# Danish Oil Finish questions...



## barnabaas (Feb 16, 2012)

So i'm brand new to Danish Oil, Danish Oil Finish etc. I put my first coat on (DEFTOIL Danish Oil Finish) my walnut console and I am currently letting it dry and wiping down any sweating every 10-15 min. However I'm curious. Is 2 coats needed? Preferred? I presume it's more durable if i do 2+ coats, I just don't want to saturate the wood TOO much. The guy at my wood shop said one would be enough but of course if i wanted i could put 2+ ...it was all just up to me.

I was doing some digging and read that you should wet sand between coats sometimes? I sanded this to 220 before this initial first coat. Everything seems smooth except for one part that I probably didn't sand very well on the inside. I can def. live with it but I'm curious about whether or not I should do a second pass. As well as WHEN i should do that second pass, and if i'll need to sand in between coats? Can you get by with sanding normally say at 320 - or does it HAVE to be wet sanding?

Any thoughts or insight would be appreciated. Thanks! I'm sure i'll have more questions as i go. 

pics for ya...





:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I normally use Watco so I don't have experience with Deftoil. I normally use two coats but I wait several days to a week before the second coat. Anyway what you have looks fine so you don't have to put another coat on. If at some time in the future the wood starts looking dry you can always add another coat then. It doesn't necessary make the finish more durable if you add another coat. 

If you take the notion to sand between coats don't wet sand with water. A danish oil finish is not very water resistant. I would dry sand or use some of the danish oil as a lubricant.


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## barnabaas (Feb 16, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> I normally use Watco so I don't have experience with Deftoil. I normally use two coats but I wait several days to a week before the second coat. Anyway what you have looks fine so you don't have to put another coat on. If at some time in the future the wood starts looking dry you can always add another coat then. It doesn't necessary make the finish more durable if you add another coat.
> 
> If you take the notion to sand between coats don't wet sand with water. A danish oil finish is not very water resistant. I would dry sand or use some of the danish oil as a lubricant.


Cool thanks. I'll let this dry for a while then and try and decide on the second coat. The directions say to increase color intensity apply a second coat an hour after the first. I'm happy with the color as is. Like you said though, i'm not sure whether it even needs the second coat, especially if it's not going to add any durability to the finish. 

Funny, I was going to get the Watco but the guy at the shop talked me out of it - he said they've changed the formula so many times, ie. Selling the name to people, and changing the forumla. So he didn't like Watco anymore. Highly recommended this DEFTOIL. * shrug * 

Is there any additional finish I could put on here to make it more durable for the future? Without making it 'shiney' like I suspect poly's usually do?

Thanks again for the comment. Def. learned something there. :thumbsup:


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

barnabaas said:


> Cool thanks. I'll let this dry for a while then and try and decide on the second coat. The directions say to increase color intensity apply a second coat an hour after the first. I'm happy with the color as is. Like you said though, i'm not sure whether it even needs the second coat, especially if it's not going to add any durability to the finish.
> 
> Funny, I was going to get the Watco but the guy at the shop talked me out of it - he said they've changed the formula so many times, ie. Selling the name to people, and changing the forumla. So he didn't like Watco anymore. Highly recommended this DEFTOIL. * shrug *
> 
> ...


I haven't used the Watco in a couple of years. If they've changed the formula in that time I wouldn't know about it. The Danish oil finish is a linseed oil/varnish mixture. If you wanted a more durable oil finish then I would use a polymerized tung oil finish. Tung oil is waterproof and you could with many coats build an emulsion that would look like a polyurethane finish. It can also be used over the Danish oil finish you have now if you let it dry a month first.


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## barnabaas (Feb 16, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> I haven't used the Watco in a couple of years. If they've changed the formula in that time I wouldn't know about it. The Danish oil finish is a linseed oil/varnish mixture. If you wanted a more durable oil finish then I would use a polymerized tung oil finish. Tung oil is waterproof and you could with many coats build an emulsion that would look like a polyurethane finish. It can also be used over the Danish oil finish you have now if you let it dry a month first.


cool thanks. I have some paste wax here already, would something like that work as well? It's a rub on - buff off type of wax. Or would you still recommend the Polymerized Tung oil finish in this case? I just want to be able to durable enough to dust it off easily or wipe it down without worrying that there's dust or lint that's going to be grabbed by the wood over the years.

