QX - Curing Time for Watco Danish Oil?

[Tom Banes]

Just finished a little box of curly maple and cherry for the daughter

- she announced a second grandboy is on the way, so I made her a little gift.

Used Watco Danish oil for the first time. I generally go with BLO but reading here that the darkening of BLO kills pretty maple figure decided to try something else. It's been on for 36 hours and I just rubbed it out with that grey plastic substitute for 000 steel wool (ain't that stuff nice to use compared to the real thing!).

How long should I let the finish cure before waxing? Can says 72 hours before overcoating with Urethane, etc, so I assume the same goes for wax. That sound about right?

Regards.

[Patriarch]

Tom Banes wrote in news: [e-mail]:

longer is better. Watco is essentially BLO with a drop of varnish-like additive. Patience is a virtue, or so I'm told.

Post a pic on abpw?

Congrats on the new grandcritter.

Patriarch

[Tom Banes]

Patriarch:

Thanks - I'll wait a week or so. Like finishing a gunstock, slow is better I guess.

Pic is now at

[George E. Cawthon]

I would wait at least a week, unless you can set it how in the hot sun, to put wax on. I just finished a board with Watco and coated it with Urethane after 24 hours. Did pretty much the same with an oak table, oil --24 hours--dry sand, oil

--24 hours--wet sand (more like moist), dry for

24-48 hours, urethane-- 24 hrs --wet sand, urethane --24 to 48 hours --wet sand (for however many coats you want.

Note that I always add dryer to Watco and to Urethane, to assure that it dries in a reasonable time period.

[Patriarch]

Tom Banes wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Nicely done! Should be a keepsake for a long time.

Patriarch

[mac davis]

Tom.. the grain on the top just sort of sums up WHY we work with wood...

We can do a lot of thing to wood, but none that can duplicate what nature does.. just beautiful wood and very nice work..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[Tom Banes]

Mac:

Thanks, I kinda liked the wood myself. As for the work, you wouldn't believe the errors I covered up! Read my prior post on kickback lesson. The box was supposed to be about 3/4" higher - just had to cut off the gouged hunk and redesign on the fly.

Great fun.

At the same URL, one level up, directory Tray, is a nut tray I routed out of a flitch - that is some really pretty wood. Even I couldn't foul it up too badly. Nature will win if we just let her.

Regards.

[TWS]

Tom, The nice thing about oil finishes is that the wood tells you when it has had enough. The process I use with Watco Danish Oil is to coat, leave for 30 minutes, coat for another 15 minutes and if there is any residue - wipe off and let harden for 24 hours. When the wood is no longer absorbing the oil, there will be a uniform coat of oil after the first coat. Wipe off the residue and then let it harden for at least a week before waxing.

I'm not a big fan of the gray synthetic mesh for finishing hardwood. It may have the same coarseness as #000 steel wool but it doesn't have the strength of steel wool. It doesn't seem to cut into the wood in the same way as steel wool. I usually go to #0000 steel wool after the

3rd coat of oil but probably everyone on this newsgroup has their own preferences.

TWS