A soft finish

Mike Hill

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Wanting to try some other finishes. Looking for a non-build up satin, or less than satin finish. Used BLO, Danish Oil (used Watco brand in college and liked it since), Waterlox (even used it on a maple floor I milled and installed), and probably others I cannot remember. Never used 100% Tung Oil, but have seen some turnings with Tung Oil. Like the finish, but know the arguments over that and to watch out what is in the product. And then I came across walnut oil. I'm not so impatient that I can't wait for drying - but don't want to wait for weeks. Not looking for anything super secret necessarily, but would like some real world opinions. Successes or failures are welcomed. Not too concerned with darkening - probably prefer it to soak in and let the glow happen!
 

trc65

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I use polymerized tung oil on almost everything. Can go from near matte finish to gloss depending on the number of coats you want to apply. Dries overnight so I do one coat a day. Wipe on, let it soak in, wipe any excess off after a few minutes, and let dry. Buff with steel wool or non woven synthetic pad when dry and repeat.

Usually get it from Lee Valley, and yes it is expensive, but a little goes a long way. On a 8-10" Bowl, I'll use between 10-15ml for the initial coat and probably half that on subsequent coats (of coarse, some woods are much more thirsty than others). Probably average 4 coats on things that results in a soft sheen somewhere between satin and semi-gloss.

Lee Valley self labels oil that is purchased from Sutherland Wells. The polymerized tung oil is diluted 50% with mineral spirits to aid in application. Although I dont think Lee Valley advertises their oil as food safe ( When cured), Sutherland Wells does make that statement on their site.

When I open a can of polymerized tung oil, it immediately goes in a Stop Loss bag to prevent premature drying/gelling of the oil.
 

DLJeffs

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I agree with Tim, I like tung oil and I'm not very good at finishing. My buddy up the street just built a little end table from cherry and used wipe on poly...but he wiped it off with a clean rag before it was dry. Said he saw the technique in a magazine or someplace. He put on a couple coats, lightly sanded, then put on the coats he wiped off with a clean t-shirt rag. Said he wipes it until it's dry and the rag doesn't hang up. He got a great satin, soft finish.
 
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