Suitable oil finish to replace Wipe On Poly?

[la Huerta]

Having been out of the game for 15yrs or so and just starting to find my way back


Wipe on Poly was my go to product for finishing. But times have changed and it is to hard to get and to pricy now.


Looking for recomendations as to what else I can try. I'm working indoors (spare room), so I need a non toxic product now that is'nt going to gas me out.

I like to apply many fine coats to build a finish (usually around 8-12) with a rag.

Won't be used on any high wear items, a cedar dressing table, teak shoe box, that sort of thing.

Satin/low sheen finish, not to matt, and not shiny.

My thoughts was something like Danish oil might be the go, or a Beeswax Oil combo


Any input appriecated.

[barri]

I know you asked about oil but I make my own wipe on poly. 50% poly and 50% turps

I also make my own danish oil. 33% turps, 33% tung or boiled linseed oil, 33% poly

My go to finish is 10 coats of shellac, which can be done in a day, followed by wax and buff. A light sand ( 600 grit ) between coats 4 and 5 and 6 and 8. That makes it very smooth

[jack620]

I also make my own danish oil. 33% turps, 33% tung or boiled linseed oil, 33% poly

Me too, with pure tung oil. I love it.

[mpot]

I also make my own danish oil. 33% turps, 33% tung or boiled linseed oil, 33% poly

Another vote for making your own danish oil - I do the same.

[la Huerta]

Love the home made brews

You fella's use regular turps or "white spirits"?

[mpot]

Love the home made brews

You fella's use regular turps or "white spirits"?

I use White Spirits from the big green store.

[jack620]

I use regular turps. What’s the advantage of white spirit (naptha)?

Interestingly, I see the Diggers white spirit and shellite are both 100% naptha,
but the shellite is $4/L more expensive. What gives?

[markharrison]

I used to use Minwax wipe on polyurethane when it was available and it was a fine product.

Feast Watson have a wipe on polyurethane you can buy at the big green box but. As it comes from the shop, it is too thick and you will get a far inferior finish. The good news is that the only thing you really need to do is thin it out more. I used (I think) roughly two parts poly to one part low odour turps. You get a vastly superior result than with it unthined. IMO, anyway.

I've since stopped using poly at all. I've been using Livos and besides giving a nice lustrous finish, low odour and none of the nasty finishing smells. Another option I've tried is Whittle Waxes hard wax oil. Also gives a great result with low effort or skill required. Also very durable. Hard wax oils (I've been told) were developed for flooring.

[CharlieZ]

I'm also an ex wipe-on poly user, mostly because Minwax became unavailable. So I moved to hard wax oils, in particular Osmo PolyX, which i think has its origins in floor finishing. I really liked it a lot and used it for years but then, with some prompting from friends who are professional cabinet-makers, moved on to Rubio Monocoat which is also a hard wax oil, but with some fancy additives that allow you to get a quick drying finish coat in one pass. Its very expensive though and is a matte finish. I liked it enough to persist for a few years, but the price got worse, I did not always want a flat matte finish and not being a commercial operator i did not really need the production efficiency gains it offered. So I'm now happily back with Osmo PolyX. I must confess to never having tried the traditional oils finishes most others here are keen on. Maybe i should?

[D.W.]

I'm also an ex wipe-on poly user, mostly because Minwax became unavailable. So I moved to hard wax oils, in particular Osmo PolyX, which i think has its origins in floor finishing. I really liked it a lot and used it for years but then, with some prompting from friends who are professional cabinet-makers, moved on to Rubio Monocoat which is also a hard wax oil, but with some fancy additives that allow you to get a quick drying finish coat in one pass. Its very expensive though and is a matte finish. I liked it enough to persist for a few years, but the price got worse, I did not always want a flat matte finish and not being a commercial operator i did not really need the production efficiency gains it offered. So I'm now happily back with Osmo PolyX. I must confess to never having tried the traditional oils finishes most others here are keen on. Maybe i should?

The oil you're buying, if getting a second part, is basically part of polyurethane (the second part - diisocyanate) combined with oil and wax. It's astonishing what people will pay for it.

Diisocyanate can be bought here in the states as automotive general hardener. It's sensitizing to touch - highly.

