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A question on finish oils.

1K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  a1Jim 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I hope this isn't too stupid of a question, but here goes…...
So I recently went to pick up some watco oil, and shellac, for a project I'm starting, and as you all probably know, the watco oil is available in different tints,: natural, walnut, oak, etc….....My question is, are these oils that have these tints to them, are they suppose to emulate the color of lets say…....walnut, if used on lighter color woods, to try and make them resemble the color of walnut, or are they designed to be used specifically on the types of woods that are spelled out on the can?
 
#3 ·
A word of caution on this, they will not come close to matching the actual color of a particular wood. If you want to make maple look like cherry, for example, go to a reputable paint store, bring them a piece of wood that you are trying to match, and let them custom brew a stain to match. I have had great luck matching natural cherry this way, as well as walnut. Some stores will charge for this service, while others will not. I generally go to Hirshfields because my local store does not charge for custom stain matching. This is much trickier than matching paint, and it takes them a bit of time, but the results can be pretty impressive if the right person is doing the mixing.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm not really trying to color match anything here. I was just curious, mainly about the watco danish oil products. I've almost always used, for the most part, minwax products, and only recently started using the watco stuff. I just wanted to be sure that the oils weren't specific to any particular woods. I really haven't reached the point where finishes are my main concern on my projects, although I'm working on it. At this point I'm just happy when my projects don't fall apart when I'm finished. :)
 
#5 ·
ah, ok, thanks for clarifying. Watco is a great way to try your hand at oil. Its foolproof, and gives your project a nice glow. It doesn't offer a lot of moisture resistance, but it is super easy to repair. I generally top it with a paste wax to get a little more protection and a nice feel. But you don't need to. Some say you need to periodically refresh the finish with another coat, but I have not found that to be the case on my projects. My "Watco kick" was about 12 years ago, and the projects that I finished with Watco back then still look great and do not appear to need to be refreshed.
 
#7 ·
Totally agree. While you are exploring this, you might also give pure tung oil a try. Same concept, smells better. Also, the Sam Maloof oil/wax blend from Rockler is great. Lots of great options in the wipe-on/wipe-off world…
 
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