Replies

1. 
   john_c2 | Jan 23, 2021 01:43am | #1

   I've tried it, and was very unimpressed. I would never put it on a floor. Its not anywhere near durable enough.

2. 
   sheringham | Jan 23, 2021 04:03am | #2

   I've been using Osmo and other hardwax oil products for over 10 years, on both floors and joinery, including plywood and solid timber.
   Osmo is definitely my preferred product - easy to apply, leaves a great finish with minimum fuss, is durable and repairable.
   To clarify, I'll describe my technique for applying Osmo, and that may help you to understand my process:
   Sand everything to 180 Grit minimum, 220 preferred. No need to go further than that in my experience.
   I use a mohair or microfibre roller to apply - short nap. Thoroughly vacuum the roller first to remove any loose fibres.
   Apply the Osmo as thinly as possible to the piece - roller on flat surfaces, and a soft brush elsewhere.
   (I've not tried wipe-on application)
   Do not sand between coats.
   Apply the second coat in the same manner - applying as thinly as possible.
   Once fully dry, mechanically sand (orbital is what I use) with 800 Grit wet and dry paper. You will notice a very fine white dust on the surface. Ignore this.
   Then switch to a Grey Ultra fine scotch brite pad on the orbital sander and go over the piece again.
   I should stress the sanding and polishing after the Osmo application is a very fast process - takes only seconds each for the 800 grit and scotch brite.
   Once the grey pad has done it's job, the white dust will be mostly gone.
   I then just give the piece a wipe with a clean lint-free cloth if required.

   That's it.

   I have found the process, the product and the finish to be easy, beautiful, resilient, and trouble free.

   A couple of other comments -
   I use mostly very hard Australian Timbers - Janka hardness above 8, which the Osmo works really well on, though it also works really well on Birch Ply and Veneers.
   Application VERY THINLY is the key to a good finish in my experience.

   I hope this helps.

   I recommend giving it another try, It's too good to give up on just yet!

1. 
   user-7511057 | Jan 25, 2021 11:53am | #16

   Thank you for your recommendations. I want to love this finish and will certainly be doing some more sample boards to try and get this right. So far my results have been completely underwhelming.

3. 
   lat_axe | Jan 23, 2021 04:04am | #3

   There are lots of different Osmo oil-based finishes, for various purposes. Which one are you using?

   For tables that'll see splashes and other wet stuff, I use Osmo Top Oil. It's main purpose is for wooden kitchen worktops but I use it not just for that but for other surfaces likely to see wet things. This now includes an oak kitchen table top, two serving trays of black walnut and even six windowsills of sapele.

   I apply it as directed - one coat per day (minimum 8 hours drying time) on to a cleaned and dusted surface, via a wipe-on rag. I never wipe a lot on - just one thin coat at a time that needs no later wiping to get rid of any excess. I give it a very light key-sanding between coats using a cork block wrapped in garnet paper (a left-over from decades ago) of 1200 grit.

   This builds a good finish in 5 coats that has a very pleasing matte shine and is very resistant indeed to any sort of wet, including sauces, soups and wine. I'd draw the line at putting a hot wet pan on it but otherwise the kitchen worktop (oak) shows no blemishes after 2 years now. The ladywife gives that kitchen some heavy usage too. It ain't no show kitchen! :-)

   Lataxe

1. 
   user-7511057 | Jan 23, 2021 02:07pm | #4

   Thank you for your reply. I hadn't thought of using the top oil but it sounds like perhaps I should give it a try. I have only tried the 3043 clear satin. Would you use the top oil in conjunction with the 3043 or just straight top oil (five coats) on bare wood? I really want to love this stuff as much as so many others seem to but so far it just doesn't work and it is super frustrating. This table is for a client so I want it to look great and I really don't need a call back after the first time they set a glass on the surface or wipe it with a cloth and find the finish ruined!

1. 
   lat_axe | Jan 23, 2021 05:01pm | #7

   I have no experience of Osmo 3043 as it seems its made for the US market. (I'm in the UK). I note the description says that it has more solvent than is usual with Osmo oils "to make application even easier". That might be one reason behind your problems with it.

