This past week I was reading several articles that left me with a question. The articles related to Linseed Oil, Wax, and Soap finishes (among others). Now, everything I’ve seen says that as stand alone finishes they offer pretty much zero protection. So, my question is, as a stand alone finish, what’s the point? Why use them if they offer little to no benefit, especially with all of the maintenance they require?
A varnish for example resists heat, wear, some solvents, liquids, water-vapor and requires little to no upkeep; but the aforementioned finishes offer none of that.
Thanks!
Replies
While they don’t offer a ton of protection, they’ll warm up the color of your piece, impart a nice sheen, make the piece feel smoother and nicer, and make it so dust and oily fingerprints can usually be wiped away instead of making the wood dirty and grimy over time.
They’ll also give you some extra time (granted not a lot) to clean up that spill before it gets absorbed.
Of the finishes you mentioned, I think you’d be surprised what a few coats of fully cured linseed oil can do. More protection than most people would think.
Agree with Kevin, it's more of an aesthetic call, but they do offer some protection and are easier to refinish a piece (if you have kids or pets and you want the finished piece to last and are lazy like me, easy refinishing is nice). Varnish/poly seems to me like a one-size fits all approach. It's good, but does it look the best on each wood species you build with? Probably not. And that's not to say you have to use just one or the other, I personally like a penetrating oil and then adding a more protective finish on top of that.
Not every workpiece needs the protection of a film finish like varnish. BLO will harden and offer some protection (not as much as a finish that lays on top the surface), but it can make a nice feel and appearance. Some people refer to it as a "in-the-wood" finish. Like Kevin says, BLO enhances the grain ("pops" the grain) for some woods like cherry, so its often used just for that as a first coat, then a film finish for protection.
Danish oil is a good compromise. Despite the name, its actually a blend of oil (usually BLO) and a thinned varnish, so it can have the best of both finishes.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled