Replies

1. 
   Pondfish | Dec 27, 2005 02:24am | #1

   BLO won't leave a high gloss finish when fully cured.  To reduce sheen to a satin finish, buff with steel wool or grey pads (equivalent to #000 steel wool) after leaving the oil to dry for a week or two.  Be sure to wipe off the chair dry after an hour; don't leave leave a wet surface to cure, you will get a mess.

   Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
1. 
   jblogan | Dec 27, 2005 05:32am | #2

   Thanks. I guess if my question were more to the point I would have asked, "What can I use over the oil for a finish?"

1. 
   Gretchen | Dec 27, 2005 05:48am | #3

   Anything you want. A wipe on varnish would be nice.Gretchen

1. 
   jblogan | Dec 28, 2005 08:14am | #6

   Thanks. Does wipe on mean the same as brush on? Someone once told me there are no stupid questions & I believed them!Jerry

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Dec 29, 2005 04:11am | #8

   Wipe on is varnished thinned enough to be applied with a rag similar to applying an oil finish except it doesn't need to be so thoroughly wiped off.  You can buy it that way, which means its expensive thinner, or you can make it your self by adding thinner to any oil based varnish.  I would recommend a non-poly varnish such as Behlen RockHard, or Pratt&Lambert no. 38.  Almost as durable as poly, and much better looking, in my opinion. 

   Try adding only about 25% thinner instead of the customary 50%.  If you like the way that works, it will build a bit faster.  If it gets tacky to quickly for you, you can always add more thinner. 

2. 
   jblogan | Dec 29, 2005 06:17pm | #9

   Steve, can I do that AFTER wax?

3. 
   SteveSchoene | Dec 29, 2005 07:42pm | #10

   No, varnishes won't adhere well to a waxed surface.  You can remove wax with naptha or mineral spirits, but you have to be thorough.  It would require multiple applications, changing the rag or papertowel frequently so you are not just smearing it around. 

4. 
   jblogan | Dec 30, 2005 04:35am | #11

   Thanks Steve. Live & learn!

2. 
   KesslerCraftsman | Dec 27, 2005 08:19pm | #4

   You can use shellac on top of the BLO..and then top that with lacquer for even more durability.

   A poly varnish would be even more durable, but I happen to generally not like poly varnishes, though sometimes they're a necessary evil.

   See the attached picture of a mahogany table....with tinted BLO, followed by garnet shellac, followed by nitrocellulose lacquer....

   lp

   
1. 
   jblogan | Dec 28, 2005 08:12am | #5

   Wow, beautiful table. I love your style. I am somewhat of a beginner to the finishing area of woodwork. I have used garnet paper, & I thought nitrocellulose blew things up. I will probably go with a poly of some sort. It's just an old rocker out of someone's gabage pile. In the future though, after I've stolen your design, I will try something more advanced.Thanks a bunch, Jerry

3. 
   Elcoholic | Dec 29, 2005 12:48am | #7

   When I use BLO to pop figure I mix it 50/50 with mineral spirits and add Japan drier to speed up the drying/bleeding/wiping process.  I've top coated with lacquer (directly) or w/b poly over a 2# cut of dewaxed shellac barrier coat.

   For an oil only finish it's much easier to build a finish using a polymerizing oil/varnish like Watco.  I once read the old rule of thumb for a straight oil finish is to put it on once an hour for a day, once day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year.  Now that's a finishing schedule I'd just as soon skip.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   The more things change ...

   We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized.  I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

   Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC