For years I have made up mixtures of alkyd varnish, tung or linseed oil and mineral spirits for wipe on wipe off finishes for pieces that don’t take a lot of abuse. These finishes are very easy to renew and have been described in Fine Woodworking for years and are sometimes called Danish Oil finishes.
Does anyone have experience mixing Waterlox Original (which I understand is a varnish) with tung oil and mineral spirits to make a finish like these old “Danish Oil” finishes? Does diluting the Waterlox with mineral spirits work well?
Replies
I don't use Waterlox but you might try mixing a small amount (about a cup) 50/50 with mineral spirits and see if you get the results you want.
Mikaol
Waterlox thins well; if I remember correctly, the company recommends avoiding “green” mineral spirits as some may not be compatible. I use regular ol’ paint thinner.
Mixing in tung oil might slow the drying process unless you have lots of fresh air. I would start with no more than 1/3 each waterlox, paint thinner and tung oil.
Waterlox also makes a “Universal Tung Oil Sealer,” a high solid blend intended to build fast and be topped with the original sealer/finish. I haven’t used it but have heard good things.
Waterlox is pretty much a (thinned) wiping varnish already. What advantage do you see to further thinning?
I'm not concerned about further thinning, but rather I'm wondering if it is possible to convert Waterlox to a Danish Oil type finish -- high oil content and easy to wipe on and wipe off. I realize this type of finish is not as durable, but for some applications, the ease of use is more important to me. Basically, I am looking for a replacement for the alkyd varnishes that I mixed with tung or linseed oil and mineral spirits or turpentine. This type of finish was in common use for many years.
Sounds like its worth experimenting with. Maybe nobody's done this before. Do some test pieces and please report back.
I consulted the Waterlox and Epiphanes Material Safety Data Sheets and the solvent content in Waterlox is 50% to 100% and in Epiphanes 25 to 50%. I use Epiphanes and it’s almost impossible to use straight as it is too thick, I do not use Waterlox but my guess is it’s a more diluted varnish so to obtain the same flow, you would need less Epiphanes and you could get more build-up with it if needed.
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