Oiling wood

[Ariadne]

As I have already said I have been using linseed oil inside and out side for years on my boat. My cockpit table and sole is constantly used, in sun, rain, spray (at times!) and still hasn't gone black; I must be doing something wrong I guess!!

My oiled wood needs a light scrape back about once a year, but only a light surface scrape and it takes minutes to do (once over with a Stanley knife blade). I then get a soft cloth wash the surface with white spirit and then when its dry a light coat of linseed well rubbed in. I get a nice satin finish, it smells a lot better (than varnish) when it's soaking and it's a lot more durable.

Still you varnish lovers rant about how bad it is, but I don't spend hours sanding back varnish, applying 10 coats and a finish coat every 1 or 2 years. And I still have a nice finish, on which I can place almost anything, hot or cold without damage.

More importantly, I save a shed load of cash that I can spend on better things - like replacing the winch handles I drop overboard!

 

[davidfox]

As I have already said I have been using linseed oil inside and out side for years on my boat. My cockpit table and sole is constantly used, in sun, rain, spray (at times!) and still hasn't gone black; I must be doing something wrong I guess!!

My oiled wood needs a light scrape back about once a year, but only a light surface scrape and it takes minutes to do (once over with a Stanley knife blade). I then get a soft cloth wash the surface with white spirit and then when its dry a light coat of linseed well rubbed in. I get a nice satin finish, it smells a lot better (than varnish) when it's soaking and it's a lot more durable.

Still you varnish lovers rant about how bad it is, but I don't spend hours sanding back varnish, applying 10 coats and a finish coat every 1 or 2 years. And I still have a nice finish, on which I can place almost anything, hot or cold without damage.

More importantly, I save a shed load of cash that I can spend on better things - like replacing the winch handles I drop overboard!

Why does it need to be scraped back at all, and then washed with white spirit?

Incidently im with you regarding varnish

 

[Nicholas123]

Don't be tempted to use linseed oil on anything other than your cricket bat! It remains sticky for ages and will turn black as it oxidises.
For internal oil try OSMO Polyx oil. it is used commercially on floors and furniture, we use it extensively and it is available in a sort of gloss and a satin finish, it should work externally as it takes a fair battering when it is used for worktops (a derivative of the wax oil) we also colour it mixing it with their 'transparent wood wax finish' which is available in a wind range of colours.
The advantage is that it is easy to apply, wipe it on and rub it in and it is easy to recoat, requiring minimum preparation, it doesn't peel like varnish as it sinks into the wood.

Try it you will be pleased

I have looked this up & it contains linseed oil among an array of strange ingredients,it is also expensive & the makers state it is for internal use so I think I'll give it a miss as there are many more impressive concoctions available.

 

[Nicholas123]

the Ronseal that you mention which is little more than an ugly brown gunk, Cuprinol is similar, I personally wouldn't put either on my fence never mind my boat.

That ugly brown gunk went on like silk,presented a similarly smooth surface & enabled me not to have to raise & lower my mast every couple of years for the 12 years that I owned it.The last time I looked at it just before I sold it a couple of years ago it was still in practically as good condition as when I applied it in 2000.It presented a wonderfully tough rubber like surface that protected the wood better than anything else I have ever seen.I would'nt hesitate to buy it now if only it were available!
I doubt if you or any of the 'experts' that test these things have actually ever used it or had any real experience of it.

 

[Nicholas123]

As I have already said I have been using linseed oil inside and out side for years on my boat. My cockpit table and sole is constantly used, in sun, rain, spray (at times!) and still hasn't gone black; I must be doing something wrong I guess!!

My oiled wood needs a light scrape back about once a year, but only a light surface scrape and it takes minutes to do (once over with a Stanley knife blade). I then get a soft cloth wash the surface with white spirit and then when its dry a light coat of linseed well rubbed in. I get a nice satin finish, it smells a lot better (than varnish) when it's soaking and it's a lot more durable.

Still you varnish lovers rant about how bad it is, but I don't spend hours sanding back varnish, applying 10 coats and a finish coat every 1 or 2 years. And I still have a nice finish, on which I can place almost anything, hot or cold without damage.

More importantly, I save a shed load of cash that I can spend on better things - like replacing the winch handles I drop overboard!

Your first hand experience is worth ten experts to me.This whole business is obviously a gold mine to many people who are able to make God knows what claims unchallenged,it is a marketing man's ticket to paradise!

 

[srp]

I have looked this up & it contains linseed oil among an array of strange ingredients,it is also expensive & the makers state it is for internal use so I think I'll give it a miss as there are many more impressive concoctions available.

I use Osmo PolyX, and it does not contain linseed oil. From the Osmo website, the ingredients are listed as:
Binding agents - based on the re-growing vegetable raw materials sunflower oil, soybean oil and thistle oil as well as natural resins.
Waxes - based on the re-growing vegetable raw materials Carnauba wax and Candelilla wax
Solvents - paraffins which are obtained from the processing of petroleum and which are approved for the use in pharmacy and medicine (in compliance with purity demands of European
Pharmacopoeia).
Solvents - free of organic solvents and free of water
(solid content ≈ 99 % according to DIN EN ISO 3251).
Earths - mineral origin, silicic acid and swelling clays
The used mineral earths have been purified from all poisonous ingredients (e.g. heavy metals) and are physiologically safe.
Additives - zinc-zirconium-cobalt-octoates (are obtained from the respective minerals and are leadfree)
- ketoximes
- polysiloxanes (on the basis of silicic acid)
The listed ingredients serve to a regular drying and the prevention of film formation (2 years storage stability) as well as a strong water repellency.

