Is organoil any good?

[Androo]

I have been finishing some of my wood carvings in Cabots Danish oil, it really brings out the grain nicely! Just recently heard about Organoil. Has anyone worked with this stuff? Is it any good?

[rowie]

yep. works great but for the best results a burnishing (rubbing) action is needed. easy on a flat bit of wood, i dunno about ur carvings,probably a lot of elbow grease involved

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I've used it, and provided you follow the directions to the letter it gives truly amazing results.

However, should you apply even that little bit too much you will know about it after a few weeks or months when it starts matting up. Sure, you can rebuff it to bring it back to it's original glory but if the piece has already found a new home it won't be the Organoil the owners will be cursing. As I'm not prepared to keep items lying around in the shed after they're finished just on the off-chance, I've found other finishing methods better suited for my use. [shrug]

I'd imagine that it'd be a right PITA to apply correctly to carvings...

[Androo]

Heck! I did a carving about 13 years ago, with just a couple of coats of Cabots Danish it still looks good. Never needed to re-oil it!

[Androo]

I have heard of this burnishing thing, but i dont think all of them in their range have to be burnished.

[BobL]

I've used it, and provided you follow the directions to the letter it gives truly amazing results.

However, should you apply even that little bit too much you will know about it after a few weeks or months when it starts matting up. Sure, you can rebuff it to bring it back to it's original glory but if the piece has already found a new home it won't be the Organoil the owners will be cursing. As I'm not prepared to keep items lying around in the shed after they're finished just on the off-chance, I've found other finishing methods better suited for my use. [shrug]

I'd imagine that it'd be a right PITA to apply correctly to carvings...

Hate to flog another companys product on this sponsors site so will try to remain objective. "Organoil" is the name of a company which sells a product called "Hard burnishing oil", as well as several other finishes. The burnish oil definitely needs to be worked in and I agree 100% with Skewy - the results are worth the effort but it does darken timber and you should try before you apply. If you don't rub-it-in the oil comes back to the surface and gathers dust and looks dull and crappy.

The idea of burnishing oil is to use it in situations where the timber is going to be in contact with other things, eg hands, food, feet etc. It's food safe and this is why it works well for bowls and handles and floors. For most other less physical contact pieces there are many other oils like Danish, and Natural Waxes and other sponsors products which are usually less work but it will be your call on looks.

Applying too much oil (and in some cases not enough burnishing) can result in the stuff bleeding back out again (especially from cracks etc) and this can dissolve some of the dust burned into the pores and collect more dust from the air and badly mat the surface. Since the burnishing action is required to "seal the surface" complex irregular carvings are really hard work because you have to do it manually and burnishing into crevices is nigh on impossible and you will get bleed from these. This becomes are real problem when you use it on wained (debarked) edges which cannot really be burnished. The key is not to apply too much and really burnish as much as you can.

My preference has been to use the hard burnishing oil on irregular shaped handles and then finish with several light applications of sponsors wax over the top. This tends to reduce but not becessarily eliminate bleeding.

So, long and short of it - If people are not going to regularly handle your carvings (and you want to use oil) I would stick with Danish.

[ubeaut]

Organoil makes some good stuff, however, I wouldn't be using most of it on my carvings.

They do make a Danish Oil now and if you are happy with Cabot's Danish you will probably like theirs as well. But most things new it's a good idea to try it out on scrap first before putting it on your favourite carving.

Personally I have always found that bringing out the grain too much in most carvings and actually detracted from the carving itself, and as most oils will do just that I have avoided them like the plague.

My favourite has always been white shellac followed by wax to give a soft subtle sheen which picks up highlights and gives the work more depth and life, rather than the dead finish of most oils or a plastic look gloss finish of polyurethane that many carvers seem to use.

Hope this is of some help to you.

Cheers - Neil

[Bodgy]

I use Organoil on many pieces and like it.

I wouldn't be using it on carvings tho, as it does need to be strenuously polished. It also will only go to a max dull sheen (I'm not talking about the hard burnishing oil here)

I dislike the full gloss on wood, I think its looks a bit plastic.

