Water based poly on top of danish oil

[agrieco]

I'm finally back in the garage making sawdust and collecting tools. As I'm coming down the home stretch of a dining room table build, I'm starting to finalize finish choices. My better half liked the look of danish oil (walnut) over the Ash for the room it is going into (an in progress shot of the legs below).

I was all set to use General Finishes Enduro Clear Poly but then I noticed this warning at the bottom of the GF site:
"Warning: Do not use water-based products with Linseed Oils or Danish Oils."

Anyone know why the warning? Any experiences in ignoring the warning? I'm guessing there are adhesion issues possible, but I'm only doing a light coat....would love any insights.

 

[Phil S]

My experience is that oil snd water do not mix well - never have and probably never will. I would let that oil “dry” for a few weeks then apply a sealer such as vinyl sealer or shellac and then a lacquer or conversion varnish top coat(s)

 

[Berta]

Never mix oil and water. Because too much time and effort went into the build to mess up over the final decision.

 

[agrieco]

My experience is that oil snd water do not mix well - never have and probably never will. I would let that oil “dry” for a few weeks then apply a sealer such as vinyl sealer or shellac and then a lacquer or conversion varnish top coat(s)

Never mix oil and water. Because too much time and effort went into the build to mess up over the final decision.

All makes sense. thx all.

 

[KenOfCary]

As others have said oil and water don't mix. Just say no.

 

[jfynyson]

The warning is because of the high likelihood of misapplying base coats so they're covering themselves. Oil finishes need a lot of time to fully cure even with ideal environmental conditions whereas Danish oil being an oil-varnish blend still takes a long time (just not as long as "just an oil"). If not allowing full cure time the adding the water based finish will create improper adhesion of course.

Note that even oil based top coats and lacquers will also have adhesion issues if the oil base coat of anything is not fully cured but just not as easy to occur. The reasoning is that the solvents used in the oil based top coats and lacquers are typically similar enough in nature to the solvents being used in the oil based base coat(s) vs a water-based material. Also note that water based finishes have solvents as well to help increase drying speeds but these are not the same solvents of course in the oil based products.

Water-based top coats can adhere properly to properly cured oil base coats but it's just not recommended for the aforementioned reasons so why risk it.

 

[wbarnes]

Not trying to hijack your thread, but this brings up a good point for a project I am working on.

I am refinishing an old rocking chair for my wife that honestly should have been thrown away but she insisted we keep it. I am almost done sanding all the fine details and should be ready for finish next week. I was planning on using danish oil, but I wasn’t aware that I might need to consider adding another layer of protection on top of the oil.

Would you follow the same finish directions that Phil mentioned for this application? The chair is walnut if that helps.

 

[Graywolf]

Not trying to hijack your thread, but this brings up a good point for a project I am working on.

I am refinishing an old rocking chair for my wife that honestly should have been thrown away but she insisted we keep it. I am almost done sanding all the fine details and should be ready for finish next week. I was planning on using danish oil, but I wasn’t aware that I might need to consider adding another layer of protection on top of the oil.

Would you follow the same finish directions that Phil mentioned for this application? The chair is walnut if that helps.

That would depend on whether you are using say a lacquer or water born finish coat. If you are using a varnish or a polyurethane then you should be fine, just allow the Danish oil or what ever oil you use to dry thoroughly.

 

[Berta]

I use Danish oil a lot because of the ease of application, wipe on, or dip, wipe off, set to dry. I don’t usually add a top coat over top. It does take a few days for the oil to cure.

 

[Oka]

Lacquer is my go to mostly because It is so predictable compared to other things I use and been using it for near 50 years. If I use any kind of oil I usually seal coat with shellac (1/2-1 lb mix) then spray the lacquer.