BLO cure time?

[Bill Tindall]

Can likely be done with a rag wet with mineral spirits or paint thinner.  Maybe they forgot to add the curing catalyst to your can?

[CStan]

You could try mixing a teaspoon of Japan drier to a fresh pint of BLO (don't use the BLO you have) and reapply a very thin application, leave it for 30 minutes, then buff it off/out thoroughly.

Don't take my proportions as gospel. Follow the directions on the can of JD. Formulations change. JD is toxic. Follow ALL safety directions on the can.

Next time just use fresh Watco, shake the can like hell before each use, and don't flood it on.

[kencombs]

If I had that problem I'd use the two responses above.  First wash with mineral spirits, wiping it as dry as possible and drying overnight.  Then use the thin coat of Japan Drier enhanced BLO.

I've used Japan Drier as an additive to BLO back when I used to do some gunstock work.  Really speeds up the process of building a finish with BLO.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I'm not worried about building it up.  The BLO is just to pop the grain before an oil poly top coat.

I'll try what you recommended!

[Bill Tindall]

So...

Two weeks AFTER posting this and it's still not wet wet, but not dry.

I had the leg assemblies sitting on top of the table top to mock up positioning.  Left them there over night.  When I came back, the assemblies had transferred a bit of oil where they touched.

How much trouble am I in here and is there a way to fix it?

I am somewhat baffled by your reports.  If you flooded "boiled" linseed oil, and then wiped all of it off that you could, at summer temperatures the oil remaining in the wood should have cured enough to then apply varnish is just a couple of days. However, if you left a film of oil on the wood, as I do for gun stocks, it could take 2 weeks to cure to where it is will no longer be tacky. 

If an obvious oil film remains on the wood you could remove it with rag wet with mineral spirits or paint thinner (same stuff).  

The curing chemistry of conventional varnish is the same as this oil.  The varnish will have a larger amount of curing catalyst.  Applying a thinned coat of varnish will get everything cured in a day or less.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I am somewhat baffled by your reports.  If you flooded "boiled" linseed oil, and then wiped all of it off that you could, at summer temperatures the oil remaining in the wood should have cured enough to then apply varnish is just a couple of days. However, if you left a film of oil on the wood, as I do for gun stocks, it could take 2 weeks to cure to where it is will no longer be tacky. 

If an obvious oil film remains on the wood you could remove it with rag wet with mineral spirits or paint thinner (same stuff).  

The curing chemistry of conventional varnish is the same as this oil.  The varnish will have a larger amount of curing catalyst.  Applying a thinned coat of varnish will get everything cured in a day or less.

Oh, there's no film that I can see.  Within an hour of wiping it on (small puddle smeared with a lint-free rag), I wiped it off.  No film visible, but the scent is strong, and like I said above, it transferred a bit to another piece of wood.

Yeah, I'm baffled by it, too.

I'll wipe these two pieces down with mineral spirits, let it dry for a day, then reapply BLO from a fresh container.  Then, a couple of days later, start the 3-5 coats of 50% cut oil poly.