Danish oil problem

Dixon1995

Hey everyone im wondering if anyone can help.

Last week I danish oiled some of that rio PINE corona furniture you get in B&M , in Jacobean dark oak colour. I really like the colour it has given. I managed to achieve this by lightly sanding the existing wax finish with 120 grit, and then cleaning and then applying 3 coats. All went well.

Until I started a second peice yesterday. I don't know why, but in my strange wisdom I decided to really strip all of the wax down to bare wood with 120 grit and turpintine as I thought I would get a better finish.

Wrong. I applied the danish oil this time and it doesnt sit on the surface like it did before, it just drinks the oil too much and goes black on the first coat in the grain

After doing some research I think my mistake has been not sanding upto 160/180 and then 220, and then applying the oil. I have managed to wire wool and white spirit most of it so that its lighter again, but what do I do next to get an even finish coat after coat so that it doesnt soak in too quick? Im trying to wet the surface of the wood and wipe off the excess, theres no excess :rotfl:

Big mistake this time I will just do what I did the first time on my next peice, but any remedy to get it half decent and not too dark? I know jacobean dark oak is dark anyway but I want to control how dark it goes, not have the wood drink the oil.

Sorry for the long post / rant

[Deleted User]

I am no professional but I'd probably try applying a light coat of wax again on a hidden part of the wood to see if that stops the wood absorbing the oil so much. I suspect it will.

Or try using different oils that won't darken the wood so much.

Norman_Castle

Dixon1995 wrote: »

I know jacobean dark oak is dark anyway but I want to control how dark it goes, not have the wood drink the oil.

Oil finishes are supposed to soak into the wood and should be used on bare wood.

Dixon1995

Thanks for the replies.

I seen some youtube videos were by they applied danish oil and then wiped off the excess leaving a very attractive looking peice of wood, this isn't happening with my wood lol. Large areas are just turning black straight away. That isn't normal and didn't happen to my last peice.

troffasky

How black, exactly? I used steel wool on a piece of furniture in conjunction with paint stripper, and it caused lots of black blotches apparently due to a reaction with the tannin in the wood. Next time I will be using stainless steel wool instead.

Dixon1995

Id say once it dried 1st coat looked like id used black spray paint on the top. Something to think about as I did use steel wool and white spirit to remove old wax. Back to the drawing board

troffasky

I wouldn't have thought it would look literally like a coat of paint if it was the steel reacting with the tannins. Perhaps test it on some scrap wood.

lewisa

If you've got waxed wood then a bit of sanding isn't going to cut it. You need to remove all the wax. Think like 80grit on a random orbital. Or if you are old fashioned you can do it using cabinet scrapers.