Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 04, 2005 07:26pm | #1

   Well, I can't help you with the specifics of the chemical reaction, but I would never put an oil finish on plywood without laying down some shellac first.  Only had to do it once to learn my lesson.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   Cheatah | Mar 04, 2005 09:28pm | #2

   Forest girl--

   How does the shellac help on plywood before appling the oil? Would you apply shellac on solid wood before using oil too? Thank you,

   The Great Marko

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 04, 2005 09:52pm | #3

   Shellac (a washcoat, 1# cut) is standard procedure for pre-treating blotch-prone wood.  It seals the surface and helps stain that's applied get absorbed more evenly.  Yes, I would and do use it on solid wood.  Alder being the wood I most often use that falls into the "blotch-prone" category.  This category includes also cherry, birch, pine and others.

   Plywood, by nature of the way it's cut, tends to blotch, but especially plywood that comes from the BP category.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   JsHerbel | Mar 05, 2005 12:17am | #4

   Did you sand it too much? Glue showing through the paper thin veneer possibly.

3. 
   WillGeorge | Mar 05, 2005 01:16am | #5

   Columbia Forest Products-made in Canada.

   I heard Canada is really mad at us USA folks!

4. 
   DANL | Mar 05, 2005 05:32pm | #6

   I am surely an amateur when it comes to wood working, but I do know some about color. To salvage your project (if the veneer is still glued) put orange stain on where the blue is. This will make brown, but better than blue, and maybe once it's brown you can play with adding other colors.

1. 
   sprocket | Mar 05, 2005 10:43pm | #7

   Thanks. I'll try that. I have some aniline dye powder one of which is orange and had thoughts of trying that anyway. By the way, several of the posters talked about sanding THROUGH the veneer. I did not oversand. I only sanded it once so far: with 150 grit.

1. 
   DANL | Mar 06, 2005 01:19am | #8

   I figured that you wouldn't have sanded through the veneer--even I wouldn't do that! ;-) It may be thin, but you'd have to be pretty aggressive with courser paper than 150, IMO, to go through the veneer. Although I have seen some pretty deep "carving" done with a belt sander. (Guy I was helping build an addition on his house built a door frame out of beautiful heart redwood and then when the door hit at the top and wouldn't close because he had hung it badly, just ground the offending jamb with his belt sander until the door closed!) Will aniline "stick" to the Watco? That's why I was thinking oil-based stain or even artists' colors. Good luck.

1. 
   nikkiwood | Mar 06, 2005 07:58am | #9

   Over the years I can't tell you how much oil I have applied to birch ply, and have never had the problem you mention. However, I haven't used this method now for a couple of years, and it is true the industry is perfecting the technique for doing microscopically thin veneers on their plywood products. So maybe that is the problem with your project. If so, Forest Girl has the right solution. I would recommend Zinsser's Seal Coat, which is a dewaxed shellac -- and anything will stick to it. Also, I am pretty sure Watco is now part of the Rustoleum enterprise. You'll find an 800 number on their website, and I would give one of the tech people a call to see if they are hearing about this problem from others. They may have an easy solution.

1. 
   nikkiwood | Mar 06, 2005 08:06am | #10

   I just looked it up, and Rustoleum does make Watco Oil. Here is a number, and I would ask to speak to one of their technical assistance people: 800-553-8444And here is the Watco website:http://www.rustoleum.com/brand.asp?frm_brand_id=23&SBL=1

2. 
   sprocket | Mar 06, 2005 04:08pm | #11

   Thanks,
   I'll post back here on monday and let everyone know what they say.