Danish oil application question

[zapdafish]

I finished turning a bowl and decided to finish it with Watco danish oil. I don't know if its a problem or not but it soaked up a tremendous amount of it. The weight of the bowl has increased by quite abit.

Being a bowl, I figured a great way was to just pour it into the bowl and spread it from there. First few attempts, it soaked in so fast before I was able to do much spreading. Same happened when I turned it over and poured some into the base. In fact it could still soak up alot more oil but I stopped. Should I continue till it stops absorbing?

Anything I need to worry about? Will the oil eventually dry out of it? I am kind of puzzled because I used it before and it barely penetrated. The bowl is made out of some spalted material.

 

[Howard Acheson]

What species of wood are you using?

Is the bowl purely decorative or will it be used to hold foods?

 

[Sanders Fine Woodworking]

Spalted wood does absorb more oil. As long as you continue to wipe the bowl until it stops weeping, it should be fine. I use Watco for most of my bowls and find that I have to wipe the porous wood many more times than the closer grained wood while it is drying. If it does spot (shiny dots where it weeps) you can either finish sand it again or apply a new coat of Watco and vigorously wipe the shiny spots while the oil is still wet.

 

[CarvedTones]

If the "spalted material" is one of the pieces I gave you then it is poplar if it is the one of the larger ones (the square or the one we cut from a log). One I spalted and the other was generously given to me by another member and I hadn't gotten around to turning it, so I passed it on since you were looking for blanks. If it is that smaller one, I have no clue. I got it from a member moving to England and he had a lot of different wood. Much of it was labeled, but what wasn't is mystery wood.

 

[zapdafish]

the blank was given to me so I don't know the species. And it's gonna be decorative.

 

[zapdafish]

well, its poplar, hehe

 

[Rob]

Some wood will soak up more then others, I usually just brush it on, let is soak for 15 or 20 minutes, wipe off and let dry over night, I do this three or four times, then let it dry completely for a few days before buffing and polishing. I use a combination of spar varnish, pure tung oil, and mineral spirits. (equal parts of each)

 

[zapdafish]

What do you use to buff and polish? I am interested in trying out different ways to finish up my bowls.

Thnx

 

[Rob]

Just buffing wheels using tripoli, white diamond, and carnuba wax. Sometimes I skip the white diamond depending on the wood and grain. Dark woods it tends to stick to.

View image in gallery​

 

[cskipper]

It seems like it takes FOREVER to dry, no matter how applied. It will seem dry, but keeps the smell for an extended period of time.

 

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> It seems like it takes FOREVER to dry, no matter how applied. It will seem dry, but keeps the smell for an extended period of time.

The solids in Watco are almost all linseed oil. It has a very small amount of resin (varnish) added. The majority of the contents are thinners like mineral spirits which totally evaporate. The odor lingers because of the linseed oil and the resin. After the thinners evaporate they stop producing any odor. But the linseed oil and the resin continue to oxidize and cure. As long as this process continues, the finish will off-gas. It's the off-gassing that is producing the odor you smell. It will take 3-4 weeks for the off-gassing to be greatly reduced.