From what I've read these finishes are all just combinations of an oil,
a varnish and some mineral spirits

Watco Danish oil
Wiping poly
Homebrew of BLO, Poly and mineral spirits

The watco directions say to leave it on for 30 mins then wipe. reapply
for 15 min then wipe. The directions for the wiping poly, just say to
wipe once. So what is the recomended technique for the homebrew?

It seems to me that after the first coat has dried, It doesn't make
much sense to let the finish soak before wiping because the first coat
has essentially sealed the pores.

I'm leaning towards the homebrew. I've experimented with various ratios
and techniques on some scraps Not a great deal of difference until poly
amounts to 50% of the brew). I'm wondering if anyone else has any tips
or experience.

BTW, the piece I'm finishing is cherry veneer and canary wood
(Arariba?).

Thanks, Mitch

MB wrote:

From what I've read these finishes are all just combinations of an oil,
a varnish and some mineral spirits

Watco Danish oil
Wiping poly
Homebrew of BLO, Poly and mineral spirits

The watco directions say to leave it on for 30 mins then wipe. reapply
for 15 min then wipe. The directions for the wiping poly, just say to
wipe once. So what is the recomended technique for the homebrew?

It seems to me that after the first coat has dried, It doesn't make
much sense to let the finish soak before wiping because the first coat
has essentially sealed the pores.

I'm leaning towards the homebrew. I've experimented with various ratios
and techniques on some scraps Not a great deal of difference until poly
amounts to 50% of the brew). I'm wondering if anyone else has any tips
or experience.

BTW, the piece I'm finishing is cherry veneer and canary wood
(Arariba?).

Thanks, Mitch

I don't use either of those currently. I'm curious--did you try just
thinning poly with MS and wiping it on?

Dave

On 19 Nov 2005 18:15:10 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, "MB"
quickly quoth:

From what I've read these finishes are all just combinations of an oil,
a varnish and some mineral spirits

Watco Danish oil
Wiping poly
Homebrew of BLO, Poly and mineral spirits

The watco directions say to leave it on for 30 mins then wipe. reapply
for 15 min then wipe. The directions for the wiping poly, just say to
wipe once. So what is the recomended technique for the homebrew?

It seems to me that after the first coat has dried, It doesn't make
much sense to let the finish soak before wiping because the first coat
has essentially sealed the pores.

If you want the watco to polymerize, let it sit. It builds slowly
through polymerization and a little bit of varnish.

Poly is self-hardening and ugly as sin. Toss it or face the karma.

The advantage of homebrew is price. The advantage of using a
commercial homebrew (like Watco or Waterlox) is that they've already
been through all the possible BAD combos and found the best of all
combinations for you.


I'm leaning towards the homebrew. I've experimented with various ratios
and techniques on some scraps Not a great deal of difference until poly
amounts to 50% of the brew). I'm wondering if anyone else has any tips
or experience.

Give Waterlox a try. It's a combination of linseed and tung oils plus
varnish. Wipe on, let dry, repeat until happy. This is GREAT stuff!


BTW, the piece I'm finishing is cherry veneer and canary wood
(Arariba?).

Definitely try Waterlox. You'll be sold on it at once.


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"MB" wrote in message
ups.com...
From what I've read these finishes are all just combinations of an oil,
a varnish and some mineral spirits

Watco Danish oil

Danish oil is a combination of a oil, mineral spirits, and varnish. Well,
thats what it is usually. It can be whatever they feel like putting in it,
as the name itself means nothing.

Wiping poly

Wiping poly is something more than thinned poly. I used to thin poly
myself, but it simply didn't apply as well as commercial; so there must be
more to it than that. I have gone back to Minwax; it is not worth trying to
save a dollar the hard way.

Homebrew of BLO, Poly and mineral spirits

Probably cheaper; I hope you have better luck than I did.

The watco directions say to leave it on for 30 mins then wipe. reapply
for 15 min then wipe. The directions for the wiping poly, just say to
wipe once. So what is the recomended technique for the homebrew?

Probably like watco

It seems to me that after the first coat has dried, It doesn't make
much sense to let the finish soak before wiping because the first coat
has essentially sealed the pores.

I must not have read the instructions, I never wipe poly.
Watco is wiped to remove excess oil, which as you point out, has no place to
go.

I'm leaning towards the homebrew. I've experimented with various ratios
and techniques on some scraps Not a great deal of difference until poly
amounts to 50% of the brew). I'm wondering if anyone else has any tips
or experience.

BTW, the piece I'm finishing is cherry veneer and canary wood
(Arariba?).

Thanks, Mitch

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...

Poly is self-hardening and ugly as sin. Toss it or face the karma.


Couldn't agree more!


Give Waterlox a try. It's a combination of linseed and tung oils plus
varnish. Wipe on, let dry, repeat until happy. This is GREAT stuff!


Definitely try Waterlox. You'll be sold on it at once.


and again, couldn't agree more. I've used Waterlox a few times and it does
turn out very nice.
Cheers,
cc

Have you tried "Tried and True" Oil Varnish finish? I have used it alone and
mixed with Watco (for color) and it seems to work nicely.

