Refinishing cabs with danish oil

[GD70]

I've been using Watcos and have been very happy with the results. All my projects had Walnut veneer except for two, which were Rose wood and Ebony. The Ebony was the only veneer I used stain on for color and were finished with 28 coats of lacquer.
Regarding oil, I use natural color. Only when needed to match a certain area will I use Walnut medium or dark colored oil.
The red hue mentioned comes naturally with old Walnut veneer. New veneer will usually need stain for the desired color.
When applying, I always use an old sock or t-shirt, never brush it on. Steel wool can leave little steel fibers in the wood grain and I don't use it anymore. I sand with 600 grit paper between oil applications, once every 24 hours, and will also wet sand with the oil.
Glenn

 

[malden]

Excellent, thank you! I'll give it a try.

https://www.shellac.net/SolarLuxDye.html

My $.02 even though I'm not the one you asked.

You have to use a base color first. Solar-Lux dye is one you could use that can be wiped on. So, you would need the dye and the retarder to slow the dry time otherwise you'll get lap marks. If the tone is too dark/intense you can reduce it a bit by adding up to 10% denatured alcohol. Perhaps try the nutmeg brown dye, which may give you the color you're looking for all by itself. Regardless, after one hour you can apply a wiping stain over the dye if you want. If you are happy with the dye color alone wait a day before applying any kind of wiping finish.

Keep in mind the dye is alcohol based and doesn't keep the wet look for more than a minute, so best to experiment on the underside first.

 

[F1nut]

Excellent, thank you! I'll give it a try.

https://www.shellac.net/SolarLuxDye.html

One other tip, use thick latex gloves when playing with dyes as it will not come off your skin easily.

 

[Gerres26]

One other tip, use thick latex gloves when playing with dyes as it will not come off your skin easily.

Take F1nut's advise when it comes to finishing wood. He talked me away from using oil products with my 1.2tls i just reveneered and into using Minwax wipe on poly and they turned out great. Easy to apply, great protection for the wood, and still gives you a finish that allows the grain to show up nicely. I used sapele veneer for my project.

 

[GD70]

Take F1nut's advise when it comes to finishing wood. He talked me away from using oil products with my 1.2tls i just reveneered and into using Minwax wipe on poly and they turned out great. Easy to apply, great protection for the wood, and still gives you a finish that allows the grain to show up nicely. I used sapele veneer for my project.
View attachment 900530
View attachment 900531
View attachment 900532

They look fabulous!

 

[malden]

Take F1nut's advise when it comes to finishing wood. He talked me away from using oil products with my 1.2tls i just reveneered and into using Minwax wipe on poly and they turned out great. Easy to apply, great protection for the wood, and still gives you a finish that allows the grain to show up nicely. I used sapele veneer for my project.

I just refinished a LANE mid-century coffee table using Minwax Wipe-On Poly. I first applied 2 coats of regular Minwax Clear Satin Poly with a brush to quickly build up a base, then applied a coat of Wipe-On Poly as the final coat, light sanding with 220 between coats. Very nice finish.

 

[loudnoises]

Anyone else use Orange Oil? https://generalfinishes.com/retail-products/furniture-repair-and-maintenance/orange-oil Picked up a bottle 20 years ago, still have plenty left. Nothing brings out grain and color like this. Cleans well too. Really dry wood wants another coat the next day, but this stuff has saved me from having to refinish pieces i was sure were too far gone. On woods like purpleheart it really makes the colors glow.

At the very least, it has a very notable positive effect on WAF when used correctly. The only notable ingredient is D-Limonene, and it smells like oranges. No nasty stink.

MSDS on D-Limonene http://www.cleanersolutions.org/downloads/msds/356/D Limonene MSDS.pdf

 

[bberkom]

I mix my own oil/poly finishes for any furniture I make or speaker refinishing projects. One part boiled linseed oil, one part raw tung oil, one part polyurethane (pick the sheen you want here). Each oil has its own natural benefits as far as UV and moisture resistance. Wipe on, let sit for 30 minutes, wipe off. Let it dry for a couple of days between coats, buff with steel wool, and reapply until you build up a strong finish of many thin layers, usually 4-6 coats. It takes forever but produces a very consistent and dust-free finish that can't be achieved with premixed finishes and formulas. There's also nothing wrong with just using straight BLO and a nice coat or two of paste wax for anything that won't see regular wear, like an amplifier case.

I hardly ever use stain or dye, especially with something like walnut. Any added warmth that you see in older wood is due to oxidization and reaction with UV light over time and can't really be mimicked with stain.

 

[GD70]

Here's a pic applying Watco's natural color Danish oil on Rosewood. .These are a pair of ADS L1590's I recently restored.

 

[Old Guy8]

Here's a pic applying Watco's natural color Danish oil on Rosewood. .These are a pair of ADS L1590's I recently restored.

GD70,
When you sand with 600 grid sandpaper, do you use a sanding block? Assume, would have to be careful near edges, not to sand more.

 

[GD70]

GD70,
When you sand with 600 grid sandpaper, do you use a sanding block? Assume, would have to be careful near edges, not to sand more.

Both block and by hand. 600 grit isn't going to remove much.

 

[bberkom]

Here's a pic applying Watco's natural color Danish oil on Rosewood. .These are a pair of ADS L1590's I recently restored.

Nothing like putting that first coat of oil on a well prepped surface. That veneer is incredible.

 

[GD70]

Nothing like putting that first coat of oil on a well prepped surface. That veneer is incredible.

Agree on both counts! Makes me want a pair of these, one because they are amazing from what Mike, the owner has reported, and two, that Rosewood veneer is stunning and rare!
A few more pics.

 

[F1nut]

I hardly ever use stain or dye, especially with something like walnut. Any added warmth that you see in older wood is due to oxidization and reaction with UV light over time and can't really be mimicked with stain.

With a stain or dye alone, damn near impossible, but with bleaching and a dye base, no problem.

I was called to job where the cabinetmaker was adding new walnut panels in a room with 100+ year old walnut panels and he couldn't match them. I used a two part bleach to remove the natural color, then applied a yellow dye as the base followed with a dark brown wiping stain. The color match was perfect and the client was extremely pleased with the entire outcome.

 

[mkane]

Cut Tung oil, wet sanded.

 

[GD70]

Cut TungView attachment 901027 oil, wet sanded.

Looks great! What is it?

 

[mkane]

Base for an amp. Black Walnut

 

[mkane]

 

[totem]

On the subject of finishes I have a Rosewood plinth that I built and since the colour I thought was a little subdued
a friend suggested applying a seal coat of Garnet Shellac.
It added just the right amount of pop but since the alcohol based thinner dries very quickly, large surfaces can be tricky to avoid lap marks.

The shellac is an undercoat and is lightly scuffed with 600 or higher to knock down the sheen prior to
a topcoat of your choice.

A bit old school but its an option for your bag of tricks.

 

[GD70]

On the subject of finishes I have a Rosewood plinth that I built and since the colour I thought was a little subdued
a friend suggested applying a seal coat of Garnet Shellac.
It added just the right amount of pop but since the alcohol based thinner dries very quickly, large surfaces can be tricky to avoid lap marks.

The shellac is an undercoat and is lightly scuffed with 600 or higher to knock down the sheen prior to
a topcoat of your choice.

A bit old school but its an option for your bag of tricks.

I'd like to see some pics when you get a chance.