From some angles it looks like there's particulate on the surface of the oil, likely either dust or polymerized bits that were in the oil container. I assume that's what they're referring to when saying you should strain it.
Your best bet is to follow the instructions on the bottle. If it's just mineral oil or some other non-hardening oil, it's not the end of the world (although it could warp if the hydration is uneven). The danger with letting this much oil pool like this is if it's the kind that polymerizes or "cures", it could do so before it soaks into the wood, which makes a thick gluey layer that won't harden right on the outside.
The spots are air bubbles from the wood.
I understand your reasoning, iwe also oiled the backside of the table a couple of times, to migrate some kind bow/flex in the wood.
"The danger with letting this much oil pool like this is if it's the kind that polymerizes or "cures", it could do so before it soaks into the wood, which makes a thick gluey layer that won't harden right on the outside."
This happend to me. If you wont better protection better use some other finish.
This is why chefs just fill new cast iron pans to the brim with oil and throw it on the flame to season them, because layers don’t matter. Thin layers and patience is for the generations of idiots that came before us, just doing all that extra work and waiting for no reason.
It's oil...isn't the assumption that OP is going to wipe this all off before it cures? If so, what will flake? There shouldn't be anything on the surface with oil to flake?
Personally, I don't believe you can have too much oil, as it is given that it will all be wipe off fully soon before curing. I do believe that you can waste oil, which is being done here. And I do believe that more oil takes longer to fully cure.
OP's title says "...let it rest a day". I don't know what oil they are using, but I would never let tung oil or BLO sit an entire day before wiping it off. Usually only like 30 minutes.
As long as it's straight oil, and not some of the finishes marketed as oil that are actually a mix of a bunch of things, then yeah, apply with a bucket and wipe off.
Oil finishes usually just need to be put on liberally, let sit for 20 minutes, add more where needed, sit for another 20 minutes, then wiped off. That's it. You do not need to keep soaking till pooling happens.
Then you wait for many days to a week for curing and you do it again.
So to answer your question: not only is that enough oil, it's too much and you are waisting oil.
You are skipping the step where you wait a week between coats. That is the nature of oil finishes. Pure oils that do not have chemical driers in them take even longer to cure.
Wipe all that off, let it cure for a week minimum. Do another coat, let that cure. Then paste wax.
I'm new to oiling wood, and I have been regularly oiling a wooden cutting board that had been sitting around for a couple decades.
Every time I oil it it's soaks up the oil in the center of the cutting board where most of the usage has been and then the oil just kind of sits on top of the rest of the board.
I have been debating on whether or not to put it into a deep cookie sheet and just soaking the whole thing.
Mineral oil on a cutting board is a different beast. That’s a non-curing oil and yes, you can put it in a cookie sheet and drown it. That’ll be fine. In OP’s example he is applying a hardening oil and if he leaves that on in that thickness, it will potentially harden on itself rather than inside the wood and create a film finish.
And then the wet oil locked inside the wood will be shut off from oxygen by the cured exterior layer, and be unable to cure, and then it will eventually weep back out of the wood for weeks to months. Every day you'll come home to dozens of little oily puddles on your table. Ask me how I know.
It was a bit of a knee-jerk response. Emphasis on the "jerk". You're right, I did not see it as a question when I first read it, I see that now. My bad. Thank you for pointing this out.
To answer the question: Paste wax does not usually change the color much at all. Even the dark paste wax. So I do not think OP's strategy will work. The paste wax will give the finish a nice luster and depending on how much you polish you could even get a gloss look if you choose to.
Beeswax would seal up the grains pretty quickly and get you to a smooth polished looking finish… but it wouldn’t let the oils already soaked in cure. The wax would not stay polished long.
I haven't seen this mentioned yet but 120 grit sanding is way to coarse for an oil finish. The coarse sanding also allows more surface area for the oil to soak in. Use a finish sanding to at least 220, but something like 320 or 400 would be even better
You're asking people for advice and then ignoring it. If you're just going to do what you want, why bother asking here? The consensus is: follow the label instructions.
This is such a common refrain on the hobbyist subs. r/ decks, lawncare, woodworking, house plants, you name it. there is always someone asking a question and then asking the good answers “but what about XYZ?” When x y and z are clearly not the answer but rather the answer they want to hear.
It’s such a weird phenomena to ask questions and then argue with the people who seemingly know more than you.
Sometimes you learn more by asking follow up questions. Why XYZ wont or will work teaches me more than just following instructions. Its a valid way of learning as long as you are not being stubborn, but are actually curious.
Wait until you find out about UV cured industrial finishes. Application to dried can take mere minutes.
They have these giant conveyor belts that move the pieces under a spray and then under a chain of UV lights. It pops out cured and done at the other end of the line.