But you seem to have already made your mind up. Best of luck.

 

[Modulation]

Well, if saving money is important, leaving it grey weathered (with just occasional wash and light brushing to keep it clear of green growth) is the cheapest option (assuming it's teak, iroko or other durable wood).

Couldn't agree more!! Why waste time money and effort doing a job which is totally unnecessary? I removed all the weathered external varnish from my boat 15 years ago and watched the timber go uniformly grey over a season. Hasn't been touched since and looks a treat. Not a smidgin of rot. We're brainwashed into thinking we need expensive wood treatments. Most of the commonly used hardwoods are fine outside.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

.... timber go uniformly grey over a season. ..... looks a treat. .....

Its not a case of brain washing or even rot, quite often it is only personal aesthetics. For example I find grey wood ugly and the term 'silver' applied to weathered teak a misnomer.

There are certainly better things to do with a boat than bright work as far as I am concerned but for some that is the whole purpose of boat ownership.

 

[Nicholas123]

I use Osmo PolyX, and it does not contain linseed oil. From the Osmo website, the ingredients are listed as:
Binding agents - based on the re-growing vegetable raw materials sunflower oil, soybean oil and thistle oil as well as natural resins.
Waxes - based on the re-growing vegetable raw materials Carnauba wax and Candelilla wax
Solvents - paraffins which are obtained from the processing of petroleum and which are approved for the use in pharmacy and medicine (in compliance with purity demands of European
Pharmacopoeia).
Solvents - free of organic solvents and free of water
(solid content ≈ 99 % according to DIN EN ISO 3251).
Earths - mineral origin, silicic acid and swelling clays
The used mineral earths have been purified from all poisonous ingredients (e.g. heavy metals) and are physiologically safe.
Additives - zinc-zirconium-cobalt-octoates (are obtained from the respective minerals and are leadfree)
- ketoximes
- polysiloxanes (on the basis of silicic acid)
The listed ingredients serve to a regular drying and the prevention of film formation (2 years storage stability) as well as a strong water repellency.

But you seem to have already made your mind up. Best of luck.

From the Osmo website,"sunflower, soya, linseed and thistle oil, the basis of our wood finishes."Lets face it snake oil has less ingredients They make it sound like some sort of health food.

I don't know whether you have looked at the range of oils & treatments available for garden furniture at the moment but I was surprised by the range & claims made for various products in Wilkinsons alone.They stress they are for outside wood so I think I would look there first if I were looking to spend a lot of money & that Osmo oil or just about every other proprietary brand of wood protection system that has been mentioned here so far.
The main thing is to keep wood dry & well ventilated in my experience.

 

[Ariadne]

I scrape back, to get back to the clean oiled wood and remove any residual dirt in the old finished layer. Washing with white spirit (to me) gives a better finish and also preps the wood a bit more.

Many hard woods (by no means all of them!) can be left to weather naturally, It's the non 'oily' native softwoods that rot quick. Pitched pine is a good example of a natural softwood that tends to last test of time - that's why they use it for church pews and olde worlde sea chests. Oak is good example of a native hard wood that also lasts for years without any treatments. Just keep the wood boring bugs away and you'll be fine.

 

[Rossynant]

From the Osmo website,"sunflower, soya, linseed and thistle oil, the basis of our wood finishes."Lets face it snake oil has less ingredients They make it sound like some sort of health food.

sunflower and soya are only 'semidrying', will never harden. Better to know before...
Generally it's best to use simple product, so we know what it is doing.
Good preservative is kerosene, so with washing wood or thinning this can be used instead of mineral spirits. Same goes for turpentine (real)

 

[davidfox]

sunflower and soya are only 'semidrying', will never harden. Better to know before...
Generally it's best to use simple product, so we know what it is doing.
Good preservative is kerosene, so with washing wood or thinning this can be used instead of mineral spirits. Same goes for turpentine (real)

Osma dries to a rock hard finish, we use it for floors in busy shops and it is increadably hardwearing unlike varnish which would last a month at best in the same circumstances (its too hard) and for the Ronseal/Cuprinol fans, it does last very well, but it is still an ugly brown/red brown gunk which hides the natural beauty of the wood. I have had 20 plus years of using just about every wood finish going and whilst i wouldnt describe myself as an expert, i certainly can talk from experience.

 

[Nicholas123]

That Osma stuff is described on their own website as for internal use so I would'nt risk it externally even if I could afford it.By contrast that "ugly brown gunk" survived 12 years protecting my mast in all weathers & was still going strong last time I saw it.It was also comparatively cheap but obviously did'nt provide a steady stream of suckers so that they could make loads of dosh from it.