• April 2025 Turning Challenge: Turn an Egg! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Kelly Shaw winner of the March 2025 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Ellen Starr for "Lotus Temple" being selected as Turning of the Week for 21 April, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Clear oil finish to make grain pop

Al Chavez

Al Chavez

Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Messages
158
Likes
293
Location
San Antonio, TX
Website
www.instagram.com
I've been using a Maloof type wipe on finish that is roughly equal thirds of polyurethane, mineral spirits and tung oil. It works great and dries relatively quickly here in South Texas (100° days). I can apply 3 or 4 coats in a few days then I proceed to Beall buffing with tripoli, white diamond and then carnauba wax.

Lately I've turned a few very light toned wood pieces.
I am looking for a drying oil that does not have that amber sheen that tung oil or boiled linseed have. Ideally it will make the grain pop and quickly dry unlike mineral oil. Is there such an oil? Again I am looking for something that is relatively colorless but will dry and is compatable with Beall buffing after it has set up. Is a wipeon poly without oil what I am looking for? A food safe finish is not important to me for this finish. A film building finish is what I'm after (I think).

Any suggestions or feedback are welcome.
Thanks
Al
 
Al Chavez said:
I've been using a Maloof type wipe on finish that is roughly equal thirds of polyurethane, mineral spirits and tung oil. It works great and dries relatively quickly here in South Texas (100° days). I can apply 3 or 4 coats in a few days then I proceed to Beall buffing with tripoli, white diamond and then carnauba wax.

Lately I've turned a few very light toned wood pieces.
I am looking for a drying oil that does not have that amber sheen that tung oil or boiled linseed have. Ideally it will make the grain pop and quickly dry unlike mineral oil. Is there such an oil? Again I am looking for something that is relatively colorless but will dry and is compatable with Beall buffing after it has set up. Is a wipeon poly without oil what I am looking for? A food safe finish is not important to me for this finish. A film building finish is what I'm after (I think).

Any suggestions or feedback are welcome.
Thanks
Al
Click to expand...
Have you considered starting with a coat of shellac to soak into the grain, then you can apply any top coat finish (A La Water based polyurethane) water base poly doesn't discolor, AFAIK. Shellac seals the wood so the poly don't soak in too deep and most finishes can go on top of shellac (or shellac can go on top of the finish, except wax finishes, then an otherwise incompatible finish on top of shellac..)
 
Thank you Brian,
My understanding is that even the blondest blonde shellac has that amber or yellow tint. I may pick up a can of Zinnsler "Clear" to try out and see if that works. I have used shellac before on my flatwork but not on turned pieces. Thats something to consider and I'm open to experiment with different finishes.
 
Osmo Top Oil is a fairly light oil/wax that does cure to a nice satin sheen by itself. It does impart a little color but as far as oils go it is very light. I’m not sure how it would work with buffing though.
 
AFAIK, there are 3 oils available that cure: walnut, tung, and linseed (flax). All darken the look of wood to some extent. I'm not sure what oil is in Osmo, but there are reports that it does not darken the wood very much.
 
Al Chavez said:
Thank you Brian,
My understanding is that even the blondest blonde shellac has that amber or yellow tint. I may pick up a can of Zinnsler "Clear" to try out and see if that works. I have used shellac before on my flatwork but not on turned pieces. Thats something to consider and I'm open to experiment with different finishes.
Click to expand...
Super blonde shellac is clear. You have to make it from flakes that get dissolved in alcohol. Zinnser cCear isn't super blonde, so it has a little color to it.
Or you could try a water based finish. But I don't like the look of that on most woods. It kind of leaves the wood lifeless, IMO.
 
I found Osmo coat to not darken the wood at all and as a result it didn't pop the grain. I think the grain pops because there is a difference in fiber orientation/densities which then absorb the oil unevenly. If you don't have an oil that imparts at least some color variation, you won't get the popping effect.
 
Lacquer will bring out the chatoyance your looking for. I like using Target coatings emtech water based lacquer. I get similar results to the thinner based stuff without all the smell. The em6000 will add a little yellowing over time the em7000hbl is water clear. both need to be sprayed and require no sanding between coats. I use the $35 detail sprayer from harbor freight with good results. After a few days or so to completely cure you can buff it. I prefer to wet sand to a very fine grit.
 
The amber color is what makes the grain pop, in other words, a colored fluid that soaks into any curl or figure. If you use anything with no color, it's not going to pop the grain. One method I use when dying, is put down a dark dye, then sand it off. It still remains in the curl since it is basically end grain and soaks in much deeper. So put on an amber color coat, sand it off, then add a natural color. Test the compatibility before working on the finished piece.
 
