Pressure-treated lumber is suitable for interior applications, except cutting boards and countertops. However, there are concerns about the potential dangers of using pressure-treated lumber in homes. In the U.S., there was little demand for defect-free lumber due to the post-war building boom’s focus on quantity over quality. Blue wood is specialized wood used to prevent mold and other elements from striking your home. Interior designers often select wood based on its durability, finish, and compatibility with other elements within a room. Different types of wood vary in density, color, and grain, each offering a unique aesthetic.
Framing doesn’t have to look perfect or satisfy your desire to fit two pieces of wood precisely. The goals when framing are based on the needs of the project. Plywood is a cheap, strong, and versatile material used in various woodworking projects. It is classified according to its end-use and can be used for interior constructions such as internal stud walls, glulam beams, solid wood constructions, or trusses. Shallower headers, single-ply headers, engineered lumber, innovative use of rim joists, and even no headers at all save material, money, and energy.
ProWood Borate-Treated lumber is durable, reliable, and long-lasting in interior situations. Available in dimensional lumber, plywood, and sill plates, BLUWOOD is a family of wood frame building components with a proprietary factory applied, two-part coating technology. They all sell blue Borate treated wood, which is fine for interior use.
In some areas, it is coded to use blue Borate treated wood in basements when finishing or framing. Interior trim and flooring are still in process, and pressure-treated lumber is recommended in situations where there is direct contact between the wood and moisture sources.
📹 The ONLY Wood Finish I Need
With about 15 years of woodworking experience under my belt, I’ve tinkered with a LOT of wood finishes. Over time I developed …
📹 HOW TO TREAT WOOD YOURSELF | Protecting it against ROT
Treatedlumber #woodwork #homestead This is how we treat our own wood on the homestead! We discuss a wood preserving …
I am now in my late 70s. My great uncle was a fine cabinetmaker from the 1920s into the 1970s. I spent uncounted hours in his shop as a kid. One of my jobs was to measure the mix he used for all of his finish word – a 50/50 mix of Linseed Oil and Turpentine. This sounds like an update of that recipe. The final step was a coating of paste was and elbow grease. This article brought back those memories.
As a new woodworker, dust collection and learning about spontaneous combustion ( which i thought were myths) have probably been the best safety measures ive learned. I think actual blades come in second. Lets keep spreading the word on the combustion issue, as it would be a horrible nightmare for someone to burn down their shop or home,due to something some ppl would never have thought was possible.
Excellent info, thanks. When I was in boat school we did some simple projects like a tool box, and the go-to finish was three coats of Daly’s Seafin Teak Oil, wet sanded to 400, then a final wax buff with #0000 steel wool. I tried simplifying it to Watco Danish Oil, but still wasn’t pleased with the results for my sculptural art boxes. I realized after viewing this vid that you simply cannot get away from a great finish taking days, it’s as simple as that, and you have to make allowances accordingly. Anyway, I followed your suggestion herein, more than pleased. Thanks again.
A master of linguistics, a plethora of factuals that inspire the mind, a masticator of many yarns that deliver an insight into the cranial attributes of such a young man with and old soul. Bravo Maestro,,,,, And you make real pretty furniture!!! You are wonderful to watch as well as to learn from. Thanks, Jack
Erik, Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will use this as my go to for sure. Guidance would be appreciated. I used this on my son-in-laws Poker Chip box and I LOVE what it did to the Walnut. The Maple however has turned more gold than I’d like. Not saying I’m not pleased, For my next project, I’m just wondering how to keep the Maple in the more tradional white than the yellow/gold hue it has picked up. The “finishing oil” part I used was a Scandanavian Tung Oil that could be too old if that is a possibility.
I like the simplicity of your method which tight-pored woods like hard maple look beautiful. Years ago I built a period-correct longrifle out of a red maple stock blank with a beautiful curl. I used the period-correct stain of a dangerous combination of 18-molar nitric acid, water and a ball of steel wool. My mixture was 4 parts water to one part acid AND ALWAYS POUR THE ACID INTO THE WATER! Wearing both safety googles and a face shield I added the water. Taking the mixture outside and pointing away from my face, I put the entire steel wool ball in the solution. It flashed off instantly and left me a beautiful reddish-brown stain. The process requires all smoothing prior to application of the stain – NO STEEL WOOL, or the acid and steel fibers will make “freckles” in the finish. After drying overnight, I flashed off the stain with a propane torch with low flame and light passes. Funny, it looked like a rusty rifle, LOL. Then was the time for steel wool and final smoothing. After a once-over with a tack cloth, I began applying boiled linseed oil. I applied 20 coats, rubbing vigorously after each coat was dry. The end result was deep-rubbed luster and prominent display of the wood’s curl. Beautiful.
I do mine almost the same but I use Satin oil based polyurethane, boiled linseed oil, and naptha. If you live in a state where naptha is banned like California, buy a gallon of Coleman Liquid Camp Fuel. It’s only $16 and is naptha. It’s got the tiniest hint of green color to it but it doesn’t show up in a finish. I use Naptha specifically because it flashes off fast which helps everything dry much faster.
