[Maren G]

Hello Everyone,

I have two pieces that I finished that I have been putting linseed oil on. