Finishing : After 3 to 4 coats of Danish Oil, what's next?

1)No

2)Yes, poly over danish oil works great. Just be sure to let the oil cure for several days, or else the poly will take forever to dry.

3)Yes

4) Once you wax, the wax is going to act as a shield to keep oil from penetrating in the future. So you’d probably just want to re-wax.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Ok, I always sand between oil coats. I use pure walnut oil normally if I am doing an oil finish. Yes I do sand between coats, every coat. No polly or varnish on top. Now I will tell you how to put that on top of oil. Shellac is the universal finish meaning it can go over or under any other finish. Put a seal coat of shellac over the oil and lightly sand it. Do this again, then you can apply the polly or varnish. If you arer just putting wax over the oil you only need to reapply the wax. Get ready for some hard core buffing though. You can use a wax called Rennisance though it is a micro crystilan and is so easy to use but expensive.

Well now that the two of us have you confused I will try to help. If the oil is compleately dry on the surface the polly will bond to the wood grain. The smoother the surface or the more you close the grain the less the adherance of the polly. Polly and varnish have to have something to adhere to that is why you have to sand between coats or over time they will flake. Oils, laquer and any other solvent based finishes molecularlly bond meaning they fuse or melt the previous coat and become part of that previous coat on a mollecular base. If a piece has oil under polly and the surface has a dramatic temperature change the oil wiil bleed no matter how long it cured. This is why I say no to polly over oil. Just my opinion and experience.

-- Dale

Woodworm, Charlie has answered your question but I would like to add one point (you know I can’t pass us a finishing question without making a comment). :) With regards to the compatibility issue that you raised in (2) Danish oil is a mixture of boiled linseed oil, varnish and solvents, such as mineral spirits, so it is fully compatible with polyurethane or varnishes.

If you want to rejuvenate the finish if it becomes dull after applying wax then, as Charlie said, you will need to remove the wax by wiping with mineral spirits, lightly sand the surface and re-apply a topcoat of your choice.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Note: Watco Danish oil, a popular brand, contains RAW LINSEED OIL not boiled linseed oil.
Given that it contains 75% solvent and minimum grade ingredients, it is horribly expense.

There are no industry standards on the ingredients and formulations for so-called “Danish Oil.”
While usually a blend of solvents (mineral spirits, naptha, turpentine, citrus oil, etc.) , drying oils (linseed, tung or modified soya, etc.) and varnish (alkyd, phenolic, or polyurethane, etc.), the actual ingredients tend to vary wildly among manufacturers.

One manufacturer sells a Danish Oil that is 100% Polymerized Linseed Oil.
Another uses tung oil and solvent, without any varnish.

If you want to strike the grain before applying a top coat of poly, consideration using BLO or tung oil diluted with mineral spirits, about one part drying oil and two parts mineral spirits. Apply once and allow at least three days (a week is better) to dry.

-- Randy, Rustic Artisan, a family tradition. (No PM's - auto-deleted.) - "I am a seeker, not a follower."

Dr Goodwood is right. Commercial Danish Oils vary considerably in content and are expensive. Mix up your own with equal parts BLO or Tung oil, Mineral spirits and an alkyd or polyurethane oil based varnish. If you already have oiled your piece, wait 72 hours until the finish is cured, scuff sand it with 320 grit, remove the sanding dust and then you may apply straight varnish if you wish without the shellac barrier coat. You could skip the Danish altogether is you wanted to, and just make a wiping varnish by thinning the varnish with Mineral Spirits or VMP Naptha by equal parts.

If you are using an open grained wood, start with the Danish oil, sanding it in with 400 or 600 grit wet/dry (auto body) paper. The sanding dust and Danish mixture will fill the grain. Just a light wipe across the grain with a Danish oil moistened rag after sanding will leave enough packed in to the grain to make things smooth. You might have to lay down several coats, progressing from 400 to 600 grit in the application process, probably no more than three, as the Danish will not provide additional protection to the finish. It just will cure too soft to create a true film finish.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Thank you Charlie, Dale, Scott Bryan, Randy and Douglas for your kind advise, tips and explanation. I made first try applying one coat of Danish Oil to my scraper holder I made few days ago from pallete board. I hope to put another 3 coats before applying wood wax (paste wax) and hand-buff it.
Kindly check out my blog under the title “Learning to apply Danish Oil on small Project – Scraper Holder”
I’m sorry I do not kno how to link it here.

Thank you everyone for reading and replying.
God bless you all.

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

The bottom line is to take all these bits of advice, experiment for yourself, and find what works best for you.

The 3rd law of woodworking states that “The number of different responses to any question regarding finishing techniques will always be exactly the same as the number of woodworkers responding to the question.”

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Charlie, gave you the best advise just now. You have to experiment with every technique you just recieved and find out what works best for you. That is called initiative, but you passed my only wood working rule to get information out of me, You took the initiative and asked.

-- Dale

And If it doesn’t work it is called experience!

-- Drink once, cut twice. New website up.... lazylarrywoodworks.com.au

Buy the book by Bob Flexner called “Understanding Wood Finishing” Read it a few times, go back to specific sections prior to doing any finishing.

Hi everyone, that’s is OK with me having received many different answers which I think it is mostly related to approch of doing it. Even in a few books on furniture finishing I have read, there are deviations from one author to another, and they are just techniques and approches. The basic and fundamental is still the same.

And in this context, I agree with Charlie and Dale, take all advice, experiment it to find out what works best for me and I’m comfortable with.

Again, thank you everyone for you time, reading and responding my question, things that I could not get from books.
Have a nice day.

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.