Al Chavez said:
I've been using a Maloof type wipe on finish that is roughly equal thirds of polyurethane, mineral spirits and tung oil. It works great and dries relatively quickly here in South Texas (100° days). I can apply 3 or 4 coats in a few days then I proceed to Beall buffing with tripoli, white diamond and then carnauba wax.

Lately I've turned a few very light toned wood pieces.
I am looking for a drying oil that does not have that amber sheen that tung oil or boiled linseed have. Ideally it will make the grain pop and quickly dry unlike mineral oil. Is there such an oil? Again I am looking for something that is relatively colorless but will dry and is compatable with Beall buffing after it has set up. Is a wipeon poly without oil what I am looking for? A food safe finish is not important to me for this finish. A film building finish is what I'm after (I think).

Any suggestions or feedback are welcome.
Thanks
Al
Click to expand...

It’s not the oil, it’s the wood itself that is the issue. Even if you applied water-clear acrylic lacquer or a CA finish the wood would become more amber in color. Here’s the reason why. On a microscopic level the surface of the unfinished wood is rough and scatters light. Scattering of the light lowers contrast which to our eyes has the appearance of being lighter than the actual color. If you have ever used MicroMesh to sand bare wood, the effect of light scattering becomes very apparent. Although MicroMesh is normally used to level the finish, I sometimes use it to put a glass smooth surface on bare figured maple starting with 1500 grit MicroMesh and going through all of the grits up to 12000 grit which yields a high gloss surface which has a noticeably more amber appearance now that there is less scattering of the light. Also, all drying oils have some amber color, but walnut oil is the lightest. Two things that you can do to help lighten the color of the wood is to use two part wood bleach and finish with acrylic lacquer rather than using oil.
 
Al Chavez said:
I've been using a Maloof type wipe on finish that is roughly equal thirds of polyurethane, mineral spirits and tung oil. It works great and dries relatively quickly here in South Texas (100° days). I can apply 3 or 4 coats in a few days then I proceed to Beall buffing with tripoli, white diamond and then carnauba wax.

Lately I've turned a few very light toned wood pieces.
I am looking for a drying oil that does not have that amber sheen that tung oil or boiled linseed have. Ideally it will make the grain pop and quickly dry unlike mineral oil. Is there such an oil? Again I am looking for something that is relatively colorless but will dry and is compatable with Beall buffing after it has set up. Is a wipeon poly without oil what I am looking for? A food safe finish is not important to me for this finish. A film building finish is what I'm after (I think).

Any suggestions or feedback are welcome.
Thanks
Al
Click to expand...
Waterlox has a relatively new product that is presented as a clear, non-ambering oil based Urethane. I am currently using it on some Ash turnings. After applying the urethane, I find the grain or figure is enhanced but there is no ambering effect. The product is labeled as self leveling. AND through my hard-headedness, I confirmed the self leveling effect is valid.
 
Agree most wood will “yellow” when wetted. Just put some water clear solvent on to see the best you can get. Most of the the oil based finishes do add to the yellowing. I have found one that has a bit of a red hue vs yellow, Watco Butcher Block oil, pic below. 2nd pic shows mw poly in the bag for comparison. It buffs just fine. Not as abrasion resistant as poly and buffs quicker. It reminds me of the old nonpoly varnishes in look and feel when cured.

Lacquer can be a choice, but NC lacquer will yellow with time. I use a CAB acrylic solvent based from sherwin williams that does not yellow. There are some water based water clear finishes but IME they look flat and lifeless.


1656442878025.jpeg

1656443166768.jpeg
 
If they are medium to small pieces, less than ~ 6”x6”, Parfix 3408 could be the solution. Utube Mark Silay Parfix 3408. It does not yellow and buffs well. Even tho it has a longer open time bigger pieces just cant be coated and wiped off in time by one person. Could be done with 2 sets of hands tho.
 
For oil I've been using Livos as it imparts the least amber color of any oil I've found.

If I want no change of color at all and UV protection to prevent wood from changing color I use Sherwin Williams CAB acrylic lacquer. Its water clear and comes in four, maybe five different sheen's.
 
Al Chavez said:
I've been using a Maloof type wipe on finish that is roughly equal thirds of polyurethane, mineral spirits and tung oil. It works great and dries relatively quickly here in South Texas (100° days). I can apply 3 or 4 coats in a few days then I proceed to Beall buffing with tripoli, white diamond and then carnauba wax.

