More oil coats or finer SP grits?

[cwearing]

Using hard maple as an example: Even after sanding to 320 or 400 and up to 5 coats of danish oil, Waterlox or Liberon finishing oil, areas of the end grain DO NOT look as good as the side grain which is satisfactory. Are more oil coats or sanding to 600 or finer the solution?😕

 

[MichaelMouse]

Stuff just keeps soaking in, doesn't it? Try oiling to refusal selectively on the endgrain the first couple of times. Might even have to wipe the sides semi-sticky to do it, but it'll fill the ends.

Other approach, which is what the flat folks do, is to sand the end grain with finer paper, or wet, so the dust will help pack endgrain. Purely turning approach says burnish and harden the endgrain to equalize. That works too.

P400 (320 CAMI) with the grain and then paper bag burnish. You'll want to thin or heat your oil to get it in through the hardening.

 

[LHauch]

One of the guys in our turning club soaks all his big items in a tub of a custom mixed oil (I can't remember exactly what his formula is, I know that boiled linseed oil was only 40%, something else 40% and another 20%), for three to five days, then takes them out, wipes them off, and then puts on his finish coats. The only draw back to this, is that the wood tends to darken more than just lots and lots of coats of finishing oil.
I use shellac to try and seal the open grain, then apply the oil over the shellac - it does work. For lacquer finishes, I use cellulose sanding sealer first.

Before I tried these, I was putting on up over 10 coats the Liberon, drenching the open grain areas.

Cheers,

 

[Nate Hawkes]

Using hard maple as an example: Even after sanding to 320 or 400 and up to 5 coats of danish oil, Waterlox or Liberon finishing oil, areas of the end grain DO NOT look as good as the side grain which is satisfactory. Are more oil coats or sanding to 600 or finer the solution?😕

I sand to 600, then with gray scotchbrite then apply Minwax antique oil--my favorite. I get pretty good coverage with one coat, If I really work on soaking the wood with oil for the first coat, and keep coming back and wiping it off every few minutes or so as it bleeds out, one coat is enough for most woods, but an extra thin coat or two really makes it shine. I personally think that sanding to a higher grit with fresh paper as worn paper just burnishes it and keeps it from finishing evenly, going up to a higher grit just makes it look that much smoother to me.

edit; I think I know that recipie for finish; 40% BLO, 40% urethane varnish, and 20% turpentine.

 

[Marc Himes]

You might try using the Beall buffing system with Tripoli and White Diamond before putting any finish on. This works very well if you already have sanded down to 320-400 and do not have obvious tear-out on the end grain. It makes the wood look very smooth and even glossy, like there is already a finish on the piece. Wipe it down with a damp mineral spirit cloth before applying the final finish. If you see tear-out you probably need to go back to a lower grit paper. I haven't tried wet sanding but I have tried sanding with Mahoney's oil from 240 up. It coats the paper quickly but the paper can be brushed off so you can keep sanding. This also gives a smooth finish. It does commit you to using the same finish for the rest of the process. Sanding Sealer also works, but I like the Beall system the best.

 

[Wyatt Holm]

I have used a recipe for a finish. it is 1/3 of each of these: boiled linseed oil, polyurethane, and mineral spirit. A little of Japan dryers helps too. This solution you can just dip your pieces in to finish them

 

[MichaelMouse]

I have used a recipe for a finish. it is 1/3 of each of these: boiled linseed oil, polyurethane, and mineral spirit. A little of Japan dryers helps too. This solution you can just dip your pieces in to finish them

I see a lot of references to this, but nobody ever mentions what the desirable percentage of resin (solids) should be. Long-oil varnishes - what you get when you add linseed - are softer and more pliable than short-oil. Good for outdoor use. Thinned varnishes - what you get when you add solvent - flow better and perhaps penetrate farther into the wood.

But if you use high-test varnish from the can, you may just be recreating the solids ratio of the standard wiping varnish and softening your film with excess oil. FWW did a nice article on wiping varnishes a couple years ago which might be a good read.