the wood and fully cured it shouldn't be all that grippy, should be fairly smooth. Could try wire-wool and burnishing.
https://images.app.goo.gl/njTib2StAfKfkJoW7
A very similar design.
I will try and remove the oil and see if I can, if not I will try with waxing it.
Problem was I had to replace all six round staffs, the old ones were in bad condi5ion, plus shortened. BLO seemed like a good idea!
A very similar design.
I will try and remove the oil and see if I can, if not I will try with waxing it.
Problem was I had to replace all six round staffs, the old ones were in bad condi5ion, plus shortened. BLO seemed like a good idea!
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I would just apply a paste furniture wax over the top of the oil that you've used already. The oak is open grained and without coating it with something that will chip off, the best you can do is to give it a bit of glide 
Some good old Briwax or other hardwax furniture polish (or osmo oil, a hardwax oil) will allow the legs to run in the channels and reduce the tackiness of the oil finish (which is likely dry, but not cured as that takes months with BLO)
Some good old Briwax or other hardwax furniture polish (or osmo oil, a hardwax oil) will allow the legs to run in the channels and reduce the tackiness of the oil finish (which is likely dry, but not cured as that takes months with BLO)
I'm with Mr Claycomb, with danish oil you can put it on a buff it up until it's supershiny and slippy. I did this to a couple of knife handles before taking them back again as they were too slippy to use safely!! lay it on, let it dry, buff with 1000/1500 grit, lay it on let it dry, buff with 1000/1500 grit finish with a polishing mop and some wax.
Once its cured you can lacquer over it - I've made a fair few guitars and most had oil to bring out the figure then multiple coats of lacquer with no problems.
Hope this helps
Phil
Hope this helps
Phil
Supermany thnks, all!
I guess the BLO curing goes faster/deeper if I keep the wood outside (around 27-30C, high humidity) in dappled shade?
I have kept the bits indoors, 19 C, very low humidity.
My knife handle hobby, I always kept the knifes indoors, as I did not want the blades to rust.
( Carbon rusts quicker than you can polish it, S/s gets rust spots in a few days)
I guess the BLO curing goes faster/deeper if I keep the wood outside (around 27-30C, high humidity) in dappled shade?
I have kept the bits indoors, 19 C, very low humidity.
My knife handle hobby, I always kept the knifes indoors, as I did not want the blades to rust.
( Carbon rusts quicker than you can polish it, S/s gets rust spots in a few days)
I have polished all Brass, Bronze and Aluminium on both the tripod and the first binocular.
Will protect with ProtectaClear made by a company called Everbrite.
I thought I would not do any protective coating, but the oxidation is horribly rapid, even indoors.
Will protect with ProtectaClear made by a company called Everbrite.
I thought I would not do any protective coating, but the oxidation is horribly rapid, even indoors.
BLO cures as an oxidation reaction. Whether you have it inside or outside isn't going to make all that much difference. I would tend to keep it inside simply because it is more likely to be a stable environment, even if I lost a little oxidation reaction speed with the lower temperature (don't know whether the difference would even be noticeable)
If you want to try and get as much of the BLO back out of the wood, pout it in a black garbage sack and stick it outside in the sun for a few hours, remove, wipe down, repeat.
This is the way we do it with WW2 firearms where BLO or RLO was the standard method of wood protection.
At the end I lightly sanded the surface, just down to the wood, and applied heavily diluted BLO very thinly to get a protective layer.
Much better, the grain is not so coated now. Feels much harder too.
I discovered that the BLO in the old container was much thicker than in a newly bought container, hence the overly thick and soft layer..
Much better, the grain is not so coated now. Feels much harder too.
I discovered that the BLO in the old container was much thicker than in a newly bought container, hence the overly thick and soft layer..
