Watco Danish Oil ?

David Loukides

David Loukides

Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
1,363
Hi Guy's
I am trying out Watco Danish oil on a piece of unstabilized California Claro Walnut, as the instructions say on the can.
What do you use to increase it's shine? Or Brighten the finish?
Thank's,
Dave
 
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I use Watco Danish oil on about everything that needs an oil finish. Just completed two with walnut using it. My method follows the can directions except in adding coats until no more soaks up in around 20 min. It seems to help by wiping off the excess to avoid gummy residue. After 24 hrs. you can buff using pink no scratch rouge and wax. Got to be careful with walnut and the buffing rouge since the more open grain can fill with off colored "stuff" and end up not so good. If the wood pores are really open, you can french polish with the Danish oil and get good results. Just be sure to let it dry completely before wiping or buffing after french polish.
 
I learned the basics of this technique from Bruce Bump's posts. It works really well.

Sand the wood as fine as you want. Walnut is hard enough that you can go to a very high grit. Apply the oil in thin coats and sand it in with a fresh clean piece of paper each time. This will help the sanding dust fill the pores. Allow each coat to cure, lightly sand off any excess and do it all again... and again... and again. This may take a few days.

When the wood just won't soak up any more oil, give it a final light coat and let it dry, then burnish it by hand with old, soft denim. Don't be too gentle, moderate friction and heat are your friends in this case. It likely won't get as glossy as stabilized wood can, but it will have a nice shine, and a lovely warm "glow" that showcases the natural chatoyance of the wood without being gaudy. It will also feel warm, comfy and "grippy" in the hand.

I don't know if a buffer is a good idea or not, I never tried that. See Rick's comments above.

Hand-rubbed walnut and maple handles are my all-time personal favorites. I think you'll like it. :thumbup:
 
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Thank You Both,
I Have time to try your suggestions on a few blocks I cut from a slab of Burl awhile back.
Thanks James I have a Good supply right now.
Sincerely,
Dave
 
James that's a great description of what I meant by "french polish". I use 600g wet/dry in a circular motion to fill the pores. The time given to let it dry seems to make a difference in final shine. Here's one just finished done this way.
KevinChan027-1.jpg
 
Hi Rick,
Is French polishing using 600grit wet and dry paper while you apply the oil? Then lightly removing the excess , allowing it to dry?
Thanks,
Dave
 
Yup, it's just like James said. Wet the paper with the oil and sand in a circular motion doing small sections at a time. Keep things pretty wet and change paper each wetting cycle. Let the whole thing get pretty dry before wiping down. You'll be letting the fine "dust" mix with the oil and fill the wood pores. If you wipe while too wet, you'll drag the filler back out of the pores. Takes a little longer, but the results are worth it, especially on walnut.
 
The Watco Danish oil has been my favorite to use on walnut for many years. Do what James and Rick said.

Ric
 
This is the first time I tried the new method of French polishing and using dennin to rub it out.
It worked out Very Good.
The finish has a light sheen which is what I was looking for.

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Thank you for your Help:)
 
Very nice. I often do my gunstocks in that low gloss satin finish. It seems to hold up better over the long haul and is easy to do.

Btw, I absolutely LOVE that pattern blade of yours! That shape just seems to be right in every respect. One of these days I will own one of yours....


-Xander
 
Looks like you're doing it right! I agree with Xander, that is a beautiful pattern :thumbup:
 
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