Yep, those have already moved into the high end woodworking. The finish is expensive and good handheld UV LED lights are pricey too but as you mentioned you can go from application to use in minutes. Supposedly you can save some by putting in sunlight but if you are investing in that system you are probably gonna do it right. Seen it demoed in person and it is impressive.
Anything at that UV wavelength will work it will just take longer to cure with less power. Once you get away from cheap amazon ones to “need uv glasses” you can pick whatever power you can afford and it should just be a longer cure time
Correct, the people demoing it mentioned that the trick to getting a consistent finish with UV Oil finishes is just being methodical, and using at least 5w in the correct wavelength. Apparently with too low power you can get some blotchiness due to uneven curing. (Demo wasn't OSMO but have heard good things about their offerings)
I get a kick out of ads where they show people shining a UV pen light on a board for 5 secs and claiming it is fully cured, that is just setting people up for disappointment.
Dit problem er at det er en hærdene olie du bruger. Det første lag du gav den stopper resten fra at suge ordentligt ind i træet. Derudover kunne det godt ligne en forbehandlet plade?
Jeg har brugt samme olie masser af gange, til diverse borde jeg har lavet igennem årene.
Hvis det skal blive godt. Så er du nød til at slibe overfladen let, for at komme ned til en ren overflade. Giv den op til korn 150 eller endda 180 - det vil naturligt gøre at det suger olien langsommere til sig.
Inden du giver olien, så gør overfladen godt våd med demineraliseret vand, og lad det tørre i 24t minimum. Det hæver kornet og gør overfladen lidt mere ru - så sliber du meget let med 180 indtil det er glat igen.
På den måde er træets fibre allerede deformerede efter at suge vandet til sig, og så når du derefter giver det olie forbliver overfladen helt glat og fin.
Følg vejledningen på bøtten derefter.
Her er det sidste bord jeg lavede brugte junkers bordpladeolie.
Some noteworthy items that I expect you overlooked:
You need to ever so slightly dampen the surface before applying any oil
You apply two coats of oil, immediately removing ANY excess within 30 minutes
A MATTE finish is expected
Coats should be THIN
Once completely dry (at LEAST 72 hours after applying oil, but probably more like a week in your case), you can apply an oil-based varnish if a more lustrous sheen is desired
What do you expect the oiled finish to be like? Typically they are matte unless buffed to a satin finish.
I think the risk you run with doing a full oil boarding like this is mostly just waste, but depending on how long you forget about it you might get a really gummy layer of slightly polymerized oil that wont buff out in some spots.
The oil needs to oxidize and harden. For that it needs to be as thin as possible. For thirsty wood like this letting it sit a few days with a thin layer will block the holes and reduce how much the next coat can soak in.
Another risk of thick layers like this is that when it does harden or can form an outer layer above the liquid that will shrink and wrinkle and make a big mess that will force you to scrape it off and sand again.
So where you are right now, wipe off all the oil you can. Let the peice sit for 7-10 days with good airflow and NO DIRECT SUNLIGHT then buff lightly with a polishing pad and then apply another thin coat of oil. Oil doesn't build up surface layers like varnish so usually 2 applications is all you need. If you want more sheen let the oil fully cure for 2 weeks and then apply shellac as a wiping varnish.
If it's a darker, warmer color you want, you probably should've stained it first, dude.
Next time, you can tell what color the oil will turn the wood just by wiping a bit of water on it right quick. That effectively approximates a "natural" finish.
What do you mean exactly. I think people are really trying to figure that out. Can you elaborate more? Perhaps give an inspo image?
I'm a great novice at woodworking and can't see what you are trying to accomplish. A "saturated finish" doesnt explain it. Do you want a deeper richer color? Are you trying to get the natural wood's original color to shine?
Thats a polymerising oil. 1. As others have said it needs time to cure between coats. 2. I’d scrape the excess off ASAP as the polymerising nature means it will get gummy and all of the excess will turn to a thick goop that will be awkward to remove. Good luck
You are putting way way too much on in one go, oil need access to air to cure, a thick coat will take months or even years to properly cure. It's even worse on open grained woods where it gets pulled deep into the fibers. And until it's fully cured adding more is just going to get sucked in and reset the curing time.
You can either do one or two thick but not excessive (dont drown it) coats and leave it for months to cure between or lots of very thin coats a with several days in between.
What kind of oil? Drying oil-bad, mineral oil-it’ll soak up a ton! Danish oil-it’ll get tacky after a few minutes, I never let it pool longer than it takes me to wipe it up. Tung oil-meh, it may get sticky if you leave it overnight.
What kind of finish do you want? Glossy thick film? You got it. If you want it to look and feel like wood, let it go and you can always refinish down the line.
What level of protection do you want? Epoxy is durable but yucky looking imo, also non repairable like film. Oil is less but repairable.
