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Danish Oil questions

rojo412

rojo412

Sit down, Danny...
Supporting Member
Feb 26, 2000
10,912
15,058
46
Cleveland, OH.
#1
So I just snagged an... instrument :hiding: off craigslist... okay, it's a guitar, I'll admit it!

The body is Warmoth and it's Walnut with a flamed maple top. The guy who sold it to me said he finished it in 3 coats of Danish Oil.
I'm not terribly familiar with the properties of that finish, so I just wanted to see what anyone may be able to tell me about a few things.

1) Can it be built up and polished glossy?
2) Is it easily removed to where I can apply a stain, then re-do it?
3) What if I wanted to apply something over top of it (a poly, nitro, shellac, etc)? How would it react to that?

I'm pretty well versed in TruOil, so any comparisons to that are easy for me to grasp... but that's about as much "finishing" experience as I have.

Any info is much appreciated.
 
#2
In all likelihood the Danish Oil is very similar to TruOil: polymerized linseed oil, maybe blended with other stuff. Many characteristics, including how hard it will be to get to bare wood and how much gloss you can buff into it, will be essentially the same.

I would not shoot nitro over it without getting to bare wood, but my neighbors used to be all nitpicky acoustic builders. Shellac should be fine as long as he did not chase the oil with wax.
 
#6
Jazzdogg said:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Watco Danish Oil is nothing like TruOil. It's far less viscous, is not polymerized, takes a lot longer to dry, doesn't build like TruOil, and is relatively impermanent; I admonish my students to not use it because the results have been universally disappointing.
Click to expand...

I thought it was Tung based too.....wrong?
 
#9
Jazzdogg said:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Watco Danish Oil is nothing like TruOil. It's far less viscous, is not polymerized, takes a lot longer to dry, doesn't build like TruOil, and is relatively impermanent; I admonish my students to not use it because the results have been universally disappointing.
Click to expand...
This surprises me - although I have never used Watco on an instrument, I've certainly used it on furniture. I've found it builds similarly to tru oil or boiled linseed oil and can eventually be brought to a shine, although I've never tried at less than 20 coats. My 20+ year old Watco finishes have held up well, even on porous woods. The really confusing part to me is that I've always found you to be a really stand up contributor so I completely believe this has been your actual experience - I'm just at a loss for the difference...
 
#10
I liked Danish Oil and used it in the seventies, but didn't care for it as much after it was reformulated back in the 80s.

The number of coats required, the slow film build, and the extended drying time combine to create an insurmountable obstacle for college students trying to complete a project in the course of a sixteen-week semester; and a sticky, slow-drying, finish that requires multiple coats is seldom considered a viable commercial finish - time is money.

I'm a big fan of penetrating oil-based finishes and wiping varnishes, of which there a several I happily recommend to my students. But, thin-bodied products with a low resin content, like Watco, aren't among them. The finishes I prefer require significantly less application time and provide a higher level of protection with fewer coats.

Danish oil may have been reformulated again to comply with California's increasingly strict environmental regs. We've already had to remove some solvents and solvent-based finishing products from the shelves, and have been told that we will no longer have access to most solvents and solvent-based products in Southern California after the 2010 production run has been exhausted; water-borne products, and solvents that have been adulterated with water, will dominate the market by law. As a consequence, Watco may not be on the market in Southern California for much longer anyway.

Sadly, within a few years, I may no longer be allowed to teach my beloved sanded-in oil finish to my students. But, I guess that's better than breathing the smog I had to endure when I lived in Los Angeles in the bad old days.
 
#13
I took the guitar apart last night. I wanted to smooth out the finish a bit on the body and neck, so I started with steel wool, but eventually moved to sandpaper. I'm going to try and make the finish more even.

I guess my question now is, what would be the harm if I decided to finish the guitar in TruOil and there were little spots of Danish Oil in the deepest pores of the wood?
 
#19
"Can you clearcoat over truoil?"


Yes, after it's completely cured. I'd recommend sanding with 220-grit to provide a better mechanical bond between the Truoil finish and the new finish. Some water-born finishes are very particular about the company they keep, and do not bond bond well with some finishes.

What kind of clear coat are you planning to use?
 

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