Danish oil

[jur]

Stuart,

Sorry it was Intergrain, not FW's Tung Oil Finish (and these are all Orica as is Cabots and Dulux). The name Tung Oil Finish is misleading (perhaps a bit deliberately so), because it is not raw tung oil as the name seems to suggest, it is a varnish, made by modifying tung oil; all varnishes are made this way, by modding a vegetable oil by chemically bonding a resin to the oil molecule. The type of oil is less important that the amount of oil; the Tung Oil Finish is 70% modded tung oil and 30% resins, and called a long oil. Danish oils are perhaps 75% oil (called a very long oil). The amount of oil determines the flexibility - the more resin, the harder.

I called my concoction a Danish oil immodestly because it aint strictly speaking. But that is how I used it.

I added raw tung oil (Organoil) to increase the working time, and this seemed to have worked well. It may also have been the large amount of thinning agent I added that lengthened the working time. I phoned the Orica help line and asked if I could mix in raw tung oil with the Tung Oil Finish and the guy said yes.

So, to get back to your question, there is 50% varnish in my concoction, 40% thinners and 10% raw oil. From that point of view there is no problem.

The percentage of solids in a mix is apparently also important. By adding all that thinners in my mix, the percentage solids went down drastically. I don't know what effect that has. But a month later I am still greatly happy with my result.
Here is a great link about varnishes: http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00063.asp

[rsser]

Blue Mountains Wood Turners have posted a recipe: varnish (eg. estapol), linseed oil and turps. Or varnish, tung oil and white spirits. Change the proportions to change the application.

See http://www.pnc.com.au/~k_j/woodturne...s/TipsOils.htm

[Richardwoodhead]

I started woodworking 4 years ago and have gone through the agony of finishing problems. I've tried them all, Danish, Organoil, Monocell, Floorseal, Polyurethanes and lacquers. My ephiphany / religious experience occurred when I tried spraying rather than ragging. The finish was improved out of sight. So I experimented with spraying combinations of Tung Oil and Urethanes. I found a 50% Tung Oil (Danish) and 50% Urethane (eg Monocell?) mixture produced fantastic results when sprayed with a 1st sealer coat, sanded back with 320, then a final coat. Then I discovered Feast Watson's Floorseal which, I think, is basically a 50% Tung oil & urethane mix. I tried my spraying & sanding combination and it worked fine.

However there was the problem with slight yellowing over time with lighter colored woods like Marri. So I tried a Lacquer (Becker Acroma DM307 -used by the local furniture galleries in Margaret River). And the result was beautiful. Until I started having spray gun problems - which I'm in the process of solving. Then, to come full circle, I had a long conversation last week with the furniture designer at Jah-Roc He's now developing a new line of products using Organoil. He says the secret with organoil is the application. To get the satin finish requires a 1st drowning coat including the sanding dust - left to dry. Then a second coat which is immediately sanded in with fine wet&dry paper. No more oil is added - just lots of elbow grease with finer paper. However, even then he could not achieve his desired satin finish on ALL workpieces. And resorted to danish for those.

Just some thoughts / experiences for what their worth.... Wood finishing can be SO tricky!!

[rsser]

Interesting!

I've gone through a similar set of experiments with finishes on my turnings - mainly bowls. Not v. scientific though since I wasn't controlling for the kind of timber, and now I think once you've sorted what general kind of effect you want, you need to do the old trial and error and find which finish goes best with which species. My pref. is for a low to medium lustre penetrating finish.

FWIW though, these are my matches:

Shithot Waxstik with elm and oak, as recommended by the manufacturer
(now who were they again ;-} )

Sanding sealer and wax with anything green, also Huon Pine

Oil (inc. Danish) with richly figured timbers (ie rich colours and/or contrasting grain).

Danish oil with burls, without wet sanding, cos of the voids

Shellawax with fine grained spindle turnings

I've used Arboroil and Organoil and found them too much work.

[Stuart G]

thanks jur for the info - I think I'll give your recipe a go.

Stuart

[Cliff Rogers]

.... My ephiphany / religious experience occurred when I tried spraying rather than ragging. The finish was improved out of sight. So I experimented with spraying combinations of Tung Oil and Urethanes. ...

G'day.

Can you tell us a bit about your spraying equipment?
Gun type, pressure, nozzel size etc?

[Cliff Rogers]

....Sanding sealer and wax with anything green, also Huon Pine....

2 questions here....

I'm mainly interested for the Huon Pine,

1. Sanding Sealer, what is it, what brand, where do you get it, do you know what's in it?

2. Wax, same again?

Well, that suddenly turned into 8 questions.

[Richardwoodhead]

G'day.

Can you tell us a bit about your spraying equipment?
Gun type, pressure, nozzel size etc?

Cliff, it was a fairly primitive set-up. I was battling (with rags and brushes) with Danish oil and organoil and floorseal (Feast Watson) - trying to get a decent satin finish on doors. The results were awful - too flat or uneven / streaky, etc. Then I sprayed on some Feast Watson Floorseal (basically Tung Oil & Varnish mixture) and my conversion to spray-on finishes was instant and irrevocable. It was with a friends borrowed spray gun.

I then puchased an Iwata 7700 gun & pot and used a small compressor at about 60 psi. Which worked OK if I moved fairly quickly across the surface, as the pressure was a bit high. All that was about 3 years ago.

Then this year I got serious and built a spray booth and upgraded to a "big bertha" 110 psi compressor. And then nothing went right (read my post re lacquer spraying nightmares of about a week ago). Between replies to my post and making enquiries with spraying gurus, I found out my pressure was way too high. So I upgraded to a pressure pot (10 litre "pressure cooker" on wheels with the lacquer at about 1 bar / 10 psi) and with the hose / air pressure regulated down to 50 psi. The lacquer feeds to the gun at 10 psi while the air feeds through the gun at 50 psi. The gun itself is a Iwata 200 pressure feed gun with inline fluid filter. With all the hoses & fittings etc it's about an $800 investment. But to spray with it is a delight.

I think the nozzle size is .2mm? It says .2 somewhere on the nozzle. But the thing has holes all over the place that (as the salesman said) atomises the fluid. (Which I don't think is actually what happens chemically, but it sounds good). It comes out like a nice mist if you air it down (or a river if you air it up). I'm finally getting the hang of it. I've finished 4 table tops (Jarrah, Marri, and Sheoak) and they are even and silky smooth.

Sorry for the long ramble. In the past I've spent so many frustrating hours / days / weeks / months struggling to get smooth, even satin finshes on timber, and that show off the grain - without the long slog of buffing and polishing, that to finally discover the ease and beauty of spray finishes was a revelation. So far I've only sprayed either lacquers or Tung Oil & Varnish (urethane) mixes. Both work beautifully, provided you go at least 2 coats, sanding back between coats with 320 grit. I'd be interested to hear what success others have had with any other sprayed-on finish??

One tip I heard recently was to use car buffing polish on lacquered or varnished surfaces, and it brings them up beautifully. I havn't tried it yet! Anyone ever done that?

[rsser]

I've had good results with a good airless gun and paint, and have been reading these posts with interest (there's a cedar chest of drawers in the workshop coming close to refinishing stage).

Re car buffing compound: many will contain silicone which is said to be a no no.

[Cliff Rogers]

Cool, thanks Richard,
I'm not after something that size, yet, but it's good to know anyway.

How about you Ern, can you help with my sanding sealer and wax questions?

[Bob Willson]

One tip I heard recently was to use car buffing polish on lacquered or varnished surfaces, and it brings them up beautifully. I havn't tried it yet! Anyone ever done that?

This would have the same effect as using the UBeaut tripoli