Dude…this was a very “zen” article on finishing. I get what you are looking for in a finish. So I’ll ask….have you found the perfect finish for outside furniture / woodwork items? I’m restoring a bench for my wife. It’s cedar. What do you recommend? I’m not looking for additional “honey do list” items down the road. There’s got to be a great finish for outdoor furniture!
Helpful and fun. Linseed oil combines with all sorts of products (shellac for French polishing; beeswax, turpentine, etc.) and experimenting with different techniques can yield great results. Old books and recipes are a great resource, too. I know you don’t use stain, but I have made my own with ammonia and black walnuts, rusted iron, and various dyes and pigments. Thank you for sharing.
Very cool. Love to see the techniques that the pros have perfected for their use. I marvel at the different pros different prefferred methods; the common demoninator seems to be that they use quility products, avoid shortcuts and invest the adequate time and effort plus the years of trial and error it takes to master something. I personally like to spray laquers and 2-part polys, but then again, I have years invested in the technique so it works really well for me. I will try this!
My one contribution to those who don’t want to wait for the beeswax to dissolve into the turp/oil but also are afraid of having it all near an open flame or hot surface needed for a double boiler. Get a sous vide cooker! 1) they’re just great to have for cooking, but you can melt even solid beeswax at 140-150F (the liberon is a mix of beeswax and turpentine, the wax i use is similar but mineral spirits). It’s still technically above the flash point so not riskless, but far less risky without a ignition source present. All you have to do is throw all three things in a CANNING jar, put it in your bath and set the cooker to 150. I think you could get away with leaving it until the wax dissolves fully, but every 15-20F I crack the jar open to relieve the pressure since there is likely a large volume of air inside. It’s probably much safer to leave it closed, since opening the jar would let out some of the vapors which could in theory be ignited by a spark of some kind. Anyways once the wax is fully dissolved, just take it out and it will solidify at room temperature. My mix of Turp/Watco danish oil/Furniture Clinic Beeswax Polish came out perfectly at the crossroads of liquid and solid. It’s technically solid, but just the heat from your fingers will melt it which I find is perfect. Maybe it will be an issue in the summer though? I used pint size jars to make about 300mL, but if I did it differently I’d go with jars that are shorter and/or wider as it’s hard to reach in the larger jar easily.
A beautiful finish and a really well done article! Thanks! I’ve always used a finish that has been attributed to Malloy: 1/3 each of polyurethane, linseed oil (or tung oil) and mineral spirits (or turpentine). It’s similar to yours except you use a Danish oil, which is essentially a wiping varnish. So your total resin content is much higher. Have you tried using just linseed oil instead of Danish oil?
Working with wood – turning a piece of wood into something that is not only beautiful but has a sustainable economic value for practical use in our daily lives – is in my humble opinion – a way more complex topic than I ever imagined. The more I learn about “wood” and how to treat wood – the more I get frustrated about how little I know.
Great article. I made up a batch today and it works nicely, but after a bit I had a raging headache which lasted for hours (assumed from the fumes). I have experienced this once before with mineral spirits, is this common? I’m afraid to turn a fan on in my dusty shop for fear of ruining the finish. Should I go buy a respirator or is there an easier solution?
Great looking finish. And from experience thereof, the warning about spontaneous combustion of improperly discarded oil applicators cannot be overly emphasized or too often repeated. Minwax penetrating stains fall into this category and the label warning, at least here in Canada, is not adequately presented. Would love to try this finish. An addendum to this comment : spontaneous combustion of discarded applicators (steel wool especially included ) can happen within an hour or less. This chemical process is not limited to rags in a confined space overnight. Caution dictates that ANY non water based finish can exhibit this process.
Hmm, if I am going to use a wax finish, I prefer the carnuba wax since it is far harder than bees wax. The bees wax offers almost zero water protection. I have been using Butcher’s Bowling Alley wax for years. Even Kiwi neutral shoe polish is carnuba wax with some turpentine in it. Being thinned with turpentine makes it spreadable and you can buff it out for a some what better protected surface. I use a walnut oil for my food bowls, and while slow setting, it works great. It also has ‘microagregated’ carnuba wax in it. Basically it doesn’t need heat or a solvent to spread.
So, basically a wiping varnish having the second and third coats applied with the grey Scotchbrite. A good, solid finish, for sure. I will give it a try; I have all the ingredients in my shop. Have you used similar materials other than the 3 shown? Mineral spirits vs turpentine? Danish oil? Tung oil? Spar varnish? Have you consulted Bob Flexner’s wood finishing bible? Maybe you could expand a bit on your tinkering with finishes and how you arrived at this combination.
