HELP - having trouble with Organoil

[missionaryman]

I was at Carbatec and the bloke showed me how to properly buff up Organoil hard burnishing oil t a sheen with a sander 320/400 grit discs.
it was a festool sander he was demoing with and I even had a go myself with a raw iece of scrap and got the same result.

For the life of me I can't get the same result at home, at first I figured it was my cheap crap 1/3 sheet Black & Decker sander's fault so I bought a Ryobi 750w 6" random orbital and tried it and still can't get any better than a thin looking dull satin

can anyone tell me what my problem is?

[Stephen Taylor]

I use organoil to finish my work quite often. what you do is exactly what i do. 2 coats of oil and the ROS with fine grits to sand with . I usually go as far as 1200 or 1500 grit, sand till the oil thickens with saw dust and fills the grain. I wipe with a clean rag and then wait 48 hours for it to dry. At that stage i buff with lambs wool pad on my drill and it comes up a treat.

[BobL]

The duller it looks the longer you have to leave it dry before applying the finishing coat. Sometimes I have to leave it for 4/5 days or even a week when it is cold. To speed things up bring it inside in winter or leave outside (not in direct sun) in summer.

[missionaryman]

thanks guys, I will try both your suggestions but I have to think there's something else at play here.

When I did this at Carbatec I applied it freshly to raw timber and began sanding as soon as it had absorbed - call it 2 minutes and worked it into a deep sheen in about 2 - 5 minutes with the Festool sander they had there.

The assistant was doing it all the time I was there demonstrating it to different people and each time he applied it fresh and worked it up to a sheen in minutes.
It slurrys up pretty quickly, you work the slurry away and then in no time it's shiny with the grain completely filled - mirror finish. It looks like someone's poured liquid resin over it but just not as shiny.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

It's also possible that you applied too much. If it penetrates too deeply into the timber before you burnish it, it leeches back out and mattes the finish. Hence the need to let it dry off for a few days before the final buff.

That's only a guess, mind.

It was also demo'd at our local turning club and looked so quick & simple. When I got home I tried it again for myself (having previously bought a can and been disappointed with the results) and the piece came up beautifully. The next time I tried applying it, back to dull matt finishes and waiting days before final buff... so now I stick to DO.

[missionaryman]

It's also possible that you applied too much. If it penetrates too deeply into the timber before you burnish it, it leeches back out and mattes the finish. Hence the need to let it dry off for a few days before the final buff.

That's only a guess, mind.

It was also demo'd at our local turning club and looked so quick & simple. When I got home I tried it again for myself (having previously bought a can and been disappointed with the results) and the piece came up beautifully. The next time I tried applying it, back to dull matt finishes and waiting days before final buff... so now I stick to DO.

It must be the male version of "this looked so good on me in the shop but now my bum looks too big in it"
What's DO - Danish Oil?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

It must be the male version of "this looked so good on me in the shop but now my bum looks too big in it"

I'm gonna have to remember that one!

What's DO - Danish Oil?

Yep. I mean the Tung Oil based stuff, not the tins of PolyU with a teaspoon of Tung waved over the top. (I actually prefer 100% Tung and waiting, but... $$$)

[missionaryman]

mmm I'll have to buy me some Danish Oil then - do you recommend any particular brand?

[tea lady]

what type of wood was the demo on? Maybe different woods absorb the oil differently.

Also, I thought hard burnishing oil had tung oil in it to.

When I have used it the pieces seem to loose their sheen after awhile. I got a nice sheen when I first did it, but it kind of dulled off.

[Ashore]

The burnishing oil needs heat , too much pressure on a ros and you dont get the heat , what type of material and how thick is it that you using between the sander and the wood ,

[missionaryman]

I went back today and did the demo again, I'm doing a few things wrong namely I should be buffing with 1500 grit paper and not using so much pressure on the ROS, I shouldn't let the first coat dry for more than 30hrs or less than 24 and the second coat should be a thin coat and buffed in straight away.

[Ashore]

I gather your about using the organoil on a lathe . For buffing on a flat surface I use a piece of linen ( old pillow case ) about 1' square folded in half ,pour some oil on the wood place the cloth over it and a 1/3 sheet sander over the cloth and run with a fare bit of pressure this heats the oil and you get good penertration and finish , added advantage it cleans whatever paper you have on the sander

[missionaryman]

I gather your about using the organoil on a lathe . For buffing on a flat surface I use a piece of linen ( old pillow case ) about 1' square folded in half ,pour some oil on the wood place the cloth over it and a 1/3 sheet sander over the cloth and run with a fare bit of pressure this heats the oil and you get good penertration and finish , added advantage it cleans whatever paper you have on the sander

very interesting - I must try this, no I'm not using a lathe. I'm using a random orbital sander on flat surfaces.