PDA

View Full Version : danish oil and dog pee















old_picker
11th October 2011, 08:42 PM
yes it happened
i have been using cabots danish oil to finish the last few guitars i built and today one of my happy little security team piddled on my latest masterpiece - it has a hole in the face known as an F hole and the little blighter [i used other names earlier] peed right into the hole - damn good shot - but the last few squirts went all over the face of the instrument

yes i know
how come the dogs can get near enough to a valuable instrument to piddle all over it??

my wife said "well i guess he thought it was a tree"

it seems to have damaged the finish and i tried removing it to know avail - it kinda stuck to the finish raising up a little - i wonder if it has actually penetrated the finish??
i started to sand a little to see if it would come off but eneven after a solid sand with 1500 grit it leaves a dull spot - i am currently sanding the face of the guitar to refinish

I love the way danish oil looks on polished wood [sanded to 2500grit] but now wondering if the finish is robust enough

my questions are?
do you reckon the pee has penetrated the surface??
is there a way of sealing off danish oil??
what is a good alternative to danish oil??

mkypenturner
11th October 2011, 08:50 PM
thats a shame to hear all your hard work in building it and MANS ( SO CALLED ) BEST FRIEND goes and does that , sorry i cant help you but i hope you can get a answer that will save it

Sir Stinkalot
11th October 2011, 08:50 PM
I would have thought that the DO was a durable enough finish but perhaps not to those extremes.

Could you issues be coming from the inside of the guitar if there wasn't a finish applied in there?

old_picker
11th October 2011, 08:53 PM
Could you issues be coming from the inside of the guitar if there wasn't a finish applied in there?

no its definitely an outside spatter pattern and it was still wet when i found it
pretty potent brew huh?

Ken-67
11th October 2011, 11:14 PM
Dog (or any other) urine is very high in amonia, among other nasties. The amonia would have reacted as a solvent on the Danish oil. If it was on long enough to penetrate the oil, it may have had a bleaching effect on the wood. And I won't mention the smell, which may be hard to get rid of.------Oooops, I did mention it.:oo::roll:

old_picker
11th October 2011, 11:40 PM
i have taken the finish off from 120 up to 1200 grit and 98% of the staining is gone thankfully - finish it off up to 2500, burnish then refin with danish -

i cant really smell it - even when there was pee pouring out of the output jack it didn't smell much so i have my pinkies crossed on that - i had to pull out the electronics and completely dismantle the guitar - what a PIA

rustynail
12th October 2011, 12:58 PM
Well I guess that shows what the dog thought of your handywork.
On a more serious note; In the old days, violin makers used to soak their timber in a urine bath, as part of the seasoning process. Now what they did after that I don't remember, so it might be a good idea to post on the musical instrument forum.

old_picker
12th October 2011, 01:54 PM
Well I guess that shows what the dog thought of your handywork.
On a more serious note; In the old days, violin makers used to soak their timber in a urine bath, as part of the seasoning process. Now what they did after that I don't remember, so it might be a good idea to post on the musical instrument forum.

they used urine for various industrial processes over history
it was plentiful
for one it was also used to set dyes in wool making
not sure why it was used in violin making - maybe to bleach the timber??