You’ve probably heard this comment before, but I haven’t seen it or a response. Essentially, you present your “mixed” finish as a combination of varnish, oil and turpentine (or a thinner). However, the “oil” you use is already a combination of varnish, oil and thinner. So to create your finish, you take the already mixed and thinned varnish and oil and mix it with more varnish and thinner. So the actual ratio of “oil” to your mixture is miniscule. Why not just use pure oil, varnish and thinner, and not pay the exorbitant price for an already diluted product? If you think 1/3 of pure oil is too much, you can use less and still end up with what is the diluted pre-mix that is Liberon. Given your ratio of varnish and thinner to the pre-mix, I imagine the amount of oil is negligible.
Very interesting – don’t disagree with any of it. When making large pieces commercially, I think the time/effect balance wouldn’t allow for all these coats and waiting time – but for smaller, very high end pieces, that balance doesn’t really matter. When making tables for instance, we used to go halfway between your solution and just something like Osmo. We would apply 2 coats of Osmo and then thinned wax (I would suggest buying beeswax in blocks and thinning it yourself) scrubbed in with a scotch pad. We got the durability of hard wax/oil; that buttery smoothness of wax plus the ability to easily refinish years down the line. In summary, the industry that makes finishes would love you to believe it is either all very complex – or that a one simple coat of magic solves everything. Neither is true in my experience. Time and effort brings rewards.
Well that is exactly what I’ve been looking for to compare with my normal method – this wins hands down! It is fairly time consuming for larger items like desks though! Super article, I love the easy repair aspect, as clients always do something to the finish that needs a small touch up in a few years.
I use to use a lot of oil finishes in the late 70s early 80s and applied wax finishes you can add aniline powders to your mixtures by dissolving the Alnline powders in methyl hydrate first I commonly did this in a double boiler but I also added carnuba wax as it sets up harder and polishes to a luster just food for thought
I wonder how your wiping varnish+ finish would be with BLO as the oil? BLO cross links when dry, creating more durability. Otherwise I’d think a true Tung oil would be nice in the mix. One finish to rule them all! I use a food grade beeswax, walnut and flaxseed oil mix for cutting boards to avoid ingesting petroleum byproducts (mineral oil is yuck!). It leaves an amazingly tactile, soft glow finish.
Thanks for the article. My hobby is making veneered boxes and I’ve lately started finishing by simply sanding to 320, applying several coats of shellac and then I finish by applying Trewax clear paste wax which I buff in. It always gives a furniture-like finish with no odor and it’s easy. I’d love to know your thoughts. Thanks
I have experienced a spontaneous combustion event when a 5 gallon pail of Flood Penetrating Oil Deck Stain was spilled and cleaned up with rags along with the shirt of my coworker who slipped with the pail and ended up wearing quite a bit of the product. This happened at the end of the day. The soaked rags and clothing were placed into the now empty steel 5 gallon stain pail, which was then placed into a plastic tow behind garden cart that we pulled with a golf cart and always parked inside the shop. The following morning we found the cart completely melted into an unrecognizable state. The entire inside of the shop and it’s contents were completely blackened by the smoke and heat. Thank goodness no one entered the shop while this was happening. The electric golf cart and the almost new Kubota tractor were not damaged other than needing some remediation from the smoke. The heat in the shop was intense enough to melt the face of the plastic wall clock and the plastic paint tray liners that were 20’ away from the heat source. It took 5 of us about 2 weeks to clean the soot from every exposed surface down to the fluorescent light fixtures and repaint the interior of the 24’x24’ shop. This was a hard lesson to learn, but it could have been a lot worse.
Did you wipe off the first coat of wax oil or just the second one. I’ve always soak my oil rags with water and put them in a plastic bag with the end tied and then put them in the household trash can. Are they still likely to spontaneously combust? (if so I’ll put them in my neighbour’s trash can😉).
I may be going crazy, but didn’t I see you add Mixol tints to your finish somewhere? For the life of my, I can;’t find it in this article or in any of your other articles? Did I dream that? If not, can you point me to it? I love your “only wood finish I need”, but would like to see how you add tints into the mix.
Love this, and all your work. I am in the US (Oregon) and having a heard time finding Liberon Bees wax. Any suggestions on a source? There are other bees wax options of course, but I see the Liberon one has Turpentine mixed it in. Is that a key to look for? Last question – you say you added a few scoops to the wax blend. Is that the trade secret 😀 Are these tablespoons?
I have a small starting out business and I am planning to make a bunch of household cutting boards for new homes and I was wondering if you might have any suggestions on which wood and finish I could use to make the best. The wood most likely be is maple. So I don’t know if tung oil is the best for it?
Hi There, I’ve got a pine dining table that I just took the old finish off of. Would this mixture work well on it? I don’t want to stain it as I like the natural color. But it is sure a soft wood! If I were to write on a piece of paper with the paper sitting on the pine table, you would see the imprints of what I wrote!
I have a older solid heavy teak dining room table that has now been relegated to an outdoor patio table. It is under a louver system an not in direct sunlight or direct rain. Would this process work for it? Would you recommend finish and wax? Good info… have subbed and see a number of vids I am going to watch. Thanks.
