# Oil finishes



## Rink (Apr 19, 2018)

I'm trying to establish a "go to" finish for my stuff. Mostly (but not exclusively) wood-turned.

I was using mostly ArmRSeal for a while, but I find that it's a bit too "plasticky".

I'm looking for a satiny smooth finish with a bit of shine, but not glossy, where you can feel the wood.

I tried walnut oil, but the finish is a bit dull. Even after waxing and buffing. BLO is similar but also dark.

I've just tried polymerized tung oil from Lee Valley and so far, I like it the best. Easy to apply, nice result, done in 3 days (for 4 coats).

Before I settle on it as my "go to", I'm thinking I should try some other things to compare. Like:

- Osmo Polyx (various formulations -3054? Top oil?, etc.)
- Tried & True (original?)
- Others?

By the way, I do use friction polish for my small stuff - knobs, bottle stoppers, etc. I'm talking about finishing larger stuff.

Any advice appreciated.

David


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

well my "go to" has been the maloof formula which consists of 1/3 tung oil,1/3 blo and 1/3 poly.you can buy it from rockler but it's much cheaper to just mix your own.sam for the final coat would add some wax to the mix.i usually apply 3 coats.im using this on furniture projects mostly.


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

I finish my wood turnings according to what their intended use and that means you can't always get "the wood feel" if you have to build a top coating to protect the wood.

If it will get a lot of "hard" use like a salad bowl I use a salad bowl finish from General or Behlen's. Four coats of that is as close to indestructible as you can get and to dull the gloss just burnish with 0000 steel wool and carnauba paste wax.

On very small items CA glue finish does a good and quick job while the item is still on the lathe…use the medium thick to slow the curing process and what I do is seal the wood first with the thin CA, sand lightly and apply the medium.

Another finish that goes on easily is Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil's gun stock finish. It wipes on in thin coats and you can stop before a heavy surface film is created for more of a wood feel. Again you may need to buff it down to reduce the shine after several coats.

Other finish are Formbys low gloss finish and Watco danish oil.. Most of these finishes are processed oil (linseed and tung usually) with varnish or shellac added and some proprietary dryers, solvents, and waxes.


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## Johnny_Yuma (Nov 29, 2009)

I love Tried and True Original, but it takes days/week to dry enough to use.
Osmo top oil is my go to. Easy to use, good protection, looks almost as good as the above.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

For smaller turnings, CA glue and BLO are nice.

For larger pieces I like Minwax antique oil, sanded on.


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## Rink (Apr 19, 2018)

I've got to stop. I came up with two more choices.

Milk Paint "Half & Half" and General Finishes Seal-a-Cell. I've actually used Seal-A-Cell before, topped with Arm-R-Seal and I remember liking the resulting finish. I'll have to look, but I think that might have been too hard a finish for something like a bowl.

Drew - have you tried any of the other Osmo formulations?


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

For "oil finishes", read this.. Plain poly will do many things just depends on how it is applied. For bowls etc that will have knives and forks scratching them I recommend Mahoney's walnut oil. Eventually polymerizes and cures after a few months and is food safe before and after curing. I dont use friction polishes much on the lathe, but use shellac/blo when I do. For small items and quick finish, I use CA glue. For fully filled glass like finishes I spray NC lacquer.

As for a "go to finish", I use poly the most, thinned and applied like danish oil. I have several projects posted showing the results of different finishes.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

Don't overthink it. Try a bunch of finishes and find one that you like. I use a "Maloof" type finish on 90% of my projects. Gives a nice, even finish with a hint of shine. If I want more gloss (or more protection), I'll wipe a couple of thin coats of poly on top after a few coats of the Maloof finish.


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## Rink (Apr 19, 2018)

Thanks guys. The thinned poly sounds interesting. But I've already gone through this bit of agonizing and have decided to give Osmo a try. Most furniture people seem to be using the 3054. I called Osmo to try to figure out the difference between Osmo Top Oil and Osmo 3054. The 3054 is thicker with more solids. The Top Oil is certified "food safe" in Europe (but the Osmo rep said that was only because that was the only product that they applied for food safe certification - he said it's expensive to apply for the certification for each individual sku). What convinced me to try the Top Oil is that he said that, because it's thinner, it's easier to get into corners, nooks and crannies - and I think that could be helpful in many situations.

I'll report back when I have an idea of how it works.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Just be aware that these hard wax oil products are not any more protective than blo with wax over it. Dont recommend their use on anything that will see sweating cans or glasses, or a dining table. Read many accounts of people re-doing furniture after experiencing these kinds of issues.

