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The Deft is about $8 a quart the last time I bought some. I have considered mixing my own if I can't get the Deft. Once, I used Garret Hack's formula of 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 quick dry varnish,
1/3 blo (IIRC). I liked that as well.I agree that Deft is a good finish because of the higher varnish content. Waterlox is another great finish.
But that higher content makes then both a "dust magnet", which requires a dust free environment. Either that, or you're going to be doing a lot of sanding in between coats. And after that last coat, you'll probably need to do an oil and pumice rub out at the end, to eliminate any of the last dust particles that settled on the wood.
As a woodworker, having a dust free environment is quite tough. Even with my air cleaner, dust system and daily (or weekly) sweeping, my shop still has a dust level that would never be suitable for anything except Watco.
Sad, but realistic.
For those who are kinda new, elaborate on mixing your own. I for one have no idea where to start. A little theroy would be nice too, Thanks
There are many woodworkers out there that make their own Danish Oil. The common recipe is 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil and 1/3 varnish.
You can tweak this recipe a bit to customize it for your work. Say you need something highly water resistant. For your one-third portion of varnish, you could use spar varnish, which is highly water resistant.
Some people even use slightly higher percentages of turpentine, to thin the mix down, it will absorb and penetrate better. You could do that on the first initial coat or two, then mix some a little thicker for the last coat or two.
Mixing your own is good for two things - you can customize it for your particular needs, and you can save some money. I think a quart of Watco here in Las Vegas is around $9.50.
Jamie
Basically it is a mixture of varnish, oil, and thinner. Varnish can be anything from spar varnish for flexibility to polyurethane for a harder finish. Oil is usually boiled linseed oil, tung oil, etc. The thinner can be turpentine, colorless mineral spirits, or if thrifty the smelly mineral spirits that Watco uses. Starting point is about equal parts of the 3 components. For the first coat I use less varnish for better penetration, more varnish for middle coats for faster build, and the equal parts for the final coat because it is less tacky than with more varnish to make a smooth finish easier to obtain. Experiment, it is very forgiving finish.
Put the finish on, wait a while, wet sand, and wipe dry with a rag. For wet sanding I use between 200 and 800 grit depending on the wood. The 200 grit is useful for open pore wood if you want to fill the pores with swarf.
I use it on most of my projects. To get an idea of what they look like some of them are at:
Ray -
Really impressive work!
Especially love the bowls, and the gracefulness of the toys you've built. They have a wonderful graphic quality to them.
Jamie in Vegas
Thanks for the compliment. The bowls are interesting technique because they are made primarily on a scroll saw. The toys are for my grand daughter. She likes them.
Ray
Thanks for the input on mixing your own. Have a good starting point now.
Very nice work, Ray. And a bit of inspiration. Dust being a problem in a wood shop, this may be the way to go, for most things.
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