Finishing Walnut with Osmo ease and tung oil depth

[AndrewG]

Help! Like may (I believe) I thought I had found a simple solution to all my furniture finishing needs in Osmo Poly-x Oil.

However I have two chairs in my kitchen made with Walnut seats, and the one I made before discovering Osmo is finished in my version of a 'Maloof' tung/linseed/poly mix. It took multiple coats and weeks to properly dry and stop smelling, but the walnut has a much deeper, richer look compared to the Osmo finished one that by contrast looks a bit 'flat'.

Of course I have now been ask to make four for someone else...who prefers the look of the oil/poly version (and I don't blame her, I do too). I rang Osmo tech support to see if I could get away with a coat of tung oil before the Osmo Poly-x, but was told it was simply a question of less sanding.....if I sanded to 120 rather than 220 then the wood would absorb more Poly-x and gain the richer finish, removing the need for tung or other additional oils, that they could not recommend under their finishes anyway.

Clearly the idea of keeping it simple, getting the desired 'tung like' deeper richer finish AND less sanding is compelling. But could it really be that simple and are we all sanding our projects too much if finishing with Osmo ? I clearly need to try on some samples, but wanted to see if anyone else had experience of the sanding vs penetration of Osmo finishes or had other suggestions for finishing walnut chair seats. Wondering now if warming the Osmo might thin and aid penetration too?

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

You could try adding some terebine driers to your 'Maloof' mix.
https://www.jacksonsart.com/handover-li ... JAQAvD_BwE

 

[Beau]

I would use Liberon finishing oil. It's my go to oil having tried Osmo and disliked the flat finish that it gives. Pretty sure there is plenty of Tung oil in the Finishing oil judging by the smell of it but it dries quickly.

I dont subscribe to lots of thin coats and flood the wood on the first coat as this is the coat which will penetrate deep into the wood. I keep working the first liberal coat over the wood until I get the first hint of it starting to thicken up and then go to wipe off with a second clean cloth. Alternatively a wiped on traditional poly varnish might achieve much the same.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

We did some green woodwork using walnut. Various people used different finishes, including walnut oil and linseed. The final colour was quite a bit different; the linseed was notably darker and richer than anything else. When I was finishing a walnut chair seat, I also tried linseed and Danish oil on some scrap. Again the linseed was darker, but I went for Danish in the end because linseed would have turned the ash parts too yellow.

So, I would speculate that it is more to do with the linseed, and not the sanding.

 

[ED65]

...in my version of a 'Maloof' tung/linseed/poly mix.

Ditch the tung (it adds nothing of note), use a good fast-drying BLO and you should be able to comfortably apply one coat a day, which doesn't make for too punishing a finishing schedule.

I find with a mix like this that 3-4 coats is almost always enough so you're comfortably done in under a week. Nothing much to be done about the smell dissipating other than to leave the project somewhere warm and dry with good airflow!

 

[AndrewG]

Thanks for pointing out the drying additive, Paul, but I really wanted to avoid going back to blending my own concoctions - seems like additional risk when the finished item is going in someone else's home.
So turning to a Liberon oil product seem a good option and they do all the options - Tung, BLO, DO and FO and in 'quick drying' versions too. Guess I need to plump for one or test to see if Linseed really does give a richer sheen worth the extra drying time. I have seen a number of good words for the Finishing Oil on Walnut (many from you, Beau) on this Forum so tempted to test that if I can get hold of some easily
. I am guessing products like Finishing Oil and Danish Oil are effectively oil/poly blends so I don't have to go down the road of blending my own.

So am now thinking that a Liberon Oil (which TBD) is a 'safe' option for my Walnut seats....but am still curious to test whether you really can affect finish depth and yellowing by Poly-X my changing final sanding grit. Will feedback when I have done a test

 

[Beau]

Thanks for pointing out the drying additive, Paul, but I really wanted to avoid going back to blending my own concoctions - seems like additional risk when the finished item is going in someone else's home.
So turning to a Liberon oil product seem a good option and they do all the options - Tung, BLO, DO and FO and in 'quick drying' versions too. Guess I need to plump for one or test to see if Linseed really does give a richer sheen worth the extra drying time. I have seen a number of good words for the Finishing Oil on Walnut (many from you, Beau) on this Forum so tempted to test that if I can get hold of some easily
. I am guessing products like Finishing Oil and Danish Oil are effectively oil/poly blends so I don't have to go down the road of blending my own.