Thanks again. Super helpful


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

barnabaas said:


> cool thanks. I have some paste wax here already, would something like that work as well? It's a rub on - buff off type of wax. Or would you still recommend the Polymerized Tung oil finish in this case? I just want to be able to durable enough to dust it off easily or wipe it down without worrying that there's dust or lint that's going to be grabbed by the wood over the years.
> 
> Thanks again. Super helpful


It would be alright to put paste wax on the Danish oil finish but it won't make it more water resistant. The only problem you might have is if someone sit a sweaty glass on the piece. If you don't think that would happen, I wouldn't worry about it. It would just make a water ring that would have to be sanded out. If you think it likely someone might set a glass on it then I would opt for the tung oil. Be sure you are done putting oil finish on before using any wax. If you needed to put some more oil finish on afterwards then you would need to use a wax and grease remover first.


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## barnabaas (Feb 16, 2012)

makes sense, good to know. if i do go with the Tung Oil, would you recommend a quick sand before applying? I assume not if i go the wax route.

Thx


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

barnabaas said:


> makes sense, good to know. if i do go with the Tung Oil, would you recommend a quick sand before applying? I assume not if i go the wax route.
> 
> Thx


I normally sand the wood to 400 grit sandpaper raising the grain with water between grit changes before using a Danish oil finish. The finish then doesn't raise the grain so I don't sand between coats of the oil finish. If you project feels smooth to your liking I wouldn't sand it. All the sanding is going to do is make it feel more smooth to the touch. It's not needed for mechanical bonding like if you were using a polyurethane.


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## barnabaas (Feb 16, 2012)

cool, i'll def. do that next time. totally makes sense. The surface i have now is pretty smooth, i don't think the grain raised very much, that or the 'finish' part of the Danish oil is masking it pretty well. 

Last question would be in regards to if i decided to put a paste wax over the danish oil. Would I need to do both top and bottom of each board / surface, to help reduce warping? Or is that not all that necessary with a wax application?

Thanks again for all the help. Learned quite a bit here


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It's not necessary to put wax on the underside to prevent warpage. Wax on an oil finish is just going to give the surface a better feal to the touch. It does very little for the wood and nothing for the finish.


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## barnabaas (Feb 16, 2012)

good to know, it does help with adding an additional layer of protection though right? That seems like common sense but i've been wrong before. =P

:thumbsup:

my friend is suggesting to use a water based poly over it. Would that add to the smooth-ness or durability of it?

I'm scared to do the wax as once you go wax....it's hard to go back.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

barnabaas said:


> good to know, it does help with adding an additional layer of protection though right? That seems like common sense but i've been wrong before. =P
> 
> :thumbsup:
> 
> ...


Wax on furniture is kinda like hand cream on your hands. It moistures and helps prevent if from cracking. It doesn't really add any protection. On a oil based finish there is no emulsion to moisturize. The wax will just make the surface a little slicker to the touch and the wax is more susceptible to water marks then the oil finish without it. 

There is no reason you can't put a water based poly over it but you either need to let the Danish oil dry very well or use a dewaxed shellac such as Zinsser Sealcoat as a barrier coat first. Water based poly doesn't like the linseed oil in the oil finish. The linseed oil would need to dry from three days to a week before using poly. An oil based poly or lacquer would be fine without the sealcoat. It defeats the purpose of the oil finish though to put a film finish over what you have. It will definitely give more protection from water.


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## barnabaas (Feb 16, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> Wax on furniture is kinda like hand cream on your hands. It moistures and helps prevent if from cracking. It doesn't really add any protection. On a oil based finish there is no emulsion to moisturize. The wax will just make the surface a little slicker to the touch and the wax is more susceptible to water marks then the oil finish without it.
> 
> There is no reason you can't put a water based poly over it but you either need to let the Danish oil dry very well or use a dewaxed shellac such as Zinsser Sealcoat as a barrier coat first. Water based poly doesn't like the linseed oil in the oil finish. The linseed oil would need to dry from three days to a week before using poly. An oil based poly or lacquer would be fine without the sealcoat. It defeats the purpose of the oil finish though to put a film finish over what you have. It will definitely give more protection from water.


thanks for the explanation. I think i'm just going to stick with the Danish Oil. It's not going to see a ton of traffic and i'll just be careful about it if it does. Appreciate your explanations and help so far.


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