# ...Danish Oil...



## Jezmaster (5 Nov 2006)

hi, i have just finished making my oak coffee table. and have applied 1 coat of danish oil. leaving it 6 hours, then i put on the 2nd coat. im thinking of putting on 3 coats, as its bare timber. ive applied the oil with a foam pad brush, just like how norm would do. gives a nice finish, but, to feel the surface once dry, i can feel slight rough pimples, would a fine wire wool, do the trick on the 3 rd coat once dry.


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## DaveL (5 Nov 2006)

Hi Jez, 

I use finishing oil which is very similar to Danish oil, both being tung oil based. 
I brush on, leave for ~10 minutes then rub off any oil that has not soaked in with a rag. Beware of throwing scrunched up rags in the bin, they spontaneously combust. Leave then spread out flat to dry and then chuck them away. 
Leave to harden off for ~8 hours and then apply the next coat. 
I have used very fine steel wool to denib the surface but have now gone over to using the abrasive pads, like the green washing up scourers. I am using some from Chestnut, they do different grades, the finest one that is still abrasive is grey in colour and leaves the surface smooth as a babies bum.


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## Jezmaster (5 Nov 2006)

thanks. i thought i was on the right track with the fine wire wool.

wanted to confirm before i did it. would'nt want it to leave scratches in the finish


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## woodbloke (5 Nov 2006)

The use of wire wool on oak is not generally recommended as the tannin in the oak can react with particles in the wire wool and cause black staining. Much better to de-nib with very fine, worn 320g paper and then apply another coat of oil - Rob


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## tim (5 Nov 2006)

As Rob says: Do NOT use wire wool on oak. 

Cheers

Tim


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## Aragorn (5 Nov 2006)

Yep - Wire wool and Oak do NOT mix!


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## Jezmaster (5 Nov 2006)

opps to late, ive wire wooled it. i let the 3rd coat dry, then lighty rubbed it smoth. so wht would happen next, may i see rust marks?


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## Aragorn (5 Nov 2006)

You get black stain marks as the wire wool reacts with the tannins in the oak.
Looks quite a mess.
Fingers crossed :norm:


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## Anonymous (5 Nov 2006)

Yes I use very fine and slightly used emory paper (400 grit?? I'm not up on code numbers/statistics etc) And just the lightest going over. I also rub down with handfulls of fine shavings usually ash, beech or pine especially when the final wax coat is done. I did my kitchen work top's (oak) finished with ece reform smoother, scrapers and emory; they have had approx 12 coats of danish/teak/linseed various sorts whatever I had to use up. You get a durable hard surface especially the end grain its like glass SAABB as Dave would say :lol: :lol: wire wool does indeed stain oak and quickly if a few particle's are left behind in a little split or something plus I dont like the feel of steel wol especially when you tear it off the big lump :roll: Also I sometimes put on a coat or 2 of danish onto a tricky grain surface before doing a final treatment with a scraper, I find it holds the grain "together" and you get less risk of tearout (sort of like when a pathologist embeds a tissue sample in special wax so it can be sliced THIN in a microtome without destroying the cell structure so it can be put onto a microscope slide); my dads company used to sell microtomes and stuff they had a blade sharpening machine would crate an edge with only a micron on its edge :shock: it worked off diamond paste in a copper disc, it looked like a record player, would grind one bevel, then tilt it over and do the other, then tilt it back again, back and forth until you got _that edge_ :lol: :lol:


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## Jezmaster (5 Nov 2006)

so ive messed up the finish basically


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## Aragorn (5 Nov 2006)

The stains can show up quick quickly I think - a matter of days.
Anyone had first hand experience of this...?

One solution presumably would be to sand right back to bare wood and then a bit, and start the finish all over again.


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## Adam (5 Nov 2006)

Maybe you got luckier than me, but when I have applied (just once) Danish Oil and left it to dry for the recommended period on the tin (about 4-6 hours from memory)- it looked awful. Subsequently I was told to always rub it off within 5-10 minutes max after applying it - then you get a super smooth finish without any of the "bumpiness". 

You can buy a "steel wool" substitute which isn't actually made with steel - can't remember the name. Hopefully, provided you haven't cut it back too hard, the oak will be sealed in with the first coats so you should be OK.

Adam


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## DaveL (6 Nov 2006)

Er sorry Jez, I missed that you were finishing oak.  
I used steel wool when I was finishing pine. :roll: 
I hope that you cleaned all the traces of steel wool off before you applied the next coat, if you did then it should be OK. 8-[


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## Jezmaster (6 Nov 2006)

no, i used wire wool, on the very last coat when it dried, to knock off the bumps, them cleans table with air, to blow away particles. then the table i could use


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## Aragorn (8 Nov 2006)

So.... Howz it looking then?
Any progress or problems with the finish?


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## Jezmaster (9 Nov 2006)

outcoe was good, blew off every trace of wire wool with air compressor, just 3 coats of danush oil, and the table looks lovely


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