Danish oil for appearance, then what for sealer?

[dustin510]

I've turned an air dried walnut bowl, and left some bark on the outside. There are some cracks in the endgrain, they aren't very wide, but are on the inside and outside. Now I wanted to use something like danish oil for a finish just to show the beauty of the walnut, but I wanted to seal the cracks and give it a nice protective coating with some sort of top coat.

Will the danish be enough to seal it if I apply several heavy coats? Or is there a compatible top coat, varnish or laquer of some sort I can put over the oil?:help::wconfused::dontknow: <---- gotta love these guys

-Dustin

 

[KenOfCary]

You may want to mix some black dye in epoxy to fill the cracks first and sand flush. But any oil based varnish, either resin or polyurethane will be compatible with the Danish Oil.

Thinning the Varnish with Mineral Spirits will make it easier to apply via spray or wipe-on.

- Ken.

 

[bluedawg76]

+1 to Ken's comment on the epoxy. FWIW, Danish oil is usually linseed oil and a little varnish depending on the manufacturer.

 

[kooshball]

You are describing a similar concept to what in my option has generated the best result for me when finishing walnut...I just used boiled linseed oil for the first two coats (sanding in with 600 grit while the oil was wet), wiping off and letting cure after the second coat for a week. I then thinned some Pratt and lambert no. 38 with mineral spirits and used that as a wipe on varnish wet sanding between the last two coats...the finish has amazing depth and feels like silk. Best of all it was fairly foolproof.

 

[Jeff]

+1 to epoxy and black dye or finely powdered charcoal.

You could consider a sealer coat of Zinsser SealCoat (100% dewaxed clear shellac) cut to 1 lb. and leave it at that. It's also available in rattle cans for smaller projects. Danish oil and similar products are meant to be applied in light coats, throughly wiped off, and allowed to cure for a few days before applying another coat. It's a poor choice for your project IMO, because of the bark. How do you thoroughly wipe that off and thick coats won't cure properly.

Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish is a wiping varnish that doesn't have to be wiped off in between coats. It's hard, durable, easily repaired, and is FDA approved as food safe.

http://www.waterlox.com/

 

[kooshball]

I forgot to comment on the black filler...I use burnt umber dry pigment for this...especially if you want the fill to be opaque.

 

[kooshball]

Here is some burnt umber pigment in epoxy in action...

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[bluedawg76]

+ Danish oil and similar products are meant to be applied in light coats, throughly wiped off, and allowed to cure for a few days before applying another coat.

Well sort of. Oil/varnish and just oil finishes should be flooded on and kept wet for 10min or so. If you note dry spots, add more oil. The idea is to saturate the surface. After ~10min, wipe it off and keep wiping off as it weeps. Allow to dry and repeat 1x. It's not film building like a varnish so you're right, it's a thin finish, but the application is not what I consider a "light coat". Let it cure as David said for a few days to a week before proceeding. In contrast, a wiping varnish, which is film building, is applied as multiple light coats.

Sam

 

[KenOfCary]

I used the epoxy and black dye powder on the workbench I made out of a 5" thick maple slab. It looked like mineral streaks or spalting when done, which is what I was after. In Walnut it may be almost invisible and if noticeable will look like mineral deposits at worst. That is why I suggested it over just clear epoxy.

- Ken.