As the hobbiest woodworker, I had a friend call me last night about
finishing a table top for his Super Bowl party on Sunday. Not the handiest
guy, he apparently stripped off the finish and restained with some kind of
oil based stain, not sure what stain or type of wood. The wood is dull and
where does he go from here? I suggested Waterlox Original and then gloss.
If good enough for floors, it should work for table top and have dry times
for several coats before Sunday. He rejected that as too expensive and too
hard to find.

An hour later I got a second call from him at Home Depot (purveyor of only
the best wood finishing products). He was looking at Watco Teak Oil. I've
used their Danish oil on woodturning pieces with success, but had no
experience with the Teak Oil. Due to time parameters I said go for it,
putting on several coats before Sunday. I assume it is a varnish oil mix
and should pop the grain pattern a bit. After the party I suggested
continuing with some wipe on poly for durability.

Yes, I will see the table on Sunday and have a better idea then. I had
suggested a trial piece first which was rejected and I assume the first
coat of teak oil went on last night. Any comments or suggestions welcome.

Jerry

On 2/3/2010 5:40 PM, A Lurker wrote:

Yes, I will see the table on Sunday and have a better idea then. I had
suggested a trial piece first which was rejected and I assume the first
coat of teak oil went on last night. Any comments or suggestions welcome.

It's been a long while, but I've used it with good results in the past.

Based on that, don't expect to get more than a couple of coats between
now and Sunday, and be sure to rub out each coat an hour or two after
applying, otherwise it will may get gummy and you'll need another
application to get rid of the tacky parts.

I'd sure want to do it indoors and above 70 degrees F if at all possible
if you want multiple coats in a hurry.

Other than the time factor, I think he'll be fine with it.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

I have also used Watco Danish with good success..............so long
as you wipe the wet residue faithfully! I have not used Watco Teak,
but I have used another brand of teak oil in a sailboat we owned. I
think they are similar, but the teak oil might produce a glossier
finish.

Based on above comment on Danish, he should be sure each successive
coat dries before he starts another. I have had both products (Watco
Danish and another brand teak oil) SIT FOR DAYS before it dried! Make
sure that wet residue is wiped after a reasonable amount of time.
Read instructions on the can and follow them.

The Super Bowl starts in four days.

RonB

Dry times and cure times are two different things. If it were me, I
would buy a table cloth. And wait until I could finish it properly.
You buddy simply waited too long. There isn't much chance of the table
top being cured enough to be useful by Sunday.

Depending on how the stain was applied, weather conditions, etc., it
is entirely (read: likely) that the stain will be lifted up by the
Watco if he recently stained it. Not good...

And any damage you do to the actual finish will be almost impossible
to repair.

Robert

I have used Watco Danish oil many times and this is a synthetic teak
oil, really. Do they make actual teak oil? I have applied Watco over
oil stain many times and then topped that with a wipe on gel
polyurethane and even put mineral oil on top of that. Who needs a
spray gun? These kinds of finishes are very forgiving and good
results are easy and long lasting because you wipe off the excess and
so it makes for very thin coats and thin coats are more durable.
-Paw, Doomer in Cheif
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brierpatch/

On Feb 3, 11:10*pm, "
wrote:
Dry times and cure times are two different things. *If it were me, I
would buy a table cloth. *And wait until I could finish it properly.
You buddy simply waited too long. There isn't much chance of the table
top being cured enough to be useful by Sunday.

Yeah - Much better way of saying what I said above, Wait! Do it
right later.

RonB

On Feb 3, 11:19*pm, "
wrote:
I have used Watco Danish oil many times and this is a synthetic teak
oil, really. *Do they make actual teak oil? *I have applied Watco over
oil stain many times and then topped that with a wipe on gel
polyurethane and even put mineral oil on top of that.

There is no "teak oil" in teak oil. Like almost all wipe on products
(I say all... I personally don't know of an exception) it is just some
type of resin that has been thinned to nothing. Just in case you are
really interested:

http://apps.risd.edu/envirohealth_ms...tcoTeakOil.pdf

Note the MINUSCULE amount of solids in the product. Essentially, it
is a hyper-thinned bottle of BLO with some metallic driers to make
sure it eventually dries. The reason this product offers so little
protection for hard use surfaces is in its own ingredients,
specifically its use of an inferior resin.

*Who needs a spray gun? *

No one should for these types of finishes!

These kinds of finishes are very forgiving and good
results are easy and long lasting because you wipe off the excess and
so it makes for very thin coats and thin coats are more durable.

These finishes are forgiving, and they are specifically targeted to
serve those who need (for whatever reason) to finish this way.