So am now thinking that a Liberon Oil (which TBD) is a 'safe' option for my Walnut seats....but am still curious to test whether you really can affect finish depth and yellowing by Poly-X my changing final sanding grit. Will feedback when I have done a test

Yes I know I bang on about it but I feel it's under rated finish and Osmo is over rated. I just like the depth of colour it gives to darker woods. I suspect nothing will quite match the depth of colour the linseed gives you but I would certainly try a sample of the Liberon oil and see what you think.

Not the best picture but this is Liberon finishing oil on English walnut

 

[ED65]

...I really wanted to avoid going back to blending my own concoctions - seems like additional risk when the finished item is going in someone else's home.

Blending your own is actually the safer option sometimes if you know the characteristics of the ingredients, and there is very little to go wrong in a simple mixture of this kind.

To be sure, you could start a test of a DIY version of Danish oil tonight and by Wednesday morning you'll now whether it gives you what you're looking for.

 

[AndrewG]

Thanks Beau and ED for the encouragement.
The latest development is that I rang Liberon Tech Support, as I though that was the best short cut to settling on which of their oils to try. Taken aback that the emphatic response to the best option for Walnut kitchen chairs was......Teal Oil.....the only option I had previously not considered. I got them to repeat themselves but they were adamant that it was the only one that would 'penetrate', the others would leave me with a 'sticky mess' apparently. Now I know Beau will take issue with that and I am not convinced as my little experience of Teal oil on outdoor furniture was that it is very thin and did little for an admittedly very weathered teak lounger.

Clearly cannot avoid doing my own testing

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Teal oil ? Are you sure ? How many ducks would you need to render to get enough :lol:

 

[Beau]

Now I know Beau will take issue with that and I am not convinced as my little experience of Teal oil on outdoor furniture was that it is very thin and did little for an admittedly very weathered teak lounger.

Clearly cannot avoid doing my own testing

No I wont be taking issue. Had forgotten about teak oil myself. Used it on a mahogany rocking horse many moons ago and it does penetrate very well. Dont remember it being hugely different to the Finishing oil re colour and a bit slower drying but a good finish none the less. Only answer as you say is try some samples and see what you like.

Alan Peters recommended using teak oil over linseed in one of his books. Speeded up the process due it's drying speed. Will see if I can dig it out.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

... Ditch the tung (it adds nothing of note) ...

Why do manufacturers of Varnish and Danish make so much of the tung content, then? They obviously do think it adds something - they certainly don't add it it because it's cheap.

 

[ED65]

Why do manufacturers of Varnish and Danish make so much of the tung content, then?

It's different in varnishes Phil where it's the primary (or sole) oil.

It adds nothing of note in a mixture like this is what I was saying. The varnish component already adds more resistance to water, improves build and gloss, the BLO gives the greater saturation that straight varnish alone might not provide. So what's the tung oil's there for?

All that you're doing when you include tung in such a mixture is increasing the proportion of oil from more than half to over two thirds, which could be argued is actually detrimental overall (with apologies to the late great Sam Maloof).

 

[custard]

what's the tung oil's there for?

Chinese woodworkers have sworn by it for about 2,000 years, if there was something that better met their needs I guess they'd have found it by now!

I have heard that it's the most waterproof of all the natural oils, I'm not a chemist or a botanist so I can't really comment on that. However, as a practical furniture maker I do know it seems to add a bit of extra depth and lusciousness to fine timbers. Consequently I usually make my wiping varnishes with Epifanes varnish, tung oil, and thinner. I'm happy with the result. Here's that blend on Black Walnut, which I believe is what the OP is considering