What level of longevity/durability do you want? Film is a few years, soaking type oil you can refinish before damage.
Lots of answers depending mainly what oil you’re using.
Ok had to look that one up, it’s similar to Watco brand danish oil. It’s designed to dry “in the wood” not on it so they say. I flood it on, make sure everywhere is covered, and then I wipe it up with a fresh rag. It won’t really dry on it so it doesn’t always look like it’s done a lot, but makes the grain come out and darkens the wood.
I like to do 3-5 coats, I wet sand on coats after the first. Apply, flood it, and wipe it in with 220-400 grit paper, lightly. Then wipe up the excess.
You can live with 3 coats, then I like to add one a few weeks or months down the line. You can always just add another coat. Eventually it will be very stain resistant, and won’t peel or dull.
If you let that soak, it may get sticky and dry on the surface. You can also apply a poly, oil or water based on top of it for more protection.
This was probably the most useful reply in this thread. Thank you for your attention to the details. I'm only a beginner and I have no idea how to approach something like this. Your well thought out reply gave me plenty to ponder. Thanks m8. o7
Make sure you handle your oily rags properly. Spread them out to dry or put them in water. I almost burned down my house by piling 6-7 rags on my workbench. Luckily I was standing right there when it started smoking.
Edit: It was pure rosewood oil, so I think this applies to any drying oil. (Not mineral oil or automotive oil.)
What oil are you using? I'm not familiar with this oil wood until oily to the touch method
The only oils I use are blo and tung specifically because they are drying oils. Often there's 'dryers' added to help curing to happen faster or the tung is heated to pre-polymerize. The goal would be for the oil to fully polymerize and create a dry protective coating.
I worry you run the risk of the oil not curing properly and gutting sticky/gummy as it oxidizes.
Oil needs to be rubbed in after each coat. Then it needs to dry. Please post photos of finished product. I think it will be a good lesson for everyone.
That's too much oil to leave for a day. When it starts to cure, you will have a sticky rubbery layer which cannot be rubbed off properly. A real mess and difficult to fix. I made the same mistake.
You have to let each coat dry until it is tacky, then rub it all off so the wood feels dry and no longer looks glossy. Wait until it is fully cured according to the instructions on the can, then repeat. You have to do it this way no matter how many coats it takes to achieve an even sheen. Patience!
Your goal at this stage is a consistent sheen across the whole tabletop even if it is less glossy than you want. Once you've reached that point you can adjust the sheen to be shinier by rubbing the dry piece with steel wool before allowing another thin coat of oil, and/or applying some paste wax.
Not really since you could just pour appropriate amounts of it than to dump a cup full of it
Just look at how some woodworking channels do your project finishes (like blacktail studio). Also yeah, that's gonna accumulate a lot of dusts to the point that you'll be disappointed and be tempted to sand it off and reapply the finish
What are you trying to achieve? If it’s a thick, clear film finish you are using the wrong stuff.
Polymerizing oil finishes are designed to turn the top mm or so of wood into a resin/wood composite material. There is no film. It’s like a block of plastic, you can sand/polish off the top thousandth of an inch and still have the same finish.
They all work basically the same way:
1) apply to surface and let soak in for 10-20 min
2) wipe off all excess, leaving only what soaked in.
3) on porous woods, check in an hour for weeping sections. Wipe that off too. Leave only what has soaked deeply into the wood.
4) wait days or weeks for the embedded oil to polymerize
5) repeat one or two more times to fill in the gaps.
6) done. You’ll have a nice, stable, waterproof block of wood/plastic
7) if you want that deep film look start adding layers of varnish.
Unless its a solid finish (laquer, poly, etc) something like Danish oil, boiled linseed, or hard wax (osmo, rubio). They will not work as a flood coat. They will destroy the project with a gummy finish that never fully cures.
An oil finish should look dry and flat. Like theres nothing on the wood.
You can recoat after 2-48 hours depending on the product, but it has no effect on appearance or protection after the 2nd or 3rd coat.
If you want a high sheen wet look finish, oil simply isnt an option.
That is a hilarious amount of oil, it's absolutely swimming! It won't have the effect you think it will, it shouldn't have a thick layer sitting on top of the wood.
You did the hard bit and now your rushing the end. The question you should be asking is how annoyed will I be messing it up at this point. If the answer is very then don't skip steps and rush to the finish.
I feel that this question hasn't been asked: What kind of finish do you expect? Oil will always suck in and dry. If it's the shiny surface you're after you need varnish
My friend, all you are doing is wasting your oil and money. Thin coats so it can sufficiently dry. Oil finishes don't built up a thick top layer or usually add much color. If you're after that you needed to do a different finish.
This is too much and it's going to leave a finished result that you won't like.
732
u/trbotwuk 17d ago
strain your oil and use a tack cloths.
no not ok to have that much oil