Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Mar 31, 2011 12:19am | #1

   Not well known but it should be.

   http://www.oilseedworks.com/index.cfm?DSP=ProductDetail&ProductID=2855&SubCatID=1234&CategoryID=0&pagepath=&id=21053

2. 
   SteveSchoene | Apr 02, 2011 10:44pm | #2

   None of the pure oils, tung and linseed and though I haven't tried it, I suspect, hemp oil, make good finishes in and of themselves.  They do nicely at bringout the color of the wood, but offer minimal protection. 

   Oil varnishmixtures can be applied to look almost indestinquishable from the pure oil finishes.  Varnish adds greatly to the ability of the finish to resist stains and water spots.  There are a number of commercial products, some labeled Danish Oil, but others with names like Antique Oil.  Probably best is to mix your own.  Equal parts of Boiled Linseed Oil, full strength oil based varnish, and mineral sprits is effective and works well.  You might see minor differences if  use a light colored varnish (usually around soya oil) such as Pratt and Lambert 38 compared to using a dark colored varnish like Behlen Rockhard or Waterlox Gloss.   Even using polyurethane varnishes will make very little difference, for good or ill. 

   The reason there are so many personal and subjective opinions about the choice is that the end result differs very, very little across the range of oil/varnish mixes.  They may smell a bit different, some are a bit more viscous than others, some become tacky a bit more quickly than others, but since when applied correctly virtually all the finish is wiped off the surface leaving only the mixture that has penetrated into the wood.  Lighter colored mixes will not bring out figure quite as dramatically as darker mixes, but most of the color darkening is oil wetting the wood, and not the actual color of the material which in the end is extremely thin on the surface.  (Colorless mineral spirits darken wood nearly as much, but evaporate lettign it return to it's original color.  The oils cure, so in effect, the wood surface stays the "wet" color.  More simply, oil/varnish mixes all give nearly the same final results. 

3. 
   chrisagnew | Apr 05, 2011 09:49pm | #3

   Try waterlox

   Gary:

   I am not a pro finisher by any means, but I recently purchased some waterlox ( a sealer and a topcoat) and finished a kitchen table, it looks beautiful. 

   Its not cheap, but it looks GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Apr 06, 2011 01:54pm | #4

   Waterlox is a very good varnish, but isn't an oil/varnish mix and won't look the same, at least past a coat or two each of which is wiped off as if it were an oil/varnish.  But I agree is makes a very nice looking table top, and is quite protection, but just can't be though of as an oil finish look.