Bleeding and blistering of silky oak oil finish

[Dengue]

Hello, can anyone please suggest a way of applying an oil finish to Northern Silky Oak that does not end in bleeding and blistering of the finish?

The silky oak is an open pored timber, and after applying oil, there are hundreds of little glitter points when view at the correct angle to the light. In many cases these glitter points, or bleeds, become blisters that make the surface quite rough to the touch.

The recommended method is to vigorously wipe off these blisters every hour or so for the next 6 hours before they harden, which is quite tedious.

I am wondering if there is anything that can be done in the surface preparation to prevent this happening.


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[Lyle]

You could try a clear shellac as a filler.
Or a couple of coats of sanding sealer.
Lyle

[LGS]

Dengy,

What's the oil? I use HBO regularly on Silky Oak, with no problem.

Regards,

Rob

[Dengue]

Hi Rob, It is Cabot's Danish Oil. I have the same problem with Livos Kunos #244

But you burnish your oils in, don't you?

[Dengue]

Or a couple of coats of sanding sealer.

Thanks Lyle. what sort of sanding sealer would you use, and how does it stop the bleeding. Wouldn't it change the colour of the timber?

[aldav]

I've never had this problem with Southern Silky, not sure if that makes a difference or not. As Lyle as indicated though I always use a coat of thinned shellac or Proofseal first.

Look after those hands Dengue or they could end up looking as old as mine! No, you wouldn't want to see them!

[Dengue]

Look after those hands Dengue or they could end up looking as old as mine! No, you wouldn't want to see them!

How old are your hands, aldav? And what is the best way to look after mine?

[Robson Valley]

Red oak (Quercus rubra) is used commonly for wood flooring in North America. It is open porous with the worst of them.
There is a paste "filler" that is smeared on. After drying, the entire floor is sanded back so that just the pores, the vessels, are plugged.
Next, apply any finish you like. Same product is used even on picture frames.
The sanding part is, of course, tedious but the flooring belt sanders make short work of it.

[LGS]

Hi Dengy,

Yes I do. but HBO is primarily Tung Oil. Perhaps you could try that?

Regards,

Rob

[ian]

Hi Dengy

I think the problem is related to Silky Oak's open pores. You could try a grain filler -- the only one I have used is made by Wattyl. It is tintable with spirit dyes.

others swear by Timbermate. It might be my technique, but I've never had much success with water based fillers. So my preference is for solvent / oil based ones.

[ubeaut]

Dengy,

I use HBO

For those who don't know HBO is Hard Burnishing Oil made by Organoil.

[Lyle]

I get my sanding sealer from Carbatec. It is clear like water.
Lyle.

[Dengue]

Thanks for all the above comments, I really appreciate them. To get out of this current problem with six bleeding and blistered trays, I wet sanded them with 300G sandpaper and Danish Oil, in the hope that the slurry would fill the pores. I left them to dry overnight, ending up with a rough surface, almost bare timber, but no bleeding pores any more. Because the trays are so narrow ( 40mm wide), I sand by hand rather than by orbital sander, easier to keep control.

Today I lightly sanded them with 300G paper, and then 600G paper, then used that 600G paper to wet sand it again. Could not get a really uniform finish, it was streaky, so wet sanded again with 600G paper and then wiped it off with a very smooth cotton rag ( old Bond's undies) and it ended up with quite smooth uniform finish when viewed with the light at the correct test angle. Will post pics later when they are dry. I think I may have have gotten off lightly.

I think that LGS and AlexS are the only two who have really mastered finishing Northern Silky Oak, and they use different methods ( HBO and oil on shellac grain filler respectively). As I was reading in the Forum while researching this topic, woodworkers are divided into two classes, those who master HBO burnishing, and those who don't

I am currently considering other finishes for Silky Oak, other than oil. Not too keen on filling the pores with grain filler, the problem being matching the timber colour and not destroying the natural appearance of the timber.

[Dengue]

I get my sanding sealer from Carbatec. It is clear like water.
Lyle.

thanks Lyle, how do you tint it to match the timber?

[Lyle]

I don't tint it. It is a sanding sealer. I use it to make the grain stand up after sanding. Then sand again lightly with a higher grit.
If I really want to close the open pores in the wood I'll use a clear shellac, again from Carbatec. A couple of coats of the shellac over the sanding sealer hardly colours the wood. The shellac is a very pale brown/blonde colour.
I usually use WOP as my finish though, not oil.
Lyle.