By combining your oil finish with a lot of polyurethane on your initial application aren’t you limiting the amount of penetration from subsequent applications? Being that the oil finish is a penetrating finish and polyurethane is a surface coat won’t the polyurethane solidify in the wood before you are able to apply enough penetrating oil first? I would think so but by using the polyurethane as another of the penetrating oils (linseed) & resins (in the Danish Oil and polyurethane) that will be left in the wood to solidify and preserve it is obviously a novel and successful method achieving a beautiful finish. Well done.
Excellent article. One quick suggestion: Rather than make your oil-wax topping, which I did for years in a confiscated double boiler, just buy some Mahoney’s Walnut Oil-Wax (oil from twigs and husks, protein free). It’s food safe, does not become rancid, and a nice mix of bees wax and carnauba. I first saw this mix in Wood Magazine as the ideal finish and mix it often. I like your final application though. I made a White Oak Salmon bat/board for plugging herring—about 3″ wide and finished it this way, maybe 5 coats in 1987. Last summer, my son who now owns my boat, still has that implement that still looks new in spite of unimaginable abuse and memories.
Looks good(thanks,) now to see if I can find “Libertine Products” that still are oil based. Have this funny feeling, due to some(add ANOTHER,) STUPID EUROPEAN LAW, oil based woodworking finishes might have become banned??? Last time I was killing time in local hardware chaine I didn’t seem to find any of the old products, I used to buy, that weren’t all water based now…..cheers…rr Normandy, Fra.
I followed your method, but had the wrong poly for the finish, it is Minwax but turned white in the jar. Then I made the wax finish. The first time I used this it came out as you described. Amazingly smooth and beautiful. A few days later the finish looked too thick. So I made another batch with a cleaner Minwax poly and it came out translucent light brown like yours. It went on smooth. I let it dry 24 hrs and applied another coat. Waited another day, and cleaned up with grey 3m pad, then applied the wax mixture. I waited a day and then another day and wiped the boxes again. They are not as smooth as the first and still alittle sticky. I polished with another clean rag again but can’t get the finish I got the first time. They are still somewhat sticky. Is the wax mixture the culprit? Maybe too much wax?
It strikes me as odd to see quite a few younger woodworkers online who view finishes as some sort of esoteric secret (I am not trying to be the old guy dragging younger generations. Aside from being more of an idiot now than you will be at some arbitratry point in the future, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being young). Among all my friends as a child, I’d bet heavily everyone started out knowing how to do a proper French polish finish with shellac well before they were allowed to get near the table saw. Maybe because every household seemed to have at least one piece of furniture, or something like a piano, that was inevitably going to get dinged up and worn – who knows. Same with tool sharpening. I liked to watch my grandfather work in his shop. One day he gave me a couple of his beater chisels and told to go to the bench with all of his stones and put an edge on them. He never explained anything. He let me watch as he did his expensive chisels, and gave me hints along the way, but he otherwise just told me to figure it out. Figuring it out took months since I was usually only at his place on weekends, but feeling a burr across the entire edge was maybe the first time I felt proud. Still, with regards to raising kids, its probably a case of the old ways not exactly being the best ways. If I had dropped either, they could pontentially have taken part of my foot off. Anyway, the first tip I had was in regards to oily rags and spontaneous combustion. The one way my dad and grandfather dealt with them was to throw them in a bucket, take them outside along with a MAPP gas or propane torch, and subject them to some deliberate combustion.
Like most competent craftsmen, there Achilles heel is woodfinishing, its a wet trade and the knowledge required is equal to any craft, and not just the bit at the end, it’s took me till 60 years if age to what I consider to be competent in many different materials, and I’ve been doing it all my working life…
I know someone who lost their shop to spontaneously combusting finishing cloths. It is real and serious safety hazard. Especially for DIY work in attached garage. Can burn down your whole house and potentially be deadly. I’m surprised it is not mentioned more in finishing and safety articles. It’s something that is not intuitive and common knowledge. So DIY woodworkers could get a nasty surprise and learn the hard way.
Hi am not really new to woodworking but I had an issue with my own handrail which is solid wood and is stained I’ve finished it twice the first time with wax after a few months I had to rewax every 2 months that is not going to work for me, then I pred it again and did a polyurethane finish after 2 years it started to wear off you could see the finish sheen on the area where the hands would touch barely having any polyurethane still on it. Is there anything I can use that can last longer time in a high traffic area? Thanks in advance.
Absolutely love this finish!!!! Like silk on a piece of wood, I definitely didn’t want to hide any of the character of the wood under a glossy or glassy finish.So easy to apply, with few elements to worry about…time, temperature and dust free environment. Thanks so much for this simple process and finish. I will use it many times in the near future
do you do this for table tops as well? I used poly when i built my kitchen table and I’ve regretted it ever since. Any hot item ends up sticking to it and forming a white ring. Most things you eat at a table are gonna be hot or at least warm…. does the oil in this finish help counteract that happening?
