# Liberopn Finishing Oil My #1 choice



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

ken let me say you gave a great detailed review of liberon finish.i always use the maloof blend or my new fav general finishes products. but i may now try the liberon. i always want a finish that has a deep penetration and enhances the the wood grain. plus it needs to be easily repairable or rejuvenative. so ken ill give it a try.


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

Great, I'll be interested to hear your thoughts afterward.


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## Fast619 (Aug 16, 2017)

Ken,

Thanks for the thorough review - I usually use Watco - I have some Maloof, Armor, Waterlox and Old Masters - I have not used the Old Masters yet - I also spray lacquer periodically but I like the warm look of oil - so, I will give Liberon a try. I will be retiring this September - hoping the good Lord will give me a few uninterrupted years in my shop.


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

Great, I hope you like it as much as I do. I will be interested to hear about your experience


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Impressive review and thoughts, I've like many others have tried so many it m8nd boggling. I'll definitely give it a try. Cheers.


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm a big fan of Liberon. Their 0000 steel wool is unsurpassed IMO. I have used Liberon Finishing Oil in the past on projects and I agree that it is a great finish. These days though, I prefer Peacock Oil produced by Skelton Saws which you can get in the US through Lie-Nielsen Tool Works. I think it is the best 'in the wood' finish available and a big advantage is that is hardens the fibers of the wood making it very durable. It also isn't cheap, but it does go a long way.


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

Thank you for the tip, I just ordered Peacock Oil from LN. I'll let you all know about my experience with it.


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## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

Brit, I received the Peacock oil a few days ago (a small bottle) and I love the idea that it can be applied in one or two days unlike the six day process for the Liberon. I've started a sample mahogany board half finished with Peackock and half Liberon. I did deviate from the instructions on the bottle related to sanding. They recommend sanding to 600 grit, then going to 800 grit. I don't have any sandpaper that fine. The highest grit in my shop is 220. So I sanded to 220 and followed the rest of the instructions on the bottle. Applied a soaker coat every 15 minutes until it was still wet after 15 minutes, in this case five coats. I let it dry for about an hour and wiped it down, first with shop towels then with the palm of my hand. Then I applied a soaker coat of Liberon to the other half of the mahogany board, let it soak for 20 minutes and wiped it dry with shop towels. The next morning I definitely noticed a difference between the two halves. The Peackock seemed to fill the pores better than the Liberon but the Peackock looked flatter/duller than even one coat of Liberon. So, my interim conclusion is that neither finish is good enough yet. More coats are required on both halves and I will press on. My expectation is that two days of the same application process for the Peackock finish will look as good as six days of the Liberon process. And be harder/more durable. I'll keep you posted on my findings. Thank you for the tip.


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

Good to hear Ken. You do have to play around with it a bit depending on the wood type and whether you have rising grain etc.

I normally sand to P240 before I apply the 4 or 5 soaker coats and removing the excess. Then I leave it alone for at least 24 hours. This is when sanding with P600 or P800 helps. The smoother you get it now, the quicker the finish will build in the next coats. 2 or 3 coats sanding after each coat is usually enough. After 48 hours to a week you can give it a coat of a good wax like Alfie shine or Peacock wax. I haven't tried the Peacock wax yet as they are out of stock, but I bet it is good. They say it doesn't show any fingerprints. What I really like about the Peacock oil though is that after about a month when the finish has really hardened off, it produces a really tough finish.


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## LeftyBayside (Sep 5, 2015)

I just finished making a frame for a poster. It is mahogany. I used Liberon's black bison wax for the first time -- 2 coats. I am very impressed with the results and very keen to use it again on a future project. Thank you for your thorough review of the finishing oil. Based on my experience with the bison wax, I feel inclined to give another Liberon product a try. But I also am intrigued by Brit's peacock wax recommendation. I appreciate this discussion because my least favorite part of woodworking is applying finish.


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