organoil on Aust red cedar

Hi,

I am having difficulty obtaining a lustre when applying Organoil to Australian Red Cedar. I have sanded the surface to 1500 grit with a random orbital sander. With each coat, I brush the oil on, leave it soak in for about an hour and then wipe off the excess. I wait 24 hours between each coat. I have applied about 7 coats and there is still no lustre, although the oil may be starting to bleed back out of the timber. When using Feast Watson Danish Oil I obtain a beautiful lustre after 3 coats.

Is burnishing the only way to obtain a lustre with Organoil? I did not want to burnish as I like the open grain appearance.

Is Organoil simply not suitable for a soft, open grained timber like Aust red cedar?

cheers
steve

Welcome to the forum Steve.
Which Organoil? Danish. I haven't used it for a couple of years now I mix my own but from memory it is one of the finer oils (thinner, more viscous) mixed with the open grain of the Cedar yes it may be hard to get a sheen. Thats one of the reasons I switched to mixing my own which is basicly a Maloof mix, 1/3 varnish/estapol, 1/3 tung oil, 1/3 boiled linseed. This is a lovely rich mix that will bring a sheen to most timbers. And from memory again I think the Feast Watson is thicker than Organoil Danish. It will depend on your cedar too, some of the lighter hairy stuff is extremely porus compaired the the darker and denser cuts that can be quite fine. I wouldn't put any more on fore a few days, let is set well then try topping with a thicker oil. Good luck.

Yes, it is their Danish Oil that I am using

Sounds like too much oil. Just let it dry for a couple of weeks with an occasional buff with a cloth.

I'm interested to know how your finish turned out? I'm thinking of using Danish oil on my red cedar project I'm working on.

Andy

I make bandsawn boxes out of red cedar and use only organoil hard burnishing oil. To get a lustre I find it necessary to sand to 400 grit then wet the box with water, leave dry overnight and then re-sand with 400 grit. Then I apply the oil to saturation (may take several coats), wipe of the excess and leave "cure" for at least a week. Then begin sanding with wet and dry grit from 400 up to 1200 (or whatever); it is important (in my opinion!) to rub the sand dust/oil slurry into the wood after each grit. This eventually produces a glass like finish with a soft lustre. Without the rubbing in of the slurry I dont get the finish I like.

I have also used EEE after this and followed with Traditional wax (no fingerprints!).

Also tried Organoil Woodsheen but dont like the finish it gives.

Just my experience.

Hope that helps

Regards,

Barrie Restall

Barrie,
Its good to hear that someone else leaves the slurry on the work piece between grits. I agree you get a much better finish that way.:2tsup:

Regards,

Rob