Replies

1. 
   thehistorydude | Dec 14, 2023 10:36am | #1

   Your question is a good one and will have many answers I'm sure. Whether to sand after scraping seems to be a matter of personal preference. A well-tuned scraper will leave a smooth sheen that sanding will dull. Sanding will "soften" wood to the touch but the surface won't glisten the same way, if that's the right word. It's the difference between cutting and abrading. I believe this was discussed in one of the FWW podcasts and maybe even in a video workshop.

   I'm not a fan of BLO and prefer pure Tung oil. This is my personal choice based on toxicity, level of protection, drying time, and odor, but there are those who would argue otherwise (don't want to start a finishing war). In short, it works for me. That said, Tung oil is also no better for preventing a blotchy finish. You don't say what kind of wood you're using which makes it harder to respond. In general, you can limit blotching by sanding to higher grits (400) but that will also limit the ability of the wood to absorb your oil overall. Think of the trick of sanding end grain to higher grits to prevent it from darkening more (absorbing more finish) than the rest of a project. If I'm working with a blotch-prone wood, e.g., cherry, I'll wipe down a board with denatured alcohol to see if and where blotches will occur. If it's bad, I'll sand to 180, apply a washcoat of shellac and sand back with 320 once dry. After that, I apply my oil finish. At this point it's probably not going to be Tung oil but rather something like Armor Seal. The problem with this method, however, is that the oil finish won't be able to penetrate very deeply and may just sit on the surface changing the look of the piece.

   I don't know if this helps and hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I will chime in with other ideas.

2. 
   mowog63 | Dec 14, 2023 12:53pm | #2

   I like an oil finish (tung oil) like the previous commenter, but really only on Walnut. Since Walnut is a close-pored grain, it is easy to work up a shine pretty quickly (relative) after the initial coat dries.

   I agree with you that after scraping it seems crazy to sand - if I wasn't applying the oil finish to build up successive layers, I wouldn't sand either.

3. 
   john_c2 | Dec 14, 2023 01:37pm | #3

   I find that the entire surface needs to be prepared the same before finish. If parts are planes, some scraped, and some sanded, the finish comes out a little different. It's hard to make everything scraped the same, especially end grain. I sand everything when done, and then finish.

   Some people seem almost embarrassed to sand. I'm not. It gets me what I want in the end, and I think it looks great.

4. 
   joeleonetti | Dec 14, 2023 05:56pm | #4

   I used hand planes and occasionally card scrapers. Once done with that, I just finish with linseed oil. Been happy with the results as is.