Boiled Linseed Oil
 

Hi all, Thanks for the help with the screen door question. Couldn't
find the Wood mag. article but the rest of the info helped alot. My
next question; I want to know if Boiled linseed Oil has a shelf life. I
have an old(15yo, at least) can and wondered if I could still use it.
I've never used BLO before so just trying it out won't mean much for
me.
Thanks,
CHARLIE

rock wrote:
Hi all, Thanks for the help with the screen door question. Couldn't
find the Wood mag. article but the rest of the info helped alot. My
next question; I want to know if Boiled linseed Oil has a shelf life. I
have an old(15yo, at least) can and wondered if I could still use it.
I've never used BLO before so just trying it out won't mean much for
me.
Thanks,
CHARLIE

Wow... Charlie... BLO is CHEAP. If you are going to take the time to
do the finishing work, why scrimp on the finish? At least 15 years
old? Why take a chance? Drop that $4-$5 on a quart and sleep well at
night knowing you did the right thing.

Robert

"rock" wrote in message
.196...
Hi all, Thanks for the help with the screen door question. Couldn't
find the Wood mag. article but the rest of the info helped alot. My
next question; I want to know if Boiled linseed Oil has a shelf life. I
have an old(15yo, at least) can and wondered if I could still use it.
I've never used BLO before so just trying it out won't mean much for
me.
Thanks,
CHARLIE

If it doesn't have chunks, yes it is fine to use.

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 06:43:44 GMT, rock wrote:

I want to know if Boiled linseed Oil has a shelf life.

Depends. If it's 15 years old, it's probably solid. If it's 50 years
old (old enough to have used lead driers) and the lid was tight against
moisture, then it's just about ready. The age behaviour of boiled
linseed oil depends a lot on how it was prepared - which metal was used
as the siccative ? Was it de-acidified ? How has it been stored ?

If it still flows, then it probably still works. But if it had any iron
in it (often for a coloured oil) then it'll remain sticky for ever more
and will never fully cure on the surface.

Personally I'd bin it.

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 06:43:44 GMT, rock wrote:

I want to know if Boiled linseed Oil has a shelf life.

Depends. If it's 15 years old, it's probably solid. If it's 50 years
old (old enough to have used lead driers) and the lid was tight against
moisture, then it's just about ready. The age behaviour of boiled
linseed oil depends a lot on how it was prepared - which metal was used
as the siccative ? Was it de-acidified ? How has it been stored ?

If it still flows, then it probably still works. But if it had any iron
in it (often for a coloured oil) then it'll remain sticky for ever more
and will never fully cure on the surface.

Personally I'd bin it.

why not just try it on a piece of scrap and see?

Put a bit on a scrap from your project and see what happens. If you
want to take the wood out of the equation, pour a small pool on a sheet
of glass, wait overnight, see what happens.
There have been several threads here started by lamenting WWers who
used a finish only to have it never dry...

In article ,
rock wrote:

Hi all, Thanks for the help with the screen door question. Couldn't
find the Wood mag. article but the rest of the info helped alot. My
next question; I want to know if Boiled linseed Oil has a shelf life. I
have an old(15yo, at least) can and wondered if I could still use it.
I've never used BLO before so just trying it out won't mean much for
me.
Thanks,
CHARLIE



if it's still fluid it's good to go. thin the amount you're going to use
to the consistency you need.

In article ,
says...
I want to know if Boiled linseed Oil has a shelf life.

Definitely. I bought a quart at an estate sale and when I opened it, it
had gelled. Don't know how old it was, but definitely over 10 years.

Of course, I only paid a quarter for it :-).

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever