A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

My question is which vinegar ?
The dark brown or white.
Does it matter?
Can I try both to see which looks best?

I will be using on white pine and gum tree.

Thanks,
Tana

Tana wrote:
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

This recipe is a variant of the well-known "salad dressing" furniture
treatment. It's intended for cleaning or restoring the finish on
existing pieces, not for finishing new timber from scratch.

It's not a good finish for new work and I wouldn't use it. It's
basically raw linseed oil, which you could use just as well on its own.

Linseed oil has uses for "rustic" work like these
http://codesmiths.com/shed/things/boxes/forsale/
but it also has drawbacks. It goes very yellow with age (OK on pine,
terrible on maple). It's also not a good "drying" oil, so you must
apply it in extremely thin layers and even then you can sometimes have
trouble getting it to cure well.

As a furniture restorer, then this mixture is effective but a little
crude. Don't go slathering it around on fine work - it doesn't do much,
and what it does do tends to involve leaving linseed behind to go
yellow afterwards. It also builds up after many uses (I think the
Winterthur collection had a problem with this) into a thick "peanut
butter" that's hard to remove.


My question is which vinegar ?

Plainest, simplest unflavoured spirit vinegar you can find. Good for
cleaning glass too.

Tana wrote:
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

My question is which vinegar ?
The dark brown or white.
Does it matter?

Almost certainly it will not.

Can I try both to see which looks best?

Of course. Let us know what you find.


I will be using on white pine and gum tree.


Vinegar???? How are you going to keep it mixed, by adding
lecithin?

Sure that wasn't supposed to be _varnish_?

A common formula for homemade wiping varnish is equal parts,
by volume, of oil, thinner, and oil-based varnish.

Others prefer a higher proportion of solids, up to a 1-2-3
ratio, one part oil, two parts solvent, three parts varnish.

Don't substitute water-based 'varnish'.

Basicly these mixes are thinned long-oil varnishes, probably
not much different from thinning spar varnish.

--

FF

"Tana" wrote in message
u...
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

Snip

I have heard that the production finish for rustic furniture is used motor
oil and or diesel fuel.

"Ignoramus3644" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 15:04:49 GMT, Leon
wrote:

"Tana" wrote in message
u...
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic
furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

Snip

I have heard that the production finish for rustic furniture is used
motor
oil and or diesel fuel.

diesel fuel is translucent. I have a diesel generator in a wooden
enclosure, and there is a "diesel fuel finish" on the bottom. It looks
waxy and translucent.

I myself wanted to use motor oil for wood finish (on some outdoor pieces),
but never got to actually doing that...


I suspect that either would not be good for human contact.

Ignoramus3644 wrote:

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 15:04:49 GMT, Leon wrote:

"Tana" wrote in message
u...
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

Snip

I have heard that the production finish for rustic furniture is used motor
oil and or diesel fuel.

diesel fuel is translucent. I have a diesel generator in a wooden
enclosure, and there is a "diesel fuel finish" on the bottom. It looks
waxy and translucent.

I myself wanted to use motor oil for wood finish (on some outdoor pieces),
but never got to actually doing that...


Not real satisfactory for many reasons, the most significant of which is
the fact it will take "forever" to fully dry (if it ever does) and tends
to collect dirt.

I myself wanted to use motor oil for wood finish (on some outdoor pieces),
but never got to actually doing that...

Not good at all for your backside. As a young man we used diesel fuel
for form break treatment when we were pouring lots of concrete.

Then we used motor oil thinned with gas if we ran out of that.

It was the only time we really needed to wear gloves as we got a red,
irritated burn on our hands from working with the forms after
treatment.

Robert

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 16:03:49 +1000, Tana wrote:

A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

My question is which vinegar ?
The dark brown or white.
Does it matter?
Can I try both to see which looks best?

I will be using on white pine and gum tree.

Thanks,
Tana

my guess is that it doesn't matter.. a friend that does butcher block uses about
the same thing, but with lemon oil instead of the vinegar... I think that would
be my choice, also..

Personally, my skill level doesn't include making my own finishes... there are
so many proven commercial ones out there that I'd rather spend my time
developing other skills.. YMMV


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

mac davis wrote:

Personally, my skill level doesn't include making my own finishes... there are
so many proven commercial ones out there that I'd rather spend my time
developing other skills.. YMMV

FWIW, you can easily take commercial finishes and adjust them to
suit your own needs. Probably the simplest and my favorite is to take
spar varnish and thin it with equal parts turpentine and BLO. It makes
a great wiping varnish that is easier to use (and easier to control the
level of buildup) than the stuff straight out of the can.

You can also play around with substituting tung oil for BLO, and by
adjusting the levels of solvent vs. varnish vs. oil, you can achieve
different results.

With any finish, experiment on scrap first or you *will* be
experimenting on the real thing (tmPaullyRad).


Chuck Vance (BTDT, got the t-shirt)

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 15:04:49 GMT, the opaque "Leon"
clearly wrote:


"Tana" wrote in message
. au...
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

Snip

I have heard that the production finish for rustic furniture is used motor
oil and or diesel fuel.

Used oil adds that yummy color-me-Redneck aroma, don't it?
heh heh heh


-
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering WTF happened.
---
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...

Used oil adds that yummy color-me-Redneck aroma, don't it?
heh heh heh


Yeah, I always looked at as CRAP furniture sold in upper end furniture
stores so that they could offer the unknowing something to buy.

How do you know that? It sounds like there is a story here. C'mon, fess
up.

Steve

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus3644 wrote:

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 15:04:49 GMT, Leon
wrote:

"Tana" wrote in message
u...
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic
furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

Snip

I have heard that the production finish for rustic furniture is used
motor
oil and or diesel fuel.

diesel fuel is translucent. I have a diesel generator in a wooden
enclosure, and there is a "diesel fuel finish" on the bottom. It looks
waxy and translucent.

I myself wanted to use motor oil for wood finish (on some outdoor
pieces),
but never got to actually doing that...


Not real satisfactory for many reasons, the most significant of which is
the fact it will take "forever" to fully dry (if it ever does) and tends
to collect dirt.

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 19:01:52 GMT, "Steve Peterson"
wrote:

How do you know that? It sounds like there is a story here. C'mon, fess
up.

Steve

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus3644 wrote:

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 15:04:49 GMT, Leon
wrote:

"Tana" wrote in message
u...
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic
furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

Snip

I have heard that the production finish for rustic furniture is used
motor
oil and or diesel fuel.

diesel fuel is translucent. I have a diesel generator in a wooden
enclosure, and there is a "diesel fuel finish" on the bottom. It looks
waxy and translucent.

I myself wanted to use motor oil for wood finish (on some outdoor
pieces),
but never got to actually doing that...


Not real satisfactory for many reasons, the most significant of which is
the fact it will take "forever" to fully dry (if it ever does) and tends
to collect dirt.


My sister and brother-in-law use transmission oil once a year on the
teak trim on their boat. It still lokks good after 18 years.

Dave Hall

Do NOT use this mixture for anything!

As someone else already pointed out, it is not a finish but is sometimes
still used by unfortunates as a cleaner / reviver. It will leave the
infamous "Hershey Finish" on your furniture as it slowly reacts with light
to leave a chocolate brown goo which is very difficult to remove.
Winterthur had a real problem sometime ago since the mixture used to be
thought of as an excellent cleaner / reviver for antiques. One of the chief
restorers at the Smithsonian had to come up and spend weeks teaching people
how to safely remove it.

The vinegar provides an acidic environment for the linseed oil to create
the polymers when exposed to light.

If you want an oil finish, I suggest a commercially available mixture of
oil, varnish, and thinner like Watco or Minwax Antique Oil Finish. The
small amount of varnish will provide at least a little protection for the
wood.

Good Luck.


"Tana" wrote in message
u...
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic
furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

My question is which vinegar ?
The dark brown or white.
Does it matter?
Can I try both to see which looks best?

I will be using on white pine and gum tree.

Thanks,
Tana

Leon wrote:
"Tana" wrote in message
u...

A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar


Snip

I have heard that the production finish for rustic furniture is used motor
oil and or diesel fuel.