Lately I've turned a few very light toned wood pieces.
I am looking for a drying oil that does not have that amber sheen that tung oil or boiled linseed have. Ideally it will make the grain pop and quickly dry unlike mineral oil. Is there such an oil? Again I am looking for something that is relatively colorless but will dry and is compatable with Beall buffing after it has set up. Is a wipeon poly without oil what I am looking for? A food safe finish is not important to me for this finish. A film building finish is what I'm after (I think).

Any suggestions or feedback are welcome.
Thanks
Al
Click to expand...
I always sand my turnings from 200 to 3000 grit in stages as I sand from 1000 up to 3000 the wood takes on a natural sheen and looks like it is buffed thyen i do one of three finishes. They are 1 apply CA glue then buff @ apply water based poly or tinted poly ahich is spirit based then over this either bees wax or carrunuba wax 3 apply carrunuba wax leave for a couple of hours then buff
good luck with your search this association is a great place to find different ways of doing things
Cheers Mike
 
On the topic of finishes that do not (or purport not to) darken the wood, Osmo has a new oil (Polyx 3051) with that specific objective. Apparently it uses a tiny amount of white pigment to offset the inevitable darkening that the oil causes. I will believe it when I have tried it, but it is out there. As with others who have posted on this thread, I would not expect any finish that does not have some darkening effect to pop the grain much, but this oil at least promises not to darken the wood.
 
Gord Cameron said:
On the topic of finishes that do not (or purport not to) darken the wood, Osmo has a new oil (Polyx 3051) with that specific objective. Apparently it uses a tiny amount of white pigment to offset the inevitable darkening that the oil causes. I will believe it when I have tried it, but it is out there. As with others who have posted on this thread, I would not expect any finish that does not have some darkening effect to pop the grain much, but this oil at least promises not to darken the wood.
Click to expand...

To be technically accurate it may be true that some of the mentioned finishes do not actually darken the wood. However, the perceived effect of changing the way that light is reflected off the surface as a result of applying the finish gives the wood a "richer" (darker) appearance.
 
Gord Cameron said:
On the topic of finishes that do not (or purport not to) darken the wood, Osmo has a new oil (Polyx 3051) with that specific objective. Apparently it uses a tiny amount of white pigment to offset the inevitable darkening that the oil causes. I will believe it when I have tried it, but it is out there. As with others who have posted on this thread, I would not expect any finish that does not have some darkening effect to pop the grain much, but this oil at least promises not to darken the wood.
Click to expand...
I've used the 3025 TopOil with the same white pigment and it didn't yellow or darken pale hard maple. It added a slight sheen and made the surface very smooth, but no change in colour.
 
Daniel Henry said:
Waterlox has a relatively new product that is presented as a clear, non-ambering oil based Urethane. I am currently using it on some Ash turnings. After applying the urethane, I find the grain or figure is enhanced but there is no ambering effect. The product is labeled as self leveling. AND through my hard-headedness, I confirmed the self leveling effect is valid.
Click to expand...
Can you tell us the name of the product?
 
Would like to see a pic of the waterlox in a clear container next to other oil or poly finishes, with good lighting, to get a sense of its color.
 
Highly recommend Livos Kunos in clear. Natural oils and very low VOC. I use it for maple in particular, which I think tends to look muddy under most finishes. The Livos imparts almost no color, but does bring out the grain. A little goes a long way. Livosusa.com. And no, I get nuthin’ from them. It’s been made in Germany for decades, but only recently got a US distributor.
 
Daniel Henry said:
Waterlox has a relatively new product that is presented as a clear, non-ambering oil based Urethane. I am currently using it on some Ash turnings. After applying the urethane, I find the grain or figure is enhanced but there is no ambering effect. The product is labeled as self leveling. AND through my hard-headedness, I confirmed the self leveling effect is valid.
Click to expand...
Is the Waterlox Urethane good for salad bowls, or does it leave a film finish that will scratch? Thanks.
 
Ed Weingarden said:
Is the Waterlox Urethane good for salad bowls, or does it leave a film finish that will scratch? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Any finish that dries hard, which includes any urethane finish, will scratch with metal utensil use. Even when applied like a DO finish (flood on, keep wet, wipe off), which doesnt leave a film, will scratch - the hard finish is in the upper layers of fibers.

I use walnut oil for those applications. Much softer and can be reapplied with wear.
 
Last edited:
Yes, Waterlox creates a film. I would not rule film finishes out for salad bowls. I have a salad bowl with some sort of varnish finish that has been sound for about 20 years (wooden utensils). But as with Doug, I use walnut oil for utility bowls.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top