finishing white oak question

[zapdafish]

I have been looking into ways to finish white oak and one article recommened danish oil to really pop out the grain. It looks like Danish oil is for indoor use only. Can I then apply an outdoor protected varnish over that? I plan to get a can of each of the following to experiment with but want to make sure I am not violating some rule of finishing first.

first applications of danish oil to bring out the figure
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/20....aspx?ss=9b573a0c-ce11-4d46-9a76-36bf836629f7

then water based General Finishes 450 to give it the outdoor protection.
http://www.generalfinishes.com/prof...exterior-finishes/exterior-450-outdoor-finish


also, is it ok to use a ROS with 320 grit between each layer of danish oil?

 

[DaveO]

For the most part 'Danish Oil' is a thinned poly maybe with some BLO added to it.
Applying a good quality Marine/Spar varnish will give you the same look. The "pop" that you are getting is from the oils in the finishes. I would wipe down with BLO, let dry for a few days and then continue with your outdoor finish.
MTCW,
Dave

 

[zapdafish]

When is the BLO wiped on? After the boards are sanded? or after a stain? but before the marine finish.

I'm almost completely new to staining/finishing.

Seems like waterlox is highly recommended for marine/spar varnishes. Only thing is its pretty expensive to get a quart of it and a quart of the sealer for experimenting :eusa_thin

For the most part 'Danish Oil' is a thinned poly maybe with some BLO added to it.
Applying a good quality Marine/Spar varnish will give you the same look. The "pop" that you are getting is from the oils in the finishes. I would wipe down with BLO, let dry for a few days and then continue with your outdoor finish.
MTCW,
Dave

 

[Makinsawdust]

IMHO, I think that if you stain there would be no real valve in using the BLO. BLO will bring out the color and wood figure in the natural state but min. differ with stain. (Unless you are using water based stain, which I don't like to use on oak, there's oil in the stain.) Waterlox is a good product and I find it easy to use.

Provided that you don't need the color from staining, the simplest way to do this is to make your own mixture consisting of 2/3 BLO and 1/3 Spar Urethane (I like the MinWax). Mix this together in a jar and apply with a rag. It takes many coats but it is the most fool proof method of finishing and the grain/figure will pop. Many small shop pro furniture makers use this recipe or variants of it.

 

[Russ Denz]

while definitely NOT a pro finisher I'd like to give a +1 to Waterlox. Following their directions, apply 2-4 coats of Sealer/Finish and then a topcoat: satin/gloss/? Waterlox is a penetrating finish so it will not build up coats as with polys, however, you CAN use poly, spar varnish, or anything else as your final coats...provided the underlying coats have cured.

Russ Fairfield (sp?), a reknown finisher, actually immerses his turnings for up to a day to really soak it in, then continues from there. I have done this with a few turnings and the result was incredible chatoyance from otherwise bland woods, not to mention all the "pop" you could want. I guess the cost would be prohibitive to try that on an outdoor furniture project :rotflm:, but you get the idea. Good luck with it!

Russ