Boiled Linseed Oil on pine.

Hello All

I made a little tool box/tote with the young fella a few weeks ago out of pine.
We finished it with some boiled linseed oil according to the instructions.
It has had two coats. It has gone sort of blotchy and has a streaky yellowing
effect going on. We gave it a good sanding probably to about 320 grit. I also made
a mallet about 6 months ago with some left over Qld Maple and gave it a couple of
coats and never got the effect. I also gave it another coat when doing the toolbox.
Is it the resin in the pine causing it ? Or the sanding maybe ? I am making a workbench
out of pine and was planing to use this oil. But not if this is how it will look.
Any suggestions and feed back welcome

Thank you

Baz.

Attachment 432065Attachment 432066Attachment 432064Attachment 432067Attachment 432068

Often, the yellow streaks are caused by uneven surface coverage. Either as applied by you or, more likely with radiata, because the timber has soaked it up at different rates in different areas.

I'd try wiping down the surface with mineral turps to remove the surface layer and see if that 'evens things out.'

If it does, I'd leave the piece alone for a week or two to ensure that what has penetrated dries properly and seals the timber, then try givin it one more coat that should just stay on the surface. It can help if you warm the piece with a hair-dryer or hot air gun immediately before applying the coat but I doubt that's an issue in Townsville. :D

Of course, if wiping off the surface layer doesn't make any difference then you can ignore everything I've said. ;)

For what it's worth, I've found that BLO is good stuff on fine-grained, evenly coloured timbers but really not a 'simple' finish to use on timbers with areas of heavy 'ring difference' such as radiatas or oregon, etc.

haven't tried BLO on pine before but have stained pine and found that if you want even coverage on pine you need to treat it with something prior, eg sanding sealer, shellac etc. this will minmise the blotching/uneven finish.