Watco vs. Wiping vs. Homebrew

[MB]

From what I've read these finishes are all just combinations of an oil,

a varnish and some mineral spirits

Watco Danish oil Wiping poly Homebrew of BLO, Poly and mineral spirits

The watco directions say to leave it on for 30 mins then wipe. reapply for 15 min then wipe. The directions for the wiping poly, just say to wipe once. So what is the recomended technique for the homebrew?

It seems to me that after the first coat has dried, It doesn't make much sense to let the finish soak before wiping because the first coat has essentially sealed the pores.

I'm leaning towards the homebrew. I've experimented with various ratios and techniques on some scraps Not a great deal of difference until poly amounts to >50% of the brew). I'm wondering if anyone else has any tips or experience.

BTW, the piece I'm finishing is cherry veneer and canary wood (Arariba?).

Thanks, Mitch

[David]

I don't use either of those currently. I'm curious--did you try just thinning poly with MS and wiping it on?

Dave

[Larry Jaques]

On 19 Nov 2005 18:15:10 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, "MB" quickly quoth:

If you want the watco to polymerize, let it sit. It builds slowly through polymerization and a little bit of varnish.

Poly is self-hardening and ugly as sin. Toss it or face the karma.

The advantage of homebrew is price. The advantage of using a commercial homebrew (like Watco or Waterlox) is that they've already been through all the possible BAD combos and found the best of all combinations for you.

Give Waterlox a try. It's a combination of linseed and tung oils plus varnish. Wipe on, let dry, repeat until happy. This is GREAT stuff!

Definitely try Waterlox. You'll be sold on it at once.

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[Toller]

Danish oil is a combination of a oil, mineral spirits, and varnish. Well, thats what it is usually. It can be whatever they feel like putting in it, as the name itself means nothing.

Wiping poly is something more than thinned poly. I used to thin poly myself, but it simply didn't apply as well as commercial; so there must be more to it than that. I have gone back to Minwax; it is not worth trying to save a dollar the hard way.

Probably cheaper; I hope you have better luck than I did.

I must not have read the instructions, I never wipe poly. Watco is wiped to remove excess oil, which as you point out, has no place to go.

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

Couldn't agree more!

and again, couldn't agree more. I've used Waterlox a few times and it does turn out very nice. Cheers, cc

[Wayne]

Have you tried "Tried and True" Oil Varnish finish? I have used it alone and mixed with Watco (for color) and it seems to work nicely.

How does it compare with Waterlox?

Wayne

[bridger]

nah. the high portion of thinners means that it shrinks as it dries, so more can soak in. depending on the mix it might keep absorbing for

3 or 5 applications o5 so...

classic approach is start with high thinners and oils content and add a little resins (varnish or poly) each time until the last coat is pretty much straight varnish.

[George]

Long-oil types like Watco should be wiped, or you can have long-term gumminess.

Long solvent types like wiping poly or antique oil finish need not be.

Your home brew recipe should take this into consideration.

[dadiOH]

The only comment I can offer is to point out that BLO ultimately gets pretty dark. That may be good, may be bad depending on what you want. If bad for you use tung oil instead.

Moreover, the degree of BLO darkening can vary considerably in a given piece of wood depending upon how much was absorbed in a particular area (due either to wood characteristics or difference in sanding) or trapped in pores. It can get splotchy looking.

Personally, I find the darkening useful in some cases. For example, I made numerous kitchen gizmos (knife racks and the like) out of poplar. Not a pretty color wood IMO but a couple of years after BLO application they are about the color of teak. Much prettier :)

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[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

I'm one of those that never seemed to get Tried and True to work very well. I tried it on some maple along with many other finishes to try to decide which finish I wanted to use for the entire project. I found it obscurred the grain and generally washed out the wood. Other's swear by the stuff so I would imagine it was either my situation or application but nevertheless, I haven't tried it again. Cheers, cc

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 20:47:37 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "Wayne" quickly quoth:

(top posting corrected, silly twit. Toppost #2 gets plonked.)

It's OK. It doesn't build nearly as quickly, acting more like Watco. It smells better than Watco, though. I bought the varnish oil and will probably use it on carvings or display items rather than something like a table or desk.

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[Nate Perkins]

"MB" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

You are right that they are all variants on the same theme. They only differ in the ratios of solvent/oil/resin. Some are fairly dilute (like the Watco), and therefore build pretty slowly.

The homebrew is a pretty good way to go ... if you don't want it to darken as much over time, you can use tung oil (pure, like Hope's) instead of BLO. More solvent gives better penetration but slower build. More oil gives depth, but reduces the finish hardness and extends the cure time.

The reason that some manufacturers recommend the second wipe is in case you have finish bleeding out of the pores as it dries (not usually a problem as long as the piece isn't cooling a lot while it's drying). If the pores did bleed, you'd just need to spend more time smoothing it before the next coat.