Most finishes are food safe after curing. I recommend the walnut oil where utensils are used because hard finishes scratch up. For just holding solid food - fruit, bread, cookies, etc - I use the thinned poly.


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## them700project (Aug 12, 2015)

I wouldnt set yourself up with only 1 finish. it depends on what the product is.Polyx is awesome but will eventually need to be reapplied from what i hear(havent got there yet) .


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## Rink (Apr 19, 2018)

> Just be aware that these hard wax oil products are not any more protective than blo with wax over it. Dont recommend their use on anything that will see sweating cans or glasses, or a dining table. Read many accounts of people re-doing furniture after experiencing these kinds of issues.
> 
> Most finishes are food safe after curing. I recommend the walnut oil where utensils are used because hard finishes scratch up. For just holding solid food - fruit, bread, cookies, etc - I use the thinned poly.
> 
> - OSU55


I'm certainly not going to argue with you, as you seem to have put a lot of time and thinking into this subject. But I did find numerous instances on the web of people stating that there was excellent moisture resistance in the Osmo product. I'll do a test and let you know how it goes.

What should I use to test… a glass of water with ice in it? a mug with hot water in it? bbq sauce?

David


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

My go-to non-plasticy finish is Tried and True *Varnish Oil*. It doesn't have the wax that the T&T original finish has but has a varnish resin instead. Up until this week (more on that in a minute), it has always given me a fool proof super silky finish that doesn't look like it is coated in plastic like many of the full poly finishes do. Presumably because of the wood choice and temperatures over the last several days, it isn't working as well on the Doug fir under lathe tool cabinet I am building. The DF seems to be particularly thirsty, even after the third coat. and it seems to be taking forever to cure. So far it is a little more of a matte finish than I normally get. In fact, I applied the finish on the bottom when the temperature was in the 80s about a week ago and it turned out fantastic so it must be the temperatures that are causing my problems.

My second choice is the wiping poly finishes which you can buy ready to apply or making your own by thinning a regular oil based poly. The process for applying wiping poly and T&TVO are pretty much the same, though the T&T takes longer to cure, even when the temperatures aren't an issue.

BTW, I didn't do a great jot of showing the results of the finish but the 3rd picture of this project probably shows the results of the T&TVO the best. It is still hanging on my wall and the finish still looks awesome (to me anyway).


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## Rink (Apr 19, 2018)

Nathan - I like your mirror! I gathered everything I needed to do hammer veneering for a project… and then I got seduced by a lathe. I'm still in honeymoon phase with my lathe and my veneer, hammer, hide glue, glue pot, etc are sitting neglected on a shelf. I do expect to get back to that one of these days.

David


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

+1 Tried and True Varnish Oil
https://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/products/varnish-oil/

It is lot easier than mixing a DIY BLO/poly blend, and resulting finish on hardwoods is gorgeous. 
IMHO - is perfect ratio of oil and resin; it protects from water damage, but never a plastic look.

I use one coat of T&T Varnish Oil on my cutting boards to seal pores, before using the T&T Original Wood finish as top coat. With Varnish Oil pre-treatment, they don't need to be recoated as often during use too. I use Beeswax/mineral oil blend for re-coat.

Used Varnish oil to seal my hand tool work bench too. My sweaty cold drinks never leave water ring.

Varnish oil adds very little color to wood, if you want darker tone, use the Tried and True Danish Oil. They both create a rich touchable surface with no thick plastic film.

I use both of them on various router bowls I have made over the years.
Here is an example of T&T Danish oil I made 6 years ago, and it looks same today, despite getting washed out in sink many times each holiday season:









Rarely turn stuff on lathe, occasional replacement chisel handle's & plane knob's mainly. Will use either thin CA finish, shellac friction polish, or T&T Varnish oil.

Hate to sound like a commercial, but: 
Once I used the T&T oil finishes, I never been tempted to use Watco or any other oil blend again.
T&T finishes are my Go-To Oil options.

YMMV


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## Rink (Apr 19, 2018)

Nice work, Captain and that finish has held up really well!

So, I don't think I'll ever get to try everybody's go to finishes. What's been mentioned so far is:

-Polymerized tung oil
-Maloof formula which consists of 1/3 tung oil,1/3 blo and 1/3 poly 
-Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil's gun stock finish
-Osmo top oil
-Minwax antique oil, sanded on
-Mahoney's walnut oil
-poly, thinned and applied like danish oil
-Tried and True Varnish Oil

I've tried and like the polymerized tung oil. I have, and don't love, Mahoney's walnut oil. I've just ordered Osmo top oil. After that, unless I fall in love with the Osmo, I'll try the Maloof or T&T finishes. I do want to get to the destination, but I'm enjoying the journey.

