Ash with an oiled finish?

[Stevie-Raw]

Just picked up a commision for a hallway cabinet in ash. It needs to have some water resistance so I can't use my usual trick of using shellac polish to keep it as white as possible. My customer wants an oiled finish but I feel this will leave the ash looking extremely yellow and having carried out some test pieces my feelings have been confirmed. Has anybody used oil on ash? Do you think it looks good overall? I'm sure I read that David Savage favours an oiled finish on ash but personally I can't see it working. I'm on the page of using an acrylic varnish at the moment. What do you folks reckon?

Steve

 

[wizer]

You could try Lemon Oil, which is quite clear. Otherwise, you're right, Oil on Ash is basically the same as pi$$ing on it.

 

[RogerS]

Idrostop. Usually used on tiles but gives water resistance to wood, JasonB did some research on this somewhere or other. I've used it.It's good. Minimal discolouration.

 

[JonnyD]

I have recently done an Ash staircase and used this

http://www.hardwaxoil.co.uk/?gclid=CPv5 ... wodHxwjeA#

There is slight colour change but it was more mellow than orangey. They also do a white tinted one which might be worth experimenting with.

Jon

 

[matthewwh]

Raw sun bleached linseed is pretty clear, you are always going to get some mellowing on very pale timbers, but this is the best I have used for colour preservation.

Another idea is to try bleaching with oxalic acid before applying the finish, you'll lose some grain definition, but the less colour you have to begin with, the less the oil can do to enhance it.

 

[Stevie-Raw]

Thanks for the ideas - The fiddes Hardwax sounds good.

Cheers
Steve

 

[OPJ]

Osmo also do a well-regarded range of Hardwax Oils (have a look at Rutlands). You may even find they're slightly cheaper than Fiddes. I couldn't comment on how the two compare though.