whats the cheapest way to preserve the topmost horizontal surfaces of some old garden tables? Things offered like linseed oil are just oil, so wouldnt a thin wipe of a much cheaper oil like sunflower oil be just as good? thanks for advice
It doesn't dry, does it? If you don't care about that just use your used motor oil.
I bought 2x 500ml bottles of linseed oil from a local hardware store for about =802.50 each last spring. Each bottle allows me to treat generously my whole patio set - 1x1m diametre circular table and 4 chairs. I treated them twice this year, for just =805.00, and that's probably it for the year. Is that really *so* expensive?
Cat(h)
Is there something wrong with your arithmatic?
and your spelling? :-)
Clearly your newsreader messed up, because I saw the pound sign where you have got '=80'
And why so aggressive, when Cat has done nothing wrong, and isn't even at fault for your newsreader?
Hint: =80 is the character for the EUR symbol. Maybe be you are using the wrong character set for a UK group?
LOL I saw Euro.
Sunflower oil and other cooking type oils don't necessarily dry as would boiled linseed oil (BLO). BLO has additional things in it, besides just the oil, that allow it to dry/polymerize. While a can of BLO is probably a little more expensive than a bottle of some type of cooking oil, it's not that expensive.
You mention this finish is for some "old garden tables". If that means these things will be outdoors, a finish like BLO alone is probably not going to be enough to fully protect the piece from water and sunlight. Realistically, if you want to protect/preserve the piece(s) you should use a finish that is designed for outdoor use and will help shed water and protect it from the UV rays of the sun.
Fri, Aug 17, 2007, 11:16am (EDT+4) snipped-for-privacy@void.net (johngood_____) doth query: whats the cheapest way to preserve the topmost horizontal surfaces of some old garden tables? =A0 Things offered like linseed oil are just oil, so wouldnt a thin wipe of a much cheaper oil like sunflower oil be just as good? thanks for advice
Cheapest? Store inside when you're not using them.
I've tried new vegetable cooking oils as inside finishes; they work. Don't recall if I tried sunflower oil. Don't know how they'd do outside. Try it.
No, they don't turn rancid. Only the used oil turns rancid. I double checked with a food scientist at a local college many years back. As I type, I'm about 3' from a wooden rocker I made, probably 7-8 or more years ago, cooking oil finish - holding up fine, looks good, no smell.
JOAT I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do them.
- Picasso
Actually, most wood-finish applications are not for simple linseed oil (flax oil), but rather for boiled linseed oil (which is a polymerizing finish, guaranteed to turn solid). If the wood looks 'dry' and weathered, you might first wire-brush to remove degraded fibers, then seal with boiled linseed oil (BLO) and follow up next day with a transparent stain (exterior stain, of course).
BLO makes a relatively tough film, but it isn't hard and doesn't take sunlight well. It does, IMHO, really improve the appearance of the wood.
You get a better finish with BLO if you mix it 50/50 with natural turpentine it does harden off much better than neat BLO and doesnt remain tacky for very long.Its been the standard finish for gunstocks and oil finished furniture and usually applied with a lint free cloth like a polish. There is also another oil with similar properties called Tung oil though I've never tried it myself. Derek
What is the furniture worth? Saving 50¢ and putting furniture at risk is just stupid. Your body excretes oils so just rub your ass on the tables every day until you get the desired patina. .
or splinters?
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