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+-- Thread: workbench project - a good oil finish? (/showthread.php?tid=7130195)
workbench project - a good oil finish? - dspeer - 10-28-2015
I am currently working on my first real workbench. It will be solid oak, and I am thinking ahead. Applied a few drops of 100% pure Tung oil to a scrap and didn't like the outcome much. It darkened the wood more than expected, and I don't like that much. I do understand that the darkening effect happens, because it's an oil. But are there alternatives?
I don't want anything that puts a film on the surface.
Thanks in advance!
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - Rob Young - 10-28-2015
dspeer said:
I am currently working on my first real workbench. It will be solid oak, and I am thinking ahead. Applied a few drops of 100% pure Tung oil to a scrap and didn't like the outcome much. It darkened the wood more than expected, and I don't like that much. I do understand that the darkening effect happens, because it's an oil. But are there alternatives?
I don't want anything that puts a film on the surface.
Thanks in advance!
If you sweat on oak, it darkens. It can also leave dark marks on your hands, varies with body chemistry & pH.
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - dspeer - 10-28-2015
What if I spit on it?
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - Rob Young - 10-28-2015
dspeer said:
What if I spit on it?
Depends on how venomous your spit is...
Oak is not my first choice for a workbench surface (legs, stretchers, OK). But for the top, something more closed grain and generally of a light color so you get a good contrast when sighting down various tools or workpieces.
And I'm also of the opinion (now) that a general purpose woodworking workbench really doesn't need a finish. Just use it.
YMMV.
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - Bob Barkto - 10-28-2015
Straight walnut oil will dry in the wood and won't darken as much as other oils. Repels water and most adhesives.
Takes a while to dry initially, uv light helps quite a bit. Warm temps, are beneficial, too.
You can mix it equal parts with a soya alkyd varnish and mineral spirits for a light color, semi penetrating finish that is easy to renew and is more durable than any straight oil.
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - dspeer - 10-28-2015
Thanks for the tip, I will try that.
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - dspeer - 10-28-2015
I appreciate your opinion. I pondered the species question for a long time, and then some inexpensive oak came along. I built a 3 1/2 inch thick top for what douglas fir would have cost me at the big box. Couldn't resist.
The alternative would not have been hardwood. If you you accidently smack a table leg or a drawer front that you worked on for 2 hours into your bench, you want the bench to get the ding, not the furniture part.
About the no finish at all: That is certainly a thought too. It's not furniture. And while I don't want to put all this work into something ugly - it's not going to be ugly one way or another.
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - Howard Acheson - 10-28-2015
Here is some info the should be helpful. Remember, workbenches are not furniture, they are tools. They should not need to be coddled.
Opps, forgot to paste the info onto my response. Here is is, sorry:
A film finish (lacquer, shellac, varnish, poly varnish) is not the way to finish a workbench top. A workbench is going to get dinged and film finishes will crack or craze or be otherwise damaged. Once a film finish is penetrated, it looses its effectiveness and adjacent areas begin to fail. No treatment is going to make a soft wood benchtop harder. I much favor an "in the wood finish". Here are two that lots of folks find effective.
First, is an boiled linseed oil and wax finish. Sand the surface to 180 grit. Mix paraffin or bees wax into heated boiled linseed oil. USE A DOUBLE BOILER TO HEAT THE OIL. The ratio is not critical but about 5-6 parts of boiled linseed oil in a double boiler with one part paraffin or beeswax shaved in. Take it off the stove. Thin this mixture about 50/50 with mineral spirits to make a heavy cream like liquid. Apply this mixture to the benchtop liberally and allow to set overnight. Do it again the next day and again the following day if the top continues to absorb it. After a final overnight, lightly scrape off any excess wax and buff. This finish will minimize the absorbsion of any water and you can use a damp rag to wipe up any glue excess. Dried glue will pop right off the surface. Renewal or repair is easy. Just use a scraper to remove and hardened stuff, wipe down with mineral spirits using a 3/0 steel wool pad (a non-woven green or gray abrasive pad is better), wipe off the gunk and apply another coat of boiled linseed oil/wax mixture.