No one oil or mixture of oils performs the best for all woods. It depends on the hardness or density of the wood. It depends on the shade of the wood, some can lighten it nicely, some can darken it. It depends on the final result we want, whether we want a satin or glossy finish. So it always depends and always a little test before application.
Hi Erik, thanks for making this article! It inspired me to conduct and test of a few different finishes that I’ve used, and I decided that I’d stick with this for a while! I was wondering, have you ever had a situation where the finish doesn’t seem to dry/cure in a certain area? I’ve got a piece right now that I put the third coat on a few days ago, but a couple of small spots still look wet and are slightly tacky to the touch. I’m hoping another few days will allow it to fully cure, otherwise I may end up wiping it down with some solvent of some sort and restarting the finish application.
Cool article! Perhaps it’s worth mentioning, but no doubt known by many…..is that using a very fine wet and dry abrasive paper to rub with the grain when applying the finish, will give extra sheen and smoothness to the final results, if one might be looking to obtain that. I generally do that on the initial coat, which I thin down a bit more with turp or paint thinner than on subsequent finish applications. Urethane has some kind of petroleum distillate (dryer) in it, so if you want to use a finishing oil like tung or Paulownia that has no dryer in it, mixing it with the urethane will add a dryer to the whole concoction and give a much quicker drying time than would normally be the result from the oil sold without the dryer additive. I’ve read of a study done where finishing oils without dryers in them were shown to be a bit more durable than the ones sold that are produced to dry more quickly….for some reason.
Yonks ago, when I was learning cabinet making, the finish I was introduced to was Turpentine, linseed oil, and beeswax. We used to make a mix that was like a soft butter. Also, we would occasionally try to put a dab on someone’s nose, just for fun! It was wicked! The pong of the turpentine used to soak into the skin, and it stayed for hours! .
I like it. I’ve been spraying pre-cat lacquer for years and wanting to find something safer yet easy to apply. I tried Rubio but have a pretty bad allergic reaction to it. I love BLO but need something more durable. My only “negative” would be dry time. With Pre-Cat (and $$$$ of equipment) I can do three full coats in 1/2 a day and deliver it the next. Hard to make the switch in a time is money environment. However, I like the simplicity and the lower toxicity of this. How do you like this finish on higher use items like tables?
This was a wonderful article I really like what you’re doing here. I have a question. I’m preparing to finish a pine blanket chest I’ve just built. I need to bring it out to a dark color using Minwax dark walnut. Would I be able to use the Liberon oil, beeswax, and turpentine mixture over top of the Minwax? Thanks again for the article I hope to hear back from you soon.
I want to build full wall library shelves for books. I do not want my books to stick th4 shelf or have the shelf smudge or dirty the books with oils. What is best for nice looking shelves. I have a 150 year old china cabinet with dark coated shelves that are dry and make beautiful display the leaded glass door.
And here I just found Rubio and used it for the first time, and you come up with something I could easily put together myself. Having used lacquers, polys, and variations thereof, for years, a recent entry table project showed me how to finally achieve that “buttery smoothness” you describe here. I have found, though, that without two coats of Rubio I can’t achieve that sheen “just below satin” that I like. Once I use up the (expensive) can of Rubio I bought, I think I shall try your concoction.
Excited to try this! Does this finish need sanding between coats, like a typical polyurethane? What if after applying the final wax I want to apply more of the poly/turp/oil mixture? Can it go over the wax or does the wax need to be removed? Assuming it would need to be removed with turp or mineral spirits?
Currently building a 20’s-30’s style 4 string walnut box guitar and just finished applying the final coat on my test piece of scrap walnut..DANG!! 10/10 absolutely fantastic finish. Very idiot proof haha had to go heavier on the beeswax and used danish oil, but man.. thank you for this article my dude 🤌🏻🔥👊🏻🍻
Wow! I can’t wait to try this! I have a few questions (yes, I’m overthinking it’s!). 1. Do you sand at all between oil/poly mix coats 1 &2? Can you use 0000 steel wool with the oil/wax mixture for application? Durable enough for drink coasters (making some with laser etching), Double Boil required? Any safe alternatives? If you need to reapply for whatever reason – do you bring back to “bare” then go through all steps to bring it back to the finished state? I know lots of questions. But I really appreciate the simplicity and the time you took to explain the procedure!
What many (it seems most)…”modern woodworkers”…that never came to the craft from an actual apprenticeship or traditional, even though perhaps information, exposure to the craft seem to fail to realize is that soon as you do not…” finish wood”…the way it was done traditionally, you will never get the finish that can age properly and develop the patina over time that natural finishes provide and why authentic antiques look the way they do… As soon as you gauge and augment with modern industrial plastics you have doomed the piece to those types of polymers which can not age in the same way an authentic and traditional finish is able to…I guess however, that does not matter and that at some point stripping a finish off is okay because plastic finishes regardless of amount do fail over time as they simply are not sympathetic to the natural fabrics of wood, then there’s no issue with a plastic finish beside the ethos of what these industries do to the ecology of this planet…
Hey Erik. Please forgive the basic question. I’m just struggling to understand. How is what you use different from, say, Danish oil (which I thought – depending on brand – was sometimes an Tung oil/poly mixture). Is it the fact that you can control the mix ratios? Is it the mix of oils available in the Liberon oil? Is it the addition of turpentine? Sorry to bother you with such a fundamental question.