Re what to use on carvings, thats for others...

[Androo]

Personally I have always found that bringing out the grain too much in most carvings and actually detracted from the carving itself, and as most oils will do just that I have avoided them like the plague.

My favourite has always been white shellac followed by wax to give a soft subtle sheen which picks up highlights and gives the work more depth and life, rather than the dead finish of most oils or a plastic look gloss finish of polyurethane that many carvers seem to use.

My carvings are focused on the grains of the wood, more abstract, so this is what i want Hmm, not sure what you mean by oils looking dead though, I actually think they bring the wood to life!

[rsser]

If you've got some nice contrasting grain then a good oil can increase and highlight the contrast.

I've used both Organoil and Rustins DO on my turnings (exc. pale timbers like Huon) and would no longer touch Organoil with a barge pole for the reasons mentioned by other posters.

[bdar]

Well I use all 3 oils for woodturning, Organoil's hard burnishing, high sped wood turning oil and their danish oil. The gods must smiling on me because I have never had any of the problems that have been mentioned by people here. If you follow the instructions on how to use the product the same as shellawax products you have no problem, deviate from the instructions then you end up with poor results. I won't be the first and won't be the last to cut corners on finishing processes, have learnt by my mistakes. I know everyone prefers their onw type of finish with their product of choice, all I know is that organoil has proved successful for my wood turning, I'm just sorry it hasn't worked for others for it is truely a good oil.

[schaf]

Androo,I agree with previous posts that if the oil is not rubbed back very hard
you will finish with a fungus looking surface.
I also carve and think I have found a solution.
I use a dremel with a peice of scotch brite on the end of a mandril to burnish the wood while the oil is still wet.I now do not get oil coming back to the surface.
Hope this will be a help to you.
Regards Terry

[Richardwoodhead]

I started using Organoil for furniture finishing. Disaster. My beautifully featured Jarrah and Sheoak died a flat death. Organoil might work for small pieces you can spend days buffing & burnishing, but I've decided my life is too short for organoil. And moved across to Danish Oils / Oil and Poly mixes / Lacquers. (I've got an unopened 20 litre drum of Organoil Hard Burnishing Oil. Anybody interested? Going cheap.)

Richard

[Termite]

I've only used Organoil Danish once, and based on that I'm not even interested in the burnishing oil. I ended up giving away most of a can of their Danish oil.
My prefered finish is Ubeat shellac/wax or for a hard wearing surface Rustins Danish oil.

[Carpenter]

Androo,I agree with previous posts that if the oil is not rubbed back very hard
you will finish with a fungus looking surface.
I also carve and think I have found a solution.
I use a dremel with a peice of scotch brite on the end of a mandril to burnish the wood while the oil is still wet.I now do not get oil coming back to the surface.
Hope this will be a help to you.
Regards Terry

schaf,

you have hit the nail on the head with your solution. What you are doing (very cleverly) is using machinery to introduce heat into the process. This is how it is suppose to be done, & probably the biggest reason why the hard burnishing process fails for many people. You simply will not get the results if you try & buff the oil by hand because it requires a tool like Festools Rotex to do the buffing & introduce heat. Therefore, the very nature of having to use a tool to get the result (wood turning exepted) dictates that the Hard Burnishing process is really limited to larger flat areas like table tops etc. However, schaf has overcome this limitation & has achieved good results by applying lateral thinking. One other important point with this technique, try to relate the sheen level required to a corresponding level of sanding fineness. A grit of 600 is minimum level of sheen, 2000 will give mirror like results, but any sanding over 600 should be done wet, ie - hard burnished. Over oiling also results in "bleeding", so when the pad becomes dry, add oil only to the sanding pad & resist the temptation to poor it over the job. Its not an easy process to master, thus the many failures spoken of here, but it can be done & because the oil "sets" in the grain it is a worthwhile choice for a situation where the item will be handled or be subject to wear & tear like a benchtop.