[FaTToaD]

Finishing Gurus,

Since I first started woodworking I've always been intrigued by the idea of "homemade" finishes. Last night I finally made my own "danish oil" by adding 1/3 poly, 1/3 BLO, and 1/3 mineral spirits. I put it on a few test pieces and so far it seems to work great. However, I have no idea what kind of shelf life it will have. I put it in an old spaghetti sauce jar with white plumber's tape on the threads to make sure it's air tight.

How long can I expect it to last?

Also, this got me wondering what other type of "homemade" finishes are out there. I really like oil finishes like danish oil or BLO, is there any other combinations that work well? I remember seeing something once about beeswax and oil but I can't remember where I saw it.

Any of you finishing experts out there have some recipes you'd like to share?

Thanks.

 

[Kentuk55]

I would write the date you made it on the jar. Thats all I can suggest. I think the teflon tape is a great idea.

 

[sbryan55]

David, I have found that, once it is diluted with mineral spirits, poly mixtures tend to last much longer than concentrates. I have had poly skim over within a few months of opening the can. I toss the finish once this happens. Whereas I have kept poly/blo/mineral spirits mixes well in excess of two years without doing anything other than making sure the lid is on tight. I generally make them up one gallon at a time and run with this until I need to mix some more.

 

[Kentuk55]

Thnx for your input Scott. It's nice to hear it lasts for that amount of time. Appreciate you having an answer for David, and myself.

 

[FaTToaD]

Yes, thanks for the info Scott. I had no idea it'd last that long, that's good to know so I can mix up bigger quantities at once.

 

[peteg]

Hi David, I had a play about and did some trialing some years ago and found the following all work very well.
DANISH: Try thinning with about 20% meths & use it as a undercoat, an overcoat of Teak will generally give you a good hard polish finish.

"HUNGRY" WOOD: A good sealer for real hungry timber is equal patrs of, Poly, Raw linseed oil, Tung il & Vegetable (gum) turps (not mineral) dont use this on food items or under spirit based finishes shellac etc

WAX: If you want to have a go at your own wax then mix up equal parts of beeswax and vegetable turps, make sure you keep it in an airtight jar.
Sealer, I generally use a mix of mineral turps & poly as universal sealer, theproportions to suit the timber; hard timber a little thinner soft a little thicker, anywhere between 30% to 70% poly
look forward to seeing other peoples recipies, this is a fasinating topic

 

[Lochlainn1066]

Any sort of oil-based varnish mixed 1:1 with mineral spirits makes a wiping varnish. I like Behlen's Rock Hard Tabletop varnish, it has a nice deep color to it. And thinning it does make it last longer before it skins over.