On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 03:17:19 GMT, "toller" wrote:

I finished my first project with boiled linseed oil on spalted maple today.
Well, I am still finishing it. The instructions say to apply and wipe the
excess off 20 minutes later. I have applied about 5 times and it is bone
dry when I go back to wipe.

Just about the only thing I finish with plain BLO are old moulding
planes (usually in beech). These are _soaked_ in a bucket of oil,
until they've absorbed as much as they can.

There's a problem with oil in that a thick layer on the surface won't
dry readily. It skins over, then sits there remaining sticky for ever.
If you can _soak_ the oil in, then you can apply it in large volume,
so long as you don't leave it lying on the surface.

On dry timber, you can apply oil practically with a spoon, so long as
you wipe it "dry" after about 5 minutes (paper towel). You might even
re-coat the absorbent end grain after 5, rather than drying it. After
20 minutes go back and wipe it down again (cloth, damp with white
spirit). This will need repeating, but not so often.

There are also many wet-sanding approaches to oil finishes. FWW have
covered them, I think they're in Tage Frid too.


I wouldn't even think of using linseed on maple though. Watch for it
yellowing horribly in a few months.


--
Smert' spamionam