My personal preference is for an oil/varnish mixture treatment. Either use Minwax Tung Oil Finish, Minwax Antique oil or a homebrew of equal parts of boiled linseed oil, your favorite varnish or poly varnish and mineral spirits. Sand the benchtop up to 180 grit. Apply the mixture heavily and keep it wet for 15-30 minutes. Wipe off any excess completely. Let it dry overnight and the next day, apply another coat using a gray non-woven abrasive pad. Let it set and then wipe off any excess. Let this dry 48-72 hours. To prevent glue from sticking apply a coat of furniture paste wax and you're done. This treatment is somewhat more protective than the wax and mineral oil as the varnish component adds some protection from not only water both some other chemicals also. The waxing makes the surface a little more impervious to water so you can wipe up any liquid adhesive. It also allows hardened adhesive to be scraped off. Repair and renewal is easy. Just go throught the same scraping, wiping down with mineral spirits and reapplication of the BLO/varnish/mineral spirits mixture and an application of paste wax.
Both of the above treatments are quite protective but are easy to maintain and renew. They do not fail when the surface takes a ding.
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - JR1 - 10-28-2015
Be aware that any varnish mix will be a film finish. A friend finished his work bench top with a melted mix of MO and paraffin about 2 years ago. So far it's holding up well and does a good job of protecting against paint and glue. I used ash for my bench top and as I didn't care about darkening used BLO and Wood juice mixed 2:1. It has to be shaken periodically to form an emulsion. The wood juice helps the BLO penetrate the wood faster and more deeply. I've used walnut oil on some things and it can be very slow curing.
Re: workbench project - a good oil finish? - cputnam - 10-28-2015
Here is the info that I THINK Howie was trying to post.
This is what I recommend for a workbench top treatment.
A film finish (lacquer, shellac, varnish, poly varnish) is not the way to finish a workbench top. A workbench is going to get dinged and film finishes will crack or craze or be otherwise damaged. Once a film finish is penetrated, it looses its effectiveness and adjacent areas begin to fail. No treatment is going to make a soft wood benchtop harder. I much favor an "in the wood finish". Here are two that lots of folks find effective.
First, is an boiled linseed oil and wax finish. Sand the surface to 180 grit. Mix paraffin or bees wax into heated boiled linseed oil. USE A DOUBLE BOILER TO HEAT THE OIL. The ratio is not critical but about 5-6 parts of boiled linseed oil in a double boiler with one part paraffin or beeswax shaved in. Take it off the stove. Thin this mixture about 50/50 with mineral spirits to make a heavy cream like liquid. Apply this mixture to the benchtop liberally and allow to set overnight. Do it again the next day and again the following day if the top continues to absorb it. After a final overnight, lightly scrape off any excess wax and buff. This finish will minimize the absorbsion of any water and you can use a damp rag to wipe up any glue excess. Dried glue will pop right off the surface. Renewal or repair is easy. Just use a scraper to remove and hardened stuff, wipe down with mineral spirits using a 3/0 steel wool pad (a non-woven green or gray abrasive pad is better), wipe off the gunk and apply another coat of boiled linseed oil/wax mixture.
My personal preference is for an oil/varnish mixture treatment. Either use Minwax Tung Oil Finish, Minwax Antique oil or a homebrew of equal parts of boiled linseed oil, your favorite varnish or poly varnish and mineral spirits. Sand the benchtop up to 180 grit. Apply the mixture heavily and keep it wet for 15-30 minutes. Wipe off any excess completely. Let it dry overnight and the next day, apply another coat using a gray non-woven abrasive pad. Let it set and then wipe off any excess. Let this dry 48-72 hours. To prevent glue from sticking apply a coat of furniture paste wax and you're done. This treatment is somewhat more protective than the wax and mineral oil as the varnish component adds some protection from not only water both some other chemicals also. The waxing makes the surface a little more impervious to water so you can wipe up any liquid adhesive. It also allows hardened adhesive to be scraped off. Repair and renewal is easy. Just go throught the same scraping, wiping down with mineral spirits and reapplication of the BLO/varnish/mineral spirits mixture and an application of paste wax.
Both of the above treatments are quite protective but are easy to maintain and renew. They do not fail when the surface takes a ding.
on behalf of: Howard Acheson