# Danish oil smears



## fourtay22 (Apr 20, 2015)

Hi

I have a finishing problem… in the pic below I have 2 coats of Watco Danish oil on and you can see that it has not dried smoothly. Very streaky and blotchy. To me it looks like there are parts of the top that had more oil and dried thicker than the spots that took the oil. Im not sure what I did wrong as I waited the 15min before wiping off the excess. This seems to be a recurrent problem for me once I place more than 1 coat of oil on.

Is there any way to remdy this situation other than restripping the finish again? How can I prevent this from happening and get a nice smooth finish? Thanks.


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## Gentile (Jun 3, 2013)

Try giving it another coat. While it's still wet wipe it with a dry cloth. The new coat should dissolve the glossy spots.
The glossy areas are where the oil has been absorbed as much as it can be. I've noticed the same thing happening when I use Watco. The later applications don't soak in as much as first ones do.
Nice piece by the way!


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## jerryminer (Jun 15, 2014)

+1 what he said ^^-Watco is pretty forgiving, but you should wipe it off before it forms a thick(ish) film. You can also wet-sand with 400 or 600, then wipe off. Might help keep things even.


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## CPWD (Dec 28, 2014)

Agree with the wet sand application. I have had good success wet sanding Danish oil finishes. I apply several coats over a few days. With each coat I use a higher grit sand paper. Apply oil, wet sand, wipe off excess, let dry over night. I use a progression of 220, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 grit. That may be overkill but it makes for a really nice finish. After the last coat of oil is dry I recommend using a paste wax and rubbed on and buffed off with a soft cloth. I use Black Bison Fine Paste wax by Liberon but there are many brands out there that I am sure would work well. Hope this is helpful.


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## Gentile (Jun 3, 2013)

Oh yeah, I forgot about the fine grits sanding while wet and the finish, wax. I love using Wato oils, like Jerry said, its forgiving. A buddy of mine used to brag about the 10 coats he'd put on a piece. 
A thing I like about Watco Oils is that if there is a scratch or something, whip out the can and put more on. Hard to do with other finishes.


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## fourtay22 (Apr 20, 2015)

Thanks for the replies..in re: to wet sanding, you just wet sand the glossy areas or the entire piece.


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## woodenwarrior (May 23, 2012)

Wet sand the entire piece using the same Danish oil otherwise you'll just multiply the problem. Your wood is absorbing the oil at different rates over its length. Wet sanding will help even it out.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

I agree with the remedies suggested. In the future, I would recommend leaving less oil on the surface during application. When using Watco, I coat the piece thoroughly but wipe off just as thoroughly. I've never had an issue with glossy areas.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Another person who wet sands Watco here. Sand the entire piece while the oil is still wet. Evens out the finish and works as a pore filler to a certain degree.

Also, I find the 15min and 30min (2nd coat) recommendations on the can to be too long. I get much better results by applying, sanding and letting set at most couple minutes before wiping off-most times I'll wipe off immediately after sanding. Then switch to a dry rag and wipe again. Humidity is fairly low here, however, and that probably varies by climate, so may need longer in more humid environments-I don't have any experience there.


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## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

I will have to try the wet sanding one of these times. I just found this stuff, and love it. I too wipe pretty darn hard after the 15min. I go to the point where it looks very even and is almost dry to the touch.

-Brian


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## RobS888 (May 7, 2013)

+1 for wiping on then fulling wiping off, I've found that 15 minutes to be way too long. I think 5 minutes might be too long as well. Flood it on, work it with a foam brush, then wipe it off with a paper towel, the paper towel can be used on the next piece.


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## jerryminer (Jun 15, 2014)

Yes, what they said ^^^. If it gets hard to wipe off, adding fresh material and wiping will re-dissolve some of the drying material and make it easier to wipe off.


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