Fantastic vid, @encurtis! I’m using your recipe (1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 MS, 1/3 Polyurethane) to finish a flame maple tabletop. Just applied the final Scotchbrite coat and tomorrow, I’ll whip up some beeswax / MS / boiled linseed oil and add / wipe coat #1. It’s just insane how brilliantly the chatoyance in the flame maple is popping. Thanks for the help!
I wanted to say thank you, I saw this, and I was using linseed oil for another application (plastic on my vehicle) and it saved me from an uncontrolled fire. The terricloth I used to apply it started on fire the next day when I picked it up. Had I not isolated it knowing ahead of time, if I would have kept it in my shed like everything else, or in my car, it would have burned it up. All I did is pick it up off the driveway and it ignited.
E N / Erik – or anyone else who has the experience – a question. I have watched this article several times and would like to try your formula and method. Living outside the USA I can get the ‘ingredients’, but there is no clarity on the Scotch Brite pad. Google and Amazon searches (and the 3M website) don’t tell me what I need to know: Which gray pad? Is there a specific 3M product number that can used to get the ‘right’ pad. Will be visiting the USA for two weeks, leaving tomorrow night and would like to buy and carry back. Thanks in advance for any and all help.
If you thin Waterlox with turpentine, you’ll avoid the nasty plastic look of polyurethane forever. It’s also more durable; Waterlox uses the less plastic-looking phenolic resin. It’s also a marine varnish; there’s nothing more durable. If you don’t care about durable, use the recommended wax mixture. Oh, and the thing about linseed oil, it never completely cures, and darkens in light as it oxidizes over the years, perhaps why so many people stain new cherry furniture to the muddy brown roof of their grandparents’. That furniture wasn’t dull brown when it was new.
You cannot use a Danish oil in place of an oil. The Danish oil contains penetrating resins, probably lacquers. It leaves a sticky coating on top. So does Tung oil which is also mixed with something. No good. I would use a Boiled Linseed Oil for mixing with wax and turpentine, and heat it up a bit so it is warm when applied. Soaks into the wood nicely. Polishing with poly in the mix is not the best thing. I would polish wood with 400 – 600 grit and Boiled Linseed Oil, then let dry 1-2 days, then do a very diluted poly coat, and wipe it off after 10 mins. After 3 coats of Wipe Off diluted poly (with Mineral Spirits), I’d buff down with the wax mixture and scuff it for a satin sheen or leave it glossier. I only use satin poly which is not too slick and shiny.
This gives me ideas… could i get a similar outcome using a mixture of mineral spirits, wipe on poly, and some stain? Would it allow the stain to absorb more “buttery” in color and feel? Most of builds right now are pine so i try to add a little color without over saturating it, just dont like how dark it makes it. I nailed it once, but didn’t pay attention to my process and cannot repeat it 😮. I’ve saved the items to try this the next time I’m shopping. Thank you! Forgive the long winded comment.
One suggestion. Change the container from a mason jar to the type with a rubber gasket and a bail type closure/lock. These never seal to the glass and are easy to open. They have one minor flaw. depending on the jar size the offset top can allow the jar to topple a bit easier. I use something similar. Homemade Danish oil. Varnish, tung oil, thinner For my planes I have a brush to apply the wax and a brush to buff it off like on shoes. I have yet to try this on wood though.
@ENCurtis. So I just tried this mixture. Not sure if I did a good job lol Added the poly and my Danish oil which is a black walnut Danish oil. Then I added turpentine and it poured out very messy out of the can so I’m not sure if I put too much in or not. When I apply the mixture to a scrap piece of spruce or pine, it’s not very dark at all and I’m not sure if it’s because I made a bad mixture or not. Wonder if you have any ideas as to what I might have done wrong or if I did anything wrong lol
This is such a great article! I’m very excited to try this on my next project. However, I have a question. I’m in Canada, and Liberon is very expensive to get up here. What would be a good finishing oil and bees wax that I could substitute in place of Liberon, that would get me the same result? Maybe something from Home Depot or Lee Valley.
Good informative article. Thanks for sharing your methods. About 30 years ago I was working with an old carpenter who swore by using a brown paper bag at the point where you switch to the scotch-brite pad. I tried it and found it actually does work in a very similar way to your abrasive pad. As with your method, it’s not for sanding or leveling (obviously) or anything even close to that. It’s really more of a burnishing of the previous coat of finish. These days you never get groceries in anything but plastic but if you ever get your hands on an old fashioned paper grocery bag, try it. It’s interesting that it actually works.
