Re: Tried and True - Untried

Warm (110°) use thin coats and use a heavy cotton cloth like a T-shirt, not gauze. It will seep out of the oak for a few days, just wipe it down.

Bob S.

Thankew.

Seems pretty much what its "inorganic" cousins are.

what "inorganic" cousins are you referring to? AFAIK, all the finish synthetics are still carbon-containing molecules (except some dyes, I suppose, i.e. copper chloride).

OK, non-organic in the foolish vernacular of the worriers.

Unlike like the extracted walnut oil, which is safe for people with tree nut allergies, versus the pressed "natural" stuff which can send 'em into anaphylaxis.

Picky enough?

Under not so ideal conditions, it can take very long to fully cure. I have had pieces take weeks.

-- Steve Worcester

Thin thin and very thin coats. I haven't tried heating it but that would help make t h i n coats, I'm sure.

Hi George,

I heat T&T varnish oil using my electric glue pot (I think that is 140 degrees, but I could be wrong) to keep the viscosity thin.

You need to apply very very thin coats - think lots of rubbing in, not slopping on.

If you have access to any artificial UV light, that will accelerate curing (I use 560W of UV in a drying booth to give me mostly overnight curing). Without the UV, it might take a week or more per coat.

Heat accelerates curing to a lesser extent.

George

I use a mini crockpot for oil warming. Fairly safe way of decreasing viscosity.

I wonder about the UV. A bit of high-energy electron-juggling? Doubt I'll try that. Haven't done the pieces after the dire warnings. Began clearing, constructing a warm/dry box, with a head full of misgivings about this finish. Walnut oil has served well so far.

Take it out in the sunshine, then - plenty of UV there. It's not required, it just speeds things up. Would do the same for Walnut oil.

Strange, I've never noticed that, and I do hundreds of pieces - treenware - with walnut oil every year. Guess when the sun returns I'll have to pay more attention. Only one more month with guaranteed snow to go!