G'day all,
The farm house in which I lived as a kid, was constructed from clad with
Jarrah (Rough Sawn) boards up to about 5 feet high with the top portion
being asbestos sheeting.................
Every year we used to get an old mop and give the boards a good coating
of sump oil.(Which the old man would save from the oil changes in the
cars, tractors and other machinery).
I'd reckon that them boards would still be as good as new, although very
black.
Would get a nasty stain on your trousers, I assume, if it was used for
furniture.
Regards
John

John B wrote in
:
snip
G'day all,
The farm house in which I lived as a kid, was constructed from clad
with Jarrah (Rough Sawn) boards up to about 5 feet high with the top
portion being asbestos sheeting.................
Every year we used to get an old mop and give the boards a good
coating of sump oil.(Which the old man would save from the oil changes
in the cars, tractors and other machinery).
I'd reckon that them boards would still be as good as new, although
very black.

John, just the thought of the reaction on the face of one of our California
inspectors, on seeing that house, made my morning!

I bet the paint was made with lead, too. Funny how we try to keep everyone
safe. Farm life in Oz certainly has different risks than city life in
California...

Thanks for posting.

Patriarch

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 16:03:49 +1000, Tana wrote:

A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar


In some old WW books (of UK origin) that formula, or some variation of
it, was *always* a cleaner, or reviver. I tried it, and was not very
impressed. It did not work well, you have to keep shaking it
continuously to keep it mixed, and it stinks! VM&P Naptha works
better.

Your friend may be confused with the following mix, which will make a
good oil/varnish wiping mix:

Equal parts BLO, spar varnish and turpentine.

You can fiddle with the proportions any way you like, to get the
finish desired. Some folk say use the best possible spar varnish,
while others claim the cheapest possible stuff works fine. I have only
used the cheaper polyurethanes and they give a good finish. Don't use
too much BLO, otherwise it can take days to dry out.

I have also experimented with adding dyes and artist's colors to this
mix, to get a "wiping varnish with color" It works well, but be
prepared to spent a lot of time messing about if you are fussy on the
precise color. The big advantage is that you can match the stain to
another piece of furniture.

Practice on some off-cuts to get the wiping techniques correct, and to
ensure the end color is what's desired. It can vary a lot, even on the
same species of wood.

Barry Lennox.

Patriarch wrote:
John B wrote in
:
snip

G'day all,
The farm house in which I lived as a kid, was constructed from clad
with Jarrah (Rough Sawn) boards up to about 5 feet high with the top
portion being asbestos sheeting.................
Every year we used to get an old mop and give the boards a good
coating of sump oil.(Which the old man would save from the oil changes
in the cars, tractors and other machinery).
I'd reckon that them boards would still be as good as new, although
very black.


John, just the thought of the reaction on the face of one of our California
inspectors, on seeing that house, made my morning!

I bet the paint was made with lead, too. Funny how we try to keep everyone
safe. Farm life in Oz certainly has different risks than city life in
California...

Thanks for posting.

Patriarch
G'day Patriarch,
Today I'm sure it would give our local health and safety officers heart
attacks
I'd say the paint was lead based. It was a gloss oil paint, green. With
the roof being corrugated iron painted silver.
My Grandfather was in charge of the water supply in Kalgoorlie and used
to visit the farm every Xmas, about 1000 ks travel. He "sourced" the
paint. Strange coincidence, the Silver Frost was the same colour as the
water supply used for it's pipelines and all their buildings were
painted green ???
John

I have used this formula for cleaning finished furniture using 0000 steel
wool, but never as a finish.
"Steve Peterson" wrote in message
nk.net...
How do you know that? It sounds like there is a story here. C'mon, fess
up.

Steve

"Duane Bozarth" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus3644 wrote:

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 15:04:49 GMT, Leon
wrote:

"Tana" wrote in message
u...
A friend gave me this recipe for home-made oil finish for rustic
furniture.

2 parts Linseed Oil
1 part Mineral Turpentine
1 part vinegar

Snip

I have heard that the production finish for rustic furniture is used
motor
oil and or diesel fuel.

diesel fuel is translucent. I have a diesel generator in a wooden
enclosure, and there is a "diesel fuel finish" on the bottom. It looks
waxy and translucent.

I myself wanted to use motor oil for wood finish (on some outdoor
pieces),
but never got to actually doing that...


Not real satisfactory for many reasons, the most significant of which is
the fact it will take "forever" to fully dry (if it ever does) and tends
to collect dirt.