Danish Oil "finalizing" Question

[GregP]

Hey all,

My lap steel is nearly done, and I'm using Danish Oil as suggested by Koch (yep, knowing that my guitar will still eventually be subject to dings and so forth... that's OK!).

Even after waiting more than the suggested drying time, the wood is still somewhat "oily" to the touch, though there aren't significant amounts of oil transferring to a test paper towel. So, although it seems oily, I think that it's relatively "safe" and the "oily" feel is partially psychosematic.

What I'm wondering is, in the last step (still a few days away, hence the pre-emptive curiousity!) you give'er with some fine steel wool, to produce a final "shine" and somehow harden that last layer a bit. The question then:

Is it not until after this final "buffing" stage that the oily sensation begins to disappear? Or is it still required to leave the guitar to "dry" for a few more days? None of the furniture finishing sites I've seen seem to indicate any waiting period, either.

I realize that I can find out by just finishing the job as per the instructions and reporting back, but I thought if anyone had any insight or could share any knowledge about the, er, well, "oily" nature of the... hrm... oil! it might come in handy.

Thanks,

Greg

[WezV]

What wood are you finishing?

What procedure have you used so far?

I usually oil the guitar thoroughly and let it rest overnight, then i start wetsanding with the oil till about 1500 grit. Then the guitar rests again for a few days. Final stage for me is applying wax (briwax) with 0000 steel wool. Cant say i remember it feeling oily, but it is very, very smooth

[GregP]

It's cherry and mahogany. So far, all I've done is:

1 - Orbital machine sanding to 400

2 - Gel stain on the mahogany only, thin application, which dried for several days

3 - 2 medium-thin applications of Danish Oil

I wasn't going to sand further, since the guitar already has and will continue to have some dings and, shall we say, "character". The extra gritty-bits mixed with the oil can often act as pore filler, but I'm also not terribly worried about having a perfectly level finish. To top it off, I don't even know where I can easily find such fine sandpaper in these parts. 600 was the finest I've seen in most of the local hardware-type stores.

It's not that I don't "care" about the guitar-- I'm quite excited by it actually! But I chose the finish due to the 'workhorse' nature of the beast; otherwise I probably would have gone with Poly instead.

Do you personally consider the 1200-grit "wet" sanding to be a necessary step? (ie. I know it's not strictly necessary, but can you imagine the finish turning out well without it?) Koch's instructions don't say anything about it, either, which is part of the reason I chose this finish. Less fuss.

Greg

[WezV]

I do to 1200 but if 600 is what you can get do it to that. I think Melvyn Hiscock recomends wetsanding to 800. Try it, it makes the wood feel really nice and smooth and you can get a little bit of gloss with the wax as well. It still dings up quite nicely within a few outings. Oh, check automotive supplies for finer grits.

Edited April 18, 2006 by WezV

[GregP]

Cheers for the help, Wez. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'll be picking it up hopefully tomorrow (all work is done at my dad's house since I don't have a shop in my apartment. ), and then any final work can be done here at home!

Greg

[al heeley]

Just to add a little note: Danish oil will feel greasy for days. When it's dry a little buffing with a good quality furniture wax will take that greasy feeling off it.

[GregP]

Thanks, Al-- that's good to know so that I don't get worried when it's not 'un-greasy' immediately after the steel wool.

Greg

[Canuck Brian]

I let my guitar sit with the multiple oil coats for a week. I came back to it and it didn't feel greasy or oily at all. I did the wetsanding from 800 - 1200. Maybe it's the brand of oil?

[GregP]

After buffing with steel wool, the oiliness was completely gone. Not sure I put enough coats for it to do anything other than darken the wood and give it a touch of moisture protection, though.

As it turns out, I had a few other issues to fix, so it's not quite done yet. Maybe I'll put a few more coats on, still.

Greg