Thin coats of any finish do NOT make a stronger surface in
themselves. Generally speaking, thin coats assure that the underlying
coats that form the substrate for the subsequent coats have outgassed
and cured properly. In the case of simple build finishes such as
these, the coats resolvate into themselves, building a monolithic
film, negating layers of thin film buildup.

These products work by signaling the finisher that there is too much
product on in an area by remaining wet in certain areas at the time of
application. These wet areas indicate areas of excess finishing
material that need to be removed to ensure an overall uniform
application.

The simple reason this particular finish must be applied thin is that
it is BLO, and it is a painfully slow curing resin. If applied to
finishing standards, say a 3 mil coat, it would take weeks to cure
between coats.

Robert

On Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:40:00 +0000, A Lurker wrote:

I had
suggested a trial piece first which was rejected and I assume the first
coat of teak oil went on last night. Any comments or suggestions
welcome.

Jerry

It appears that any suggestion would be too late, since he's already
started the teak oil. I would have sealed the stain in with a thin wipe
on coat of SealCoat and about an hour later used wipe on poly.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

I believe the WATCO has a small amount of cobalt drier added. You
could speed curing time by adding more drier, such as 1 part in 10 of
Japan drier. I wouldn't add it to the entire container, but to some of
the WATCO in a jar.

That's a lot more drier than normally used. I'd try that on some scrap
first. Also, you can test whether the current coat is cured by sanding
with some 400 grit. If it sands to powder, it is ready for another
coat. If it sands to balls of gunk, then it needs more time.

[...snip...]

There is no "teak oil" in teak oil.

If you can find something called 100% pure teak oil, then you have the
real teak oil. But for your project, that isn't what you want for this
application, unless it is part of a mix you make. See below.

Like almost all wipe on products
(I say all... I personally don't know of an exception) it is just some
type of resin that has been thinned to nothing. Just in case you are
really interested:

http://apps.risd.edu/envirohealth_ms...tcoTeakOil.pdf



Note the MINUSCULE amount of solids in the product. Essentially, it
is a hyper-thinned bottle of BLO with some metallic driers to make
sure it eventually dries. The reason this product offers so little
protection for hard use surfaces is in its own ingredients,
specifically its use of an inferior resin.

[...snip...]

I was curious, so I followed the link. The ingredients listed total to
about 50%.

Hydrotreated distilate, light 21-30%
Solvent naphtha (petroleum) medium aliphatic 1-10%
Linseed Oil, Acid Refined 1-10%
Cobalt Compounds 1%

The actual resin products are not listed, anyway. So I assume they are
within that remaining 50%. Not sure how much of the 50% is varnish,
however. I ver much doubt it is all of the 50%.

But that didn't match the Teak Oil MSDS that is listed at the
Rustoleum web site. There the link to "Teak Oil" provides this entry
(which is titled WATCO Exterior Oil once you follow the link):

Mineral Spirits 8052 -41-3 50.0%
VM&P Naphtha 64742-89 -8 40.0%

So that shows 90% thinner. There are no varnish, oil, or driers listed
at all, just the mixture of thinners.

Here's what Rustoleum lists for natural Danish Oil:
Mineral Spirits 60.0 %
aromatic petroleum distillates 5.0%
Dipropylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether 5.0%
Stoddard Solvent 5.0%

That totals 75%. No varnish, oil or driers listed for this, either,
but from other sources I understand there is linseed oil and some
varnish in the mix. I don't know the ratio.

So from that I'd say WATCO is fairly expensive bottle of thinner with
a little oil and varnish added.

In traditional homebrew oil-varnish mixes the ratio of
thinner-oil-varnish is usually 1-1-1.

If you want an oil-varnish finish that wipes on easy and dries fast, a
Fine Woodworking article has a formula of:

10 parts Pratt & Lambert No. 38 alkyd varnish,
10 parts pure tung oil,
2 parts Japan drier,
2 to 3 parts turpentine as thinner, no more than 5 parts.

Alkyd varnish is getting a bit harder for me to find, most local
sources just sell poly. The rest I can get at local hardware/paint
stores.

That's a lot of drier for the volume. The article says because of the
extra drier, the mix hardens in the container in a few weeks, and that
rags are at high risk of igniting if not dried properly. But is
water/alcohol proof and can be buffed to a gloss or something softer
as desired. Just mix what you need.

On 2/4/2010 12:43 PM, Jim Weisgram wrote:

first. Also, you can test whether the current coat is cured by sanding
with some 400 grit. If it sands to powder, it is ready for another
coat. If it sands to balls of gunk, then it needs more time.

Excellent ...

Just as an aside ... this testing technique also works on many similar
finishes by simply rubbing the piece with brown paper (as in paper
grocery bags).

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www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)