David


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

> Nathan - I like your mirror! I gathered everything I needed to do hammer veneering for a project… and then I got seduced by a lathe. I m still in honeymoon phase with my lathe and my veneer, hammer, hide glue, glue pot, etc are sitting neglected on a shelf. I do expect to get back to that one of these days.
> 
> David
> 
> - Rink


Thanks David. I've gone down the lathe hole too and it is my go-to for shop time when I don't have a really project underway. 
Hammer veneering is one of the most gratifying processes I have done in woodworking. The tactile "crackle" feedback you get as you use the hammer is sort of like the feeling you get from eating crunchy food. Mmmm, potato chips.


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

What should I use to test… a glass of water with ice in it? a mug with hot water in it? bbq sauce?

David

For water resistance pour a little water on a flat surface. Leaving a glass of ice water on the finish till all the "sweat" water evaporates would be a tougher test. Might not sweat too much if your house is dry in winter. As for heat how do you plan to use an object that would get hi heat? You going to set hot frying pans on it? For staining from various substances there are certified tests for finishes, the finish product mfr may publish the results. If not look up other finishes that do and you can get an idea of what those tests are.


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## laterthanuthink (Jan 17, 2018)

Here is Chris Schwarz' go-to finish. Hope this helps.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

BTW, A few years ago, I was making a trivet and wanted to use T&T VO on it so I sent an email to their customer service. Here is my question and their response:
Q: I am making some trivets and was wondering what the maximum heat tolerances are for your various finishes. I assume that the one with beeswax is probably not a good choice but I was hoping that either the danish oil or varnish oil would be relatively heat resistant.

A: Thank you for reaching out! All of our finishes have a flash point that is higher than that of wood itself (which is around 451 degrees F), so the wood will burn before the finish does. Depending on what you are using these for, I would recommend our Varnish Oil. This dries the hardest of all three of our finishes and will be the most durable against scratches and abrasion. Let me know if you have any further questions, I am always happy to help.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

The obvious summary from your in initial post and responses to it: No one finish does it all, and use what you like, if it's adequate for the job.

As far as shiny goes, I always go for shiny. If I want it tamed a bit, I touch it up with super fine pads or 0000 steel wool.

I make my own buff compounds for acrylic and wood using "wax" from hardware store toilet rings (probably another version of soy or something) thinned in turpentine or paint thinner with diatomaceous earth mixed in. When done, I shoot the item with lacquer and haven't had a problem with wax residue yet.

When I was doing larger things, I just picked up the airless gun (airless in a 5 gallon bucket 24/7) and went for it. That would work good on much smaller scales too. However, for bowls, I'd start with penetrating finishes to stabilize the wood as much as I could. Then I'd do a final, surface coat, if I wanted more of that.

The only thing I would avoid for food service items would be anything that could chip. That would include improperly applied surface coats of poly.


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## Rink (Apr 19, 2018)

> The obvious summary from your in initial post and responses to it: No one finish does it all, and use what you like, if it s adequate for the job.
> 
> - Kelly


That's true. I do use friction polish for some things, poly for other things, walnut or mineral oil/beeswax for others. I was just looking for a "go to" oil finish and wanted to know what everyone else had settled on. My Osmo top oil came in and I'm going to give that a shot. For anyone keeping score, this is an updated "go to" list:

-Polymerized tung oil
-Maloof formula which consists of 1/3 tung oil,1/3 blo and 1/3 poly
-Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil's gun stock finish
-Osmo top oil
-Minwax antique oil, sanded on
-Mahoney's walnut oil
-poly, thinned and applied like danish oil
-Tried and True Varnish Oil
-1/3 satin Minwax Helmsman spar urethane, 1/3 blo, 1/3 mineral spirits


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I guess the "go to" would, again, depend.

I like the simple friction polishes for lathe stuff. After all, instant gratification is half of what a lathe is all about 

My, general, go to has always been poly:

I thin it for wipe-on finishes -










I brush several layers on, then sand it with water or oil as a lube, then polish -










For the ornaments I made, I switch to canned spray lacquer, after my homemade polish compound -


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

Rink, is cost/value part of the comparison? It appears you want to do some comparisons of different finishes. Recommend that before you start, make a list of what you are going to evaluate, and assign a scoring system, then put it in a matrix and score each product as you go through the process. Cost and availability are always in my matrix.


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