Replies

1. 
   mrbird90 | Nov 26, 2007 06:18am | #1

   Let it dry, believe me it will in a week or so or sooner, then sand it lightly to get all the shinny spots off then dampen a rag with watco and wipe all the surfaces and then wipe with a clean rag. This happened to me all the time with open pore woods like oak. Not so much a problem with cherry and walnut but it does happen there too. I still like Watco for certain projects but for most projects I use a wipe on poly finish like Minwax etc.

2. 
   forestgirl | Nov 26, 2007 07:55am | #2

   Syma, one way to avoid this frustration with Watco and an open-pored wood such as  red oak is to apply it with sandpaper!  It may be too late to do that with your piece, but keep it in mind for future projects.  By working up a slurry of Watco and sawdust, you partially fill the pores and cut down on the amount of pure Watco that's stored in those holes, just waiting to come out when the temperature goes up!

    

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
3. 
   Don01 | Nov 26, 2007 09:31am | #3

   Forestgirl hit it right on. Use a fine wet/dry sandpaper - 400 grit or so. Try to get it warm from rubbing. The heat will help the oil set. Watco may not have a lot off natural oil in it so be patient. I have had much better luck with Minwax tung oil on red oak. I put Watco on some oak veneered plywood and the stuff bleed back for days. I quit using it in favor of pure tung oil or Waterlox. I have used Deftoil, Tried & True Varnish Oil and Waterlox.
   Some folks make their own 1/3 tung or linseed oil, 1/3 spar varnish, 1/3 turpentine or mineral spirits. Most of the turpentines today really stink compared to the low or odour free mineral spirits You can adjust the mix based on the effect you want.

   I don't think you have to wash out the Watco finish, just get some oil to mix in with the Watco to give it some body and keep rubbing.

   If you can get your hands on Waterlox, do try it. Unlike most of the oil based finishes, it does a very nice job of resisting water stains. I put it on using one of those sponges with sandpaper on one side - fine.

   Don

1. 
   forestgirl | Nov 26, 2007 10:11am | #4

   Don, I actually like to start with a lower grit, especially on red oak (big pores), like 220 or so.  I did a bunch of tests on the red oak "jersey case" I made for a friend a few years ago, and decided to start at 220, then went to 280, not sure if I went up to 320, but that would have been the highest I chose. 

   It pays to try everything out on scrap beforehand, eh??forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   Don01 | Nov 26, 2007 09:46pm | #5

   Hi Forestgirl,Starting coarse and moving to finer would definitely speed up the pore filling. Come to think of it, maybe that is why my experience with Waterlox has been so good. I have no idea what those sanding sponges are for grit, but certainly not 400.
   I seldom take my hardwoods past 120.I still don't like Watco's version of a penetrating oil finish.Don

   Edited 11/26/2007 1:47 pm ET by Don01

1. 
   user-83153 | Nov 27, 2007 02:45am | #6

   Or it could be that Waterlox is a varnish thinned with mineral spirits instead of a pure oil or an oil/varnish mixture.

              Rob

1. 
   Don01 | Nov 28, 2007 03:14am | #7

   Anything is possible Rob. These guys are not bound to disclose their formulations. I do know that Waterlox reacts much differently to water than any of the others I have tried. It doesn't develop the white spots and rings, but doen't get as hard and slippery.

   Don

    

2. 
   user-83153 | Nov 28, 2007 03:34am | #8

   Don,

   I guess what I should have said is that Waterlox products are varnish and their original sealer and finish is varnish thinned to a wiping consistency. In fact if you look at the MSDS (which they are bound to disclose, and in many cases will give you a very good idea of their formulations) you will see that it is 73.77% stoddard solvent(mineral spirits). They are very different than an oil finish. If you look at the application instructions for sealer and finish (or their other finishes) they never mention wiping off the excess finish which you must do with pure oil or oil/varnish mixtures. The tung oil in them is an ingredient of the varnish in the same way that eggs are an ingredient in bread. Once the cooking is done the eggs and the tung oil cease to exist as separate entities.

       Rob