How to Thin down Teak Oil !!

Hi All,

Hope you all are ok..

My question:

Suppose i have a piece of mahogany, which im about to use in the sea water occasionaly (namely a speargun).
I have been using teak oil to 'seal' and prevent water penetration!!!

However, in some parts, where my neoprene gloves rub when i pullthe rubbers on the speargun, the oil is removed leaving teh surface dry and oil-free when the speargun is out of the water and dries.

So i would like to make the teak oil penetrate deeper in the wood. I read about thinning it out, and applying it !!!

I also thing that if i sand with coarse grit and then apply the thinned teak oil, i should have better penetration.

At teh moment the teak oil penetration on the wood is barely on the surface.

Please give me directions as to :

1. what is best to thin the teak oil with, and proportions ???

2. If coarse sanding is a positive thing to do, what grit should i go for??

Also i must say that i did a test. i submerged a piece of untreated planed mahogany, and a piece of planed and treated mahogany with teak oil in water for 3 hours..took them out..and cut them with the saw..no sample had evidence of water penetration !!! So...is mahogany really that 'weatherproof' ???

Thanks,

George

http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=DSC09994.jpg

use a small ammount of ammonia roughly 1 tablespoon to a bucket of oil should help the oil bite in

sorry! thin down with isopar g or l ( g being slower drying )

hi,

thanks for the rpely.

I have to say that i am not familiar with products such as teh one you mention and neither i can get them here in Cyprus because they range on woodworking products is very little.

nevertheless i did a search and i found that isopar is "Paraffinic Solvents"..

Could i get hold of some normal paraffin and try thinning it with that??? or am i getting it completely wrong !!!

or is there an everyday item i can use to thin it down... i know the i will have to occasionaly pass with new coats of teak oil, but i would like better initial wood penetration !!!

Thin with mineral turpentine, I think it's known in Europe as Stoddard solvent or maybe White spirit.

You would probably be better just using Raw or boiled linseed oil and it shouldn't get sticky.

What ever you use sand very finely up to 1500 grit wet and dry or even finer and apply the oil sparingly. Putting too much oil on the wood is most likely the problem, not how thick it is.

By the way DO NOT use ammonia, that's for driving water based products like dye into the timber.

Hope this helps.

Cheers - Neil :U

οκ...ill try and source some of the products mentioned and also try to aply it thinly on..

Please correct me for the following:

A. I would think that i would get better penetration of oil in the wood, if the wood is rough sanded (lets say 80 - 180 grit )and not fine sanded 1200-1500 ?????

B. I also thought that if i apply thick coats of oil and let it soak in the wood i would achieve better penetration ???

Any comments on the above please !!!

Thanks,

P.S i think what im trying to ask here is Directions and instructions on how to best apply the teak oil on the wood !!!
Forgive me for my ignorance on the subject...as i said, this is just a hobby for me... and im trying to learn

George

The oil won't penetrate deeply just as the water didn't.

The finer you sand the more closed you make the surface of the timber and the better the oil will stop damage from water over a period of time.

Rough sand with open grain will also allow the water to damage the surface more easily.

Best bet for applying the oil is to follow the manufacturers instructions. But in all cases it's better to have not quite enough as you can easily add more. If you have too much you will get the problem you have already had with the diving gloves. As far as I'm concerned, a few thin, even coats, are always better than a couple of heavy coat.

Cheers - Neil :U

ammonia will work in teak oil its not just for water stain .it will atach its self to the moisture in the wood and drive it back to allow the oil deeper penertration.

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies..

Ill make some tests with the info i got from here !!!

Thanks again,

George