How does it compare with Waterlox?

Wayne

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On 19 Nov 2005 18:15:10 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, "MB"
quickly quoth:


Definitely try Waterlox. You'll be sold on it at once.


-----------------------------------------------------------
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================================================== ================

On 19 Nov 2005 18:15:10 -0800, "MB" wrote:

From what I've read these finishes are all just combinations of an oil,
a varnish and some mineral spirits

Watco Danish oil
Wiping poly
Homebrew of BLO, Poly and mineral spirits

The watco directions say to leave it on for 30 mins then wipe. reapply
for 15 min then wipe. The directions for the wiping poly, just say to
wipe once. So what is the recomended technique for the homebrew?

It seems to me that after the first coat has dried, It doesn't make
much sense to let the finish soak before wiping because the first coat
has essentially sealed the pores.

nah. the high portion of thinners means that it shrinks as it dries,
so more can soak in. depending on the mix it might keep absorbing for
3 or 5 applications o5 so...




I'm leaning towards the homebrew. I've experimented with various ratios
and techniques on some scraps Not a great deal of difference until poly
amounts to 50% of the brew). I'm wondering if anyone else has any tips
or experience.

classic approach is start with high thinners and oils content and add
a little resins (varnish or poly) each time until the last coat is
pretty much straight varnish.




BTW, the piece I'm finishing is cherry veneer and canary wood
(Arariba?).

Thanks, Mitch

"MB" wrote in message
ups.com...
From what I've read these finishes are all just combinations of an oil,
a varnish and some mineral spirits

Watco Danish oil
Wiping poly
Homebrew of BLO, Poly and mineral spirits

The watco directions say to leave it on for 30 mins then wipe. reapply
for 15 min then wipe. The directions for the wiping poly, just say to
wipe once. So what is the recomended technique for the homebrew?

It seems to me that after the first coat has dried, It doesn't make
much sense to let the finish soak before wiping because the first coat
has essentially sealed the pores.

I'm leaning towards the homebrew. I've experimented with various ratios
and techniques on some scraps Not a great deal of difference until poly
amounts to 50% of the brew). I'm wondering if anyone else has any tips
or experience.

Long-oil types like Watco should be wiped, or you can have long-term
gumminess.

Long solvent types like wiping poly or antique oil finish need not be.

Your home brew recipe should take this into consideration.

"Wayne" wrote in message
news:euudnYTdcP_obOLenZ2dnUVZ_tKdnZ2d@forethought. net...
Have you tried "Tried and True" Oil Varnish finish? I have used it alone
and mixed with Watco (for color) and it seems to work nicely.

How does it compare with Waterlox?

Wayne

I'm one of those that never seemed to get Tried and True to work very well.
I tried it on some maple along with many other finishes to try to decide
which finish I wanted to use for the entire project. I found it obscurred
the grain and generally washed out the wood. Other's swear by the stuff so
I would imagine it was either my situation or application but nevertheless,
I haven't tried it again.
Cheers,
cc

On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 20:47:37 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm,
"Wayne" quickly quoth:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On 19 Nov 2005 18:15:10 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, "MB"
quickly quoth:

Definitely try Waterlox. You'll be sold on it at once.

(top posting corrected, silly twit. Toppost #2 gets plonked.)

Have you tried "Tried and True" Oil Varnish finish? I have used it alone and
mixed with Watco (for color) and it seems to work nicely.

How does it compare with Waterlox?

It's OK. It doesn't build nearly as quickly, acting more like Watco.
It smells better than Watco, though. I bought the varnish oil and will
probably use it on carvings or display items rather than something
like a table or desk.


-----------------------------------------------------------
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================================================== ================

"MB" wrote in
ups.com:

From what I've read these finishes are all just combinations of an
oil,
a varnish and some mineral spirits

Watco Danish oil
Wiping poly
Homebrew of BLO, Poly and mineral spirits

The watco directions say to leave it on for 30 mins then wipe. reapply
for 15 min then wipe. The directions for the wiping poly, just say to
wipe once. So what is the recomended technique for the homebrew?

It seems to me that after the first coat has dried, It doesn't make
much sense to let the finish soak before wiping because the first coat
has essentially sealed the pores.

I'm leaning towards the homebrew. I've experimented with various
ratios and techniques on some scraps Not a great deal of difference
until poly amounts to 50% of the brew). I'm wondering if anyone else
has any tips or experience.

BTW, the piece I'm finishing is cherry veneer and canary wood
(Arariba?).


You are right that they are all variants on the same theme. They only
differ in the ratios of solvent/oil/resin. Some are fairly dilute (like
the Watco), and therefore build pretty slowly.

The homebrew is a pretty good way to go ... if you don't want it to
darken as much over time, you can use tung oil (pure, like Hope's)
instead of BLO. More solvent gives better penetration but slower build.
More oil gives depth, but reduces the finish hardness and extends the
cure time.

The reason that some manufacturers recommend the second wipe is in case
you have finish bleeding out of the pores as it dries (not usually a
problem as long as the piece isn't cooling a lot while it's drying). If
the pores did bleed, you'd just need to spend more time smoothing it
before the next coat.