As I live in Latvia, where many of your finishing material brands are unavailable — does it matter much, which brand of poly, and which finishing oil I use? I’ve already seen others doing something similar, just curious how do you regard variations of this particular recipe. And I’ll definitely use natural terpentine, not mineral spirits, since its vapours are not close as harmful to breath in.
Is there a way to decrease the drying time? I don’t have 24 hours available between coats to let each dry- that would take what for me is now about a 4 hour drying time (ACE brand Polyurethane that is unfortunately no longer available) for a finished two coat piece to 48 hours… my products (refinished mid-century furniture) sell every day so delaying a sale for 2 days would ruin production times for me.
I’m using the mix on a new project, I’ve used it on several before, but this piece is made from air dried (in my basement) wood end grain (a tree trunk slice). I’m on coat 8 or 9 and the wood keeps absorbing the mix. I’ve added a little more oil to the mix but when didn’t seem to build a “sealing coat” I added more varnish. Thanks for any thoughts.
I don’t know if you will see this comment, the article is quite old, but while you’re in LA maybe you could do a similar article on finishes but focused on how a new woodworker can, or might, develop a finishing technique and/or product to use. The concept of the article being you don’t have “your” finish (even though you can easily make it) so you have to go through the journey of figuring out what to use and how to use it. A new wood worker is most likely going to start with Danish Oil or maybe a polyurethane varnish because they are easily available at a big box store and are relatively cheap. What is the next step, the next product, in the development of a persons finishing technique; how does a person move from a Danish Oil to creating their own finish or, god forbid the YouTube favorite, Rubio. I wouldn’t focus the article on this product vs that product (there are thousands of those articles on YouTube) rather make it about the journey to figuring out the what and why that drives a person to develop how they want to finish their projects. Danish Oil is fine but it has it’s limits, Varnish is fine but it has its limits, Beeswax is fine but it has its limits, Hard Wax Oils are fine but they have limits; etc etc. I have gone through many different options and have landed on Fiddes, I like the way it looks and how it brings out the grain details and I feel it holds up longer than other things I’ve tried; plus, its affordable for a really nice product. Seriously, Rubio is well over $100 a can, it can’t be that good.
Not saying my process is better, but it’s faster and very beautiful: I mix very thin shellac from blond flakes and apply to seal the wood and prevent penetration from following applications which greatly speeds dry time and finishing process. De-nib if needed. Then apply and wipe off a coat of Osmo poly-x matte and let dry a day. Then a second application of Osmo matte but thoroughly rubbed out while wet with 4-0 steel wool and wiped off. Produces a very beautiful eggshell sheen, but not moisture resistant enough for a table top. For tables I do the above on the undercarriage – legs, aprons etc. For the top and edges of same I’ll apply more durable finishes that match the lower work. For Sapele I do the initial application with Old Masters Tung Oil finish wiping off completely. Denib. Then the two applications Osmo Matte. This really lights up the red and reversing grain of the Sapele. Osmo Matte is great because it won’t reflect light from within the pores of open grained woods as will a gloss finish. Ditto for inside corners where one may not wipe away completely. The matte won’t show that increased build up the way gloss will. For highly detailed or texture carved pieces where denibbing would be too onerous a task I rule out shellac as the sealer. New subscriber here and very complimentary of your wood and article work!
Question, is there a cure time after applying the wax part. Go with the poly cure time? Also with adding the poly does this require a reapplication of this? If selling I could give a sample jar for sure. Just want to make sure the finished product lasts for the buyer. Thank you so much! Looking forward to trying this!
I know this is from a year ago, but I am just now perusal. I have a 1920s burl walnut china hutch I am redoing. I have been looking for perfect finish that allows that gorgeous burl to be seen. I have stripped and sanded. Will this finish work for something like this? If I do the wax also, does it have to be reapplied over time? Or would you suggest something else?
I find it interesting reading all the comments demonizing polyurethane. If you ever used a commercial grade urathane you would understand what I mean. I worked for a coatings company that developed polyurethane for airplanes. The coating had to withstand temps. exceding 200 degrees when on the runway and then adhere to the skin of the plane at temps -100 degrees when in the sky. The polyurethane had UV resistance and flexibility . Poly’s are incredible products. We also created polys for wood that far exceed what you are able to purchase at a local store.
I am using this finish on walnut tabletop. I went with gloss poly and it really looks good so far. I just applied the first layer of the wax mix and I have a question. Do I let this cure for a day or till there is no tacky feel. Humidity is high and temps are mostly in the 50’s here in north Florida. Just wondering how long to wait to put the last coat of wax mix on Mr. Miagi. Love your articles, keep it up. Thanks Ps I love how you can wake the finish up to make repairs. And it just looks great
This was funny. When I went to Amazon to to look at Liberon Finishing Oil, it suggested that it was frequently purchased with Liberon Beeswax and Minwax Polyurethane. It seems as if people are listening. I’ve always used linseed oil and pure gum turpentine as my first coats to soak into the wood and protect it before a final coat with urethane. Any thoughts?
