Danish Wood oil

graham

graham

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I have been recommended to treat the interior woodwork on my boat with Danish wood oil. It is mahogany faced ply with solid mahogany trim etc. It has all been varnished but is now very tired.

Any advice on how best to go about it?
 
Don't do it!! You would need to go back to bare wood before applying the oil; ( Dels Ojl? ). Then you would need to apply lots of coats to soak in with possibly an end result that does not please the eye. Having gone back to bare wood why not apply a good quality varnish eg Epiphanes which will withstand the knocks and bumps and give a high gloss finish. It all depends on the finish you want I suppose and I have no doubt that the oil approach has its enthusiasts. They might be along in a minute to argue the case. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Agree with both the above, except maybe a satin finish would be more pleasing to your eye?
 
Why thankee Sir!........I didn't know that, not having used the stuff.
 
Not being a fan of high gloss on boat furniture I applied Danish Oil many years ago and I give it a refresher every year. The first applications I put on with a plastic pan cleaning cloth to work it well in, but I now use just a soft cloth. Looks ok. PS try it on an unobtrusive test piece first, to see if you like it.
 
I would stay clear of anything but varnish - with the exception of Deks Olje D1 and D2 as it could be argued that the D1 component is more akin to oil than varnish - it isn't, but some will disagree.

I have D1 D2 exterior. Fabulous. Last week applied one coat of D2 over everything. Same tin as last June, no skin, no stirring, no sanding, dried in 2 hours. Not high, high gloss but acceptable trade off for the lack of angst.

Interior? Many (most) say satin or rubbed effect. I think it depends on the boat. I have just used Jotun Ravillack gloss and is is terrific. A high gloss over patinated teak of 45 years standing. Just beautiful by the light of the oil lamps. No need for mirrors, I can shave by the finish of this stuff.

Anyway, good luck. All down to personal taste of course.
 
sorry all but i disagree with this varnish idea , my interior is teak and looked very dull, I thought it was varnish and tried polish it - no joy, so i wiped on some deks with a cloth lo and behold it came up like new, it then soaked in and i repeated wiping on another coat and now have a warm semi-gloss lustrous finish.
 
I agree that the wood needs to be rubbed down, but Danish oil only needs 2, maybe 3, coats to produce a nice finish. Buff it up with a lightly oiled cloth every year. (If you don't like it you can varnish over the top anyway)

That is what I have done on the ash I have fitted inside, and it looks lovely IMO. Not so good if it is going to get water on it though.....
 
Thanks for the replies.Seems to be mixed feelings about using Danish oil. I may try it out on one small panel somewhere thats not too conspicuous first.
 
I don't think you'll be disappointed with Danish oil, provided you've done the preparation work. Make sure you have sanded the wood properly with a fine grade of glasspaper - 320 grit or so - to get rid of all the scratch marks left by the coarser grades. Make a rubber - a walnut sized ball of cotton wool wrapped in a lint-free cloth (ie an old t shirt). Lay out the cloth, place the ball of cotton wool in the middle, pour some oil into the cotton wool, lift the corners of the cloth up and twist together. Apply to the wood, the pressure of your (rubber-gloved) fingers will squeeze the oil out through the cloth as you work up and down in the direction of the grain. Leave to dry for 12-24 hrs between coats, with a light rub-down with a green scotchbrite pad between coats. After 3 to 4 coats you'll have a nice even dull sheen, which can easily be maintained.
 
I've been using Deks Olja on the mahogany interior woodwork of my 30 year boat. I'd never use varnish of any description.

Old ply soaks the oil up like mad and you will think it is fully soaked, wipe off the excess then go away happy at the end of the day only to come back a week later and find it looking all matt and drab. You will need to re-coat several times to get that satin sheen. Also make sure you wipe all excess off before you leave otherwise it will go like congealed marmalade.

You can do it a bit at a time with oil without worrying about messing up the finish on adjacent bits that have already been done, just wipe the excess off again
 
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