I've never used either of the types you're talking about, but rather went to making varnish when prompted by a friend "what do you do if you don't want to spray WB finish and you need water resistance that french polish doesn't have". Not exactly a reasonable next step (cook varnish).

it's a shame basic good polyurethanes are scarce there, but VOC rules are making many of them weird here, too. I did my floor last year with a one part urethane - it's tough as all get out, but like syrup out of the container and I ended up using xylene to thin it at the suggestion of a chemist (stinky!!!!!!!!!! organic vapor respirator when doing the floors and nobody else was home). some of the basic types like general finishes arm r seal still exist, but they are just basic polyurethanes for an inflated price - I guess they may beat the VOC rules by classifying their finish as not for use on houses or architectural woodwork, or just paying a fee for not meeting VOC rules.

I suppose we're going to save the world by restricting DIY finishes, and then offering a waiver to certain types saying on paper they don't qualify as VOCs, but according to the chemist, what's used in my floor finish is far more nasty than stoddard solvent and naptha (and in his words and a couple of harvard phd chems, 40 times more destructive to ozone). Government at work, I guess.

[markharrison]

it's a shame basic good polyurethanes are scarce there, but VOC rules are making many of them weird here, too. I did my floor last year with a one part urethane - it's tough as all get out, but like syrup out of the container and I ended up using xylene to thin it at the suggestion of a chemist (stinky!!!!!!!!!! organic vapor respirator when doing the floors and nobody else was home). some of the basic types like general finishes arm r seal still exist, but they are just basic polyurethanes for an inflated price - I guess they may beat the VOC rules by classifying their finish as not for use on houses or architectural woodwork, or just paying a fee for not meeting VOC rules.

The absence of Minwax from Australian markets is to do with poor commercial decisions made by Minwax or their distributors.

Government at work, I guess.

Having had a long career in commercial business, believe me, businesses are no less prone to poor decisions than governments or other institutions.

[D.W.]

The absence of Minwax from Australian markets is to do with poor commercial decisions made by Minwax or their distributors.



Having had a long career in commercial business, believe me, businesses are no less prone to poor decisions than governments or other institutions.

I agree with that last statement! Worked for a global company before leaving 15 years ago, and we had a highly profitable line of business that had been humming along for 20 years. It didn't grow, but it was stable.

The national leadership decided that they should ditch that business into something more growth oriented, and sent all of the clients of the business a letter telling them they'd need to go elsewhere. The growth never happened, the client left, the business lost a lot of margin and profit that was basically hands off and self sufficient and I never did hear anyone say "ghee, that wasn't a great idea".

I left, so did a bunch of other people, and the attitude of leadership was customers and clients don't follow people, so it was no big deal. About 3/4ths of the work followed the sales and technical staff that left over the next couple of years and the staff of the local group is about 10 people (it was 100 when I was there).

When businesses blame someone else for changes they need to make, I usually assume they were profit seeking. Varnishes have largely disappeared here with the excuse that the government doesn't like the contents. I just reviewed a few of the older varnish labels, which listed the contents. They are less nasty than even waterlox - but they probably weren't as profitable as directing everyone to polyurethane instead.

[GM2]

Evan Dunstone in Australian Woodsmith Issue #150 gives a great insight into his Finishing Secrets. His finish is made up with 3 parts Livos Kunos oil, mixed with 2 parts gloss Marine Spar Varnish (can be Cabots interior) thinned with 10% mineral turps. I have used this on many projects. A beautiful finish.
If of interest am happy to email a copy of the article.

[D.W.]

Question - when you talk about turpentine in Australia, is it a hydrocarbon product or something distilled from pine resin?

I was under the impression that "real" turpentine is hard to come by there.

Separately, here in the US, it's become a sport to combine a finish, an oil and a thinner and try to attract new people who will click on revenue links. It's become an irk of mine, not because the finish type isn't useful for some folks, but because it is presented every time as if it is a new idea.

I'm waiting for the magazine article where someone touts "easy baltic amber varnish making".

Of course, no such article will appear, and the appeal of being even introduced to something like that would be more experienced readers rather than high spending beginners. Something nobody really likes.

[calabrese55]

You can make you own wipe on finish pretty simply. The formula is approximately 40 % poly varnish gloss or satin the brushing kind + 40% tung oil lastly 20 percent mineral spirits. The formula is not critical more poly gives a harder finish, more tung oil gives a better buttery finish and mote spirits a thinner finish.
Dries in about 1 hour depending on climate leaves a smooth finish you can buff with a soft cloth and add as many coats as you like.
I have used it for years and it is pretty much fool proof. If you have the components give it a try on a scarp piece of your wood construction.
calabrese55