   Yet the US reviews seem to find it tough enough. But I suspect it'll need those 5 coats and maybe more if there's a lot of solvent, as that may mean less of the oils, waxes and resins per coat.

   I have used top oil on top of the remnant of a Liberon Finishing Oil. The kitchen table was originally finished with the Liberon but that wasn't tough enough to withstand the kitchen liquids and goos so it was sanded off then top-oiled.

   The sanding left enough of the Liberon Finishing Oil that it still filled the open pores of the (European) oak. It doesn't seem to bother the top oil finish that was applied to it, which beads up all wet stuff and wipes clean of any stains from dried out splashes of sauces, tea/coffee and anything else not immediately wiped off when wet.

   The only place I've had to add a coat or two because of the effects of water is on the narrow strip of wooden worktop that runs in front of the sink. The grain right next to the edge of the sink was raised (18 months after installation and top oil finishing of the worktop) but it seems this is from water than got under the sink lip (despite the silicon goo) then through the wood there and out a little under the top oil finish where the wood abuts the sink edge. A one minute sanding and two top-up coats of the Top Oil has made it once more as-new.

   This is the great advantage of oil finishes such as Osmo over harder-skinned coatings such as varnish or polyurethane - you can rapidly patch-mend any damage with these oils and it blends in immediately.

   Lataxe

4. 
   user-7211029 | Jan 23, 2021 03:10pm | #5

   It's hard for me to imagine what is causing the issue you are facing. I use osmo fairly often with good results. I even have a very simple "C" table that I knocked out in a couple hours out of white oak that I finished with just a single coat. I use it every single day, eating all my meals from it and often with my laptop. As you can imagine I've dripped fluids, dropped food and even set some pretty hot plates out of the oven on it. I just wiped it off and it looks pretty good...

5. 
   gulfstar | Jan 23, 2021 05:00pm | #6

   From reading the technical and safety data sheets, what you have been using is a mixture of non siccative vegetable oils, carnauba wax and 30 to 60% white spirit. The white spirit will evaporate, The oils will wear away when you wipe clean the table and you will get a thin wax finish at the end.

1. 
   john_c2 | Jan 23, 2021 05:14pm | #8

   Sounds great for a "floor finish," doesn't it?

1. 
   lat_axe | Jan 24, 2021 03:49am | #10

   Ha ha - you varnishing lads are determined to diss the oilers, eh? :-)

   I understand that the tough aspect of Osmo oils, such as those for kitchen worktops and floors, is provided by the various resins and other degradation-resistant solids held within the wax and oil. It doesn't all evaporate to leave only "a thin wax finish at the end".

   It does look, though, as if that 3043 stuff for the US market has been "watered" down with loadsa volatile evaporator, in the usual fashion with many US finishing goos. Selling large amounts of white spirit or worse with the small amounts of the actual finish stuff seems to be a bit of a bad habit in the US. :-)

   Lataxe

1. 
   gulfstar | Jan 24, 2021 08:06am | #11

   The European safety data sheets show the same percentages of solvents.

2. 
   user-7511057 | Jan 24, 2021 11:06pm | #14

   Just can't imagine using it on a floor. Which is why I am questioning myself - is it just me and my methods or is it the product?

6. 
   user-7345649 | Jan 23, 2021 07:57pm | #9

   I have used Osmo top oil with great success. 2 coats on bare oak fill the grain and leaves a flawless surface. Apply the first coat liberally as per directions. Apply the second coat barely wetting the surface. Buff with a medium bristle brush when dry (think polishing shoes if you are older than 60). As it is a wax finish dry may seem a little tacky but the buffing leaves a smooth dry finish.

1. 
   user-7511057 | Jan 24, 2021 11:13pm | #15

   Thanks for your input. I think I will give the top oil a try on a sample and see how that goes.

7. 
   stantheman | Jan 24, 2021 11:39am | #12

   So what are the "resins" in the mix? Varnish?

1. 
   lat_axe | Jan 24, 2021 12:38pm | #13

   Well, you can have a look here:

   https://osmouk.com/

   and particularly here:

   https://osmouk.com/faq/products/what-are-the-ingredients-of-your-products/

   Does this include varnish? Depends what you include in the noun "varnish". Modern varnish tends to be something from the petrochemical industry.

   Lataxe