# Homer Formby Tung Oil Over Danish Oil? Help w/ Desk Project



## skydiamonds67 (Jun 15, 2012)

Hi! I'm new to the forums and need a little advice. I've been refinishing furniture for the past couple of years, but I'm stumped on my latest project. 

I found a Mid Century Modern desk by Hooker on Craigslist recently (shown below). It's walnut veneer and in pretty good shape, so I decided not to do a full refinishing job on it (i.e. stripping, sanding, staining, poly-ing). I've had success with just "refreshing" pieces that need some minor work, with directions I found on this blog. 

http://www.the-brick-house.com/2010/09/refreshing-vintage-wood/ 

Basically, this technique entails sanding problem areas with fine grit sandpaper, coating the piece with Danish Oil, and then applying a coat of Howard Feed-in-wax as a final protective coat. 

I followed these directions, and the desk looks much better, but I'm not happy with the finish the Feed-n-Wax gave the desk (I only tried it on one drawer as a test). When you look at the desk at an angle, you can see the areas where I sanded are flat and obvious. I would like the desk to have a uniform and somewhat shiny finish. I do not want to polyurethane the piece. I have some Homer Formby Tung Oil Finish in my supplies, but I've never used it. 

What are people's experiences with the Formby Tung Oil Finish and would you recommend using it over Danish Oil? The directions say "not recommended for use over existing finishes other than penetrating oils (e.g. Tung Oil)." Now I just applied Danish Oil, but I'm not sure what the original finish of the piece was. Since I haven't technically refinished the desk, this original finish is still intact. 

If you recommend Tung Oil, how long should I wait to apply it after the Danish Oil? Or any other suggestions for a protective and uniform finish? Thanks very much!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If this piece of furniture has had a chemical coating on it, I would not recommend using any oil finish on it. I would wash off what has been done and re-coat it. This style of furniture suggests to me a lacquer finish. If this is the case you should be able to dissolve some of it in an inconspicuous spot with lacquer thinner. If it does have a lacquer finish on it than it can be easily re-coated with lacquer as the new finish will melt into the old finish.

If the furniture is done with an oil finish and since you have put the danish finish on it I would continue with the danish finish.


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## skydiamonds67 (Jun 15, 2012)

The whole piece is coated with Danish Oil, but I haven't done anything with the Tung Oil yet. Would I need to remove the Danish Oil if I were to lacquer the piece? I'm not sure I read your post right, that's why I'm asking. 

I don't have any lacquer thinner on hand (all I have is Mineral Spirits and Acetone), but I will get some if need be. I don't have any Lacquer finish either, but will buy some if the general consensus is to Lacquer this desk. But, how damaging could it potentially be to use Tung Oil on a desk that was originally lacquered? If the lacquer test doesn't work, what are other ways I can determine the original finish? Thanks and sorry for all the questions!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Without being there it's hard to guess what you have. I was giving you a couple of different things to do depending on what the substrate was originally. An oil finish like the Danish Oil is only used on raw wood. What I was trying to say is if the furniture had a varnish, lacquer or shellac on it then the danish oil was the wrong product and to wash it off with mineral spirits. All I have is the picture and from my experience I was guessing the piece was done with a lacquer finish. What I was suggesting is to test a spot with lacquer thinner to see if it had a chemical coating and what was on it. If it was lacquer it would disolve the finish and get sticky. If it was varnish the finish would wrinkle up and lift as a sheet. If it had a oil finish on it the thinner would do very little or nothing. The most it would do is lighten the spot a little. An oil finish is mostly stain and oil and leaves very little film on the surface. 

If you choose to apply lacquer over the piece the Danish would be a foreign substance on the surface that should be removed. When ever I recoat a piece of funiture the first thing I do is wash it down with a wax and grease remover to clean everything off. If there is anything on the surface it can prevent the new finish from adhereing. If the furniture was raw wood to begin with, when the Danish oil dries it can be topcoated with lacquer. Danish oil is a mixture of oils and a small amount of varnish. The varnish in it is why I would not recommend using tung oil over the top. If you were going to continue with an oil finish I would continue with the Danish oil.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

If you have Danish Oil on the piece I would not put lacquer on top of that. It's likely you will have a reaction. I would wipe completely off the Feed in wax. The Danish oil finish can be a stand alone finish. It's an oil varnish mix, that you can add another wipe on application or two. It should look better then. Lightly sand in between applications with 320x.













 







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## skydiamonds67 (Jun 15, 2012)

Thanks so much for the quick reply, Steve. I just remembered I have some Homer Formby Furniture Refinisher, which I read somewhere is just lacquer, so I will test out an unseen area with it to determine the finish. 

I really don't want to wipe down all of my work with the Danish Oil, since the desk is looking very good right now, and the Danish Oil covered a lot of it's problem areas. 

