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In article ,
says...

Please could someone tell me the benefits of Boiled Linseed oil. I am
currently fitting out a new workshop & am looking to treat the wood with a
preservative. What are the benefits of the oil other it's nice smell

Thanks

Colin.

What wood do you want to preserve - that is not clear to me here. The framing
of the workshop? The bench? Your stock of lumber?

Boiled oil as a treatment is foodsafe. Salad bowls, other wooden food
implements, chopping boards and benchtops (I prefer to use olive oil there)...
It will somewhat protect many timbers from waterstain (but not all of them, and
only partially). It darkens wood, typically, and can add a 'glow'. Again, this
depends on the timber. If I use boiled oil on eucalyptus pilularis I am wasting
my time. Water goes straight through, I get black waterstain within minutes ...
on cypressus macrocarpa o.t.o.h. the water will sit on top of the boiled oil
finish for half an hour without leaving a mark (and it gives the timber a nice
sheen). All this is why you usually try out samples of finish on scraps before
putting any on a completed new piece: different finishes react differently with
various timbers.
As a protection against borer beetle or fungal rot boiled oil is a non event.
Get something else.

h.t.h. -P.

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