Dude I cannot thank you enough, I use transtint a lot and that stuff is getting more expensive as I go but to make a toner not only looks better,( I tried your method ) a little goes a long way! Like I said earlier, I can’t thank you enough so the least I could do is subscribe which I did, keep blessing us my friend.
Thanks very much for the great information you provide. From my experience I am wondering if this is the only finish you need because I recently finished a document box made with Cherry. I used the finish described in this article but I experienced a fair amount of blotching. Hoping you can advise whether I should have used some sort of pre-finish first or Is this finish not suitable for wood like Cherry. Thanks
What was in that cup that you drank from at the end??? I thought that’s where you had your oil wax! You must wear a respirator when finishing with poly I assume. I have only used oil waxes for the past few years because poly stanks and hangs in the air forEVER! So toxic and messy – but now I want to try this!
Does this finish feel good as a surface? I want to make an office desk with a big wood desk and since it’s something I’ll be interacting with a lot with my hands (using mouse and keyboard, or even just leaning on it) So will this finish be sticky, tacky, or anything like that? I’d love it if my computer mouse could glide across it.
Thank you for sharing your finish. I used it on a tray i made from curly maple and sapele, it worked beautifully. I did have a problem though on another tray I made from curly maple and padauk. The finish is not drying on padauk, still tacky after several days of drying. I read online that padauk has a lot of natural oils and even poly alone is not drying well on padauk. Have you had this problem before? Any suggestions?
I’m glad you mentioned the spontaneous decombusting nature of those oils. I was on the edge of my seat and all 11 fingers were pre-typing your ludicrous, irresponsible nature of not mentioning it but then I backspaced it all. You forgot to mention however that the surfaces should be lightly sanded before applying the finish. You could get splinters, prick!
Ah yes, the oldest cheat in the book, mixing cheap nasty heavily cut linseed oil with poly. Yuck. Never ever cut an oil finish with turpentine. It dulls the grain and kills the refractive index of the oil leaving a dull plastic coating. It also dulls the natural vibrant colours of the timber. The best oil finish out there is either Volvox or Livos. Made in Germany. Pure linseed stand oil with the proper balance of natural hard resins and waxes to give you an excellent polished finish with two coat’s. It has NO solvent content. The hard wax oil is my favourite. It smells nice too because it’s not contaminated with solvent. Polyurethane is a surface coating system and it degrades loosing its bond with the timber. It smells horrible too. Probably all sorts of toxic driers in it as well.
I found that a paste wax finish product is just too thick to apply direct and it kinda sticks and does not move on the project. Then could not get the wax to move as it stuck to my smooth sanded surface .. nightmare .. so I ended up sanding all over again to remove it. SMH! I guess your method of mixing up a liquid sounds sensible.
I remember seeing an interview with Sam Maloof regarding the finish he used on his furniture. I’m not sure of the formula, but one of the ingredients was elbow grease. The heat produced by friction from rubbing the finish into the wood was part of what made his finishing technique what it was. I will most definitely be using your formula in the future. Thanks!
I am turning an old barn into a guest house. I have old wood and new wood and it’s crazy looking. In the main room, I have mostly new wood that I want to look old. It’s quite a lot of wood on the walls. I like the simplicity of your concept. Can you give me advice on how patina this new wood? I can send you pictures if that helps? Thank you!
Thank you for a very interesting and informative, demo. I really like the results, but for us scroll saw people that have mostly layered and often cut out sections from layer to the next layer. In other words projects that do not have a flat surface like your box does, how can this be applied to those types of projects? Thank you!
Just found your content and it inspires me and challenges my concepts of woodworking. I hate finishing wood as much as I hate sanding it…but obviously love the outcome in the end. To the point: I love this easy mix you use for most of the finishes I want to use in the future. HOWEVER, (the caps were a bit aggressive) I was wondering if you have homemade finish for cutting boards? Do you just use beeswax or other food safe finishes? I’m a new woodworker and need some more professional tips, as most I have learned is from “YouTubers” who do woodworking, rather than woodworkers who happen to YouTube their work (like yourself). Would love to hear your thoughts or other individuals who know their stuff. If not, maybe a future article idea for content? Thanks for teaching, showing your mistakes and encouragement.
Many thanks for the recipes for the waxing that you do it’s very interesting to see new types of finishes one thing. I’m not sure about though is on the final wax that you apply where you remove most of what you put on in the very final part of the article do you ever go back and lost the wood a few days later once that wax has penetrated more into the wood and perhaps evaporated some of the turpentine. I’m just wondering if it requires a final gentle buffing or is that literally it and you don’t go back and visit it again?
Could this be used (maybe only the second step) to refinish a piece that was originally stained but never clear coated. It needs to be sanded down a bit to remove some rough edges due to a beginners build but I really would like to redo it – it was one of my Uncles first builds and it was given to my grandparents and now I have it.