Even if I let the Danish Oil dry for several days, do you still think there would still be problems with the topcoat finish (whichever I end up choosing) adhering?


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## skydiamonds67 (Jun 15, 2012)

I tested the desk today with some Homer Formby Furniture Refinisher (which apparently is mostly lacquer thinner) and it dissolved/lightened the finish. It made it a little sticky, but not that much...so I guess the original finish was either lacquer or some sort of oil. I'm thinking it's probably lacquer. I'm not sure I want to keep on with the Danish Oil finish. I'd like a quicker fix (I don't really want to add layers and layers and layers of Danish Oil) and something a little more protective. I've never used lacquer, what do you suggest as far as products go? Is it okay to use lacquer on a piece that hasn't been really refinished, just putting it on top of an old finish? Also, is it absolutely necessary to remove the Danish Oil before lacquering, or can i wait to allow the Danish Oil to dry and then apply the lacquer? If not, will Mineral Spirits or Murphy Oil Soap remove the Danish Oil? Thanks so much for all the help.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

skydiamonds67 said:


> I tested the desk today with some Homer Formby Furniture Refinisher (which apparently is mostly lacquer thinner) and it dissolved/lightened the finish. It made it a little sticky, but not that much...so I guess the original finish was either lacquer or some sort of oil. I'm thinking it's probably lacquer. I'm not sure I want to keep on with the Danish Oil finish. I'd like a quicker fix (I don't really want to add layers and layers and layers of Danish Oil) and something a little more protective. I've never used lacquer, what do you suggest as far as products go? Is it okay to use lacquer on a piece that hasn't been really refinished, just putting it on top of an old finish? Also, is it absolutely necessary to remove the Danish Oil before lacquering, or can i wait to allow the Danish Oil to dry and then apply the lacquer? If not, will Mineral Spirits or Murphy Oil Soap remove the Danish Oil? Thanks so much for all the help.


If you've read post #5 it's stated not to put lacquer over danish oil. It's stated to use lacquer thinner to remove the danish oil if you so desire. A danish oil finish is an oil varnish mix, which dries to a film finish, which can be all you might need.








 







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## skydiamonds67 (Jun 15, 2012)

What are people's thoughts on using polyurethane (maybe the wipe on kind) over the Danish Oil? I really don't want to put more chemicals like lacquer thinner on this desk. It's somewhat valuable and doesn't need a lot of work. And the Danish Oil worked well covering up imperfections, so I really don't want to remove it all. I would just like an easy and durable finish to apply over the Danish Oil...


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

skydiamonds67 said:


> What are people's thoughts on using polyurethane (maybe the wipe on kind) over the Danish Oil? I really don't want to put more chemicals like lacquer thinner on this desk. It's somewhat valuable and doesn't need a lot of work. And the Danish Oil worked well covering up imperfections, so I really don't want to remove it all. I would just like an easy and durable finish to apply over the Danish Oil...



Danish oil needs no topcoat. It has varnish as an ingredient.









 







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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

What we are trying to tell you is if you are going to use the Danish oil on the piece is to continue with that produce. If you are going to recoat the piece I think you would have better luck using lacquer than polyurethane and clean the Danish oil off. A lacquer finish will melt into the previous finish giving a better bond. Polyurethane is a better finish but not for a recoat. There is a brushing lacquer available however I've never used it before. Whenever possible I spray everything. If you wish to do this to prep the piece you should go to a automotive paint store and get a product or equilivant to Dupont Prepsol Solvent. This should clean the piece off so the new finish will bond better. This will remove most foreign substances that might give you adhesion problems. Assuming the furniture has lacquer already on it to wash it off with a stronger solvent would be counterproductive. It would be like using paint and varnish remover.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

WAIT A MINUTE !!!!
I understand this is the refinishing/finishes section BUT...

You all are suggesting refinishing/changing surfaces on a antique or a piece with possible value IF LEFT ALONE!
Verify value of Not Touching It "vs" doing what you are thinking about.
This looks like a very unique piece, but I'm not an expert on value. What I do know is most times messing with the original patina will blow the value apart.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

aardvark said:


> WAIT A MINUTE !!!!
> I understand this is the refinishing/finishes section BUT...
> 
> You all are suggesting refinishing/changing surfaces on a antique or a piece with possible value IF LEFT ALONE!
> ...


 You would be supprised at the amount of antiques that have been doctored on. For 10 years I touched up, recoated, refinished antiques for antique dealers to make them more sellable. Most dealers are doing the same thing. I normally advise an individual that for antique value the less you do the better, but the customer is always right and I always do what the customer wants. My biggest regret was having to refinish a chair that at one time belong to Oliver Wendell Homes. I advised them against it but they wanted it done.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

I thinkI would have had to offer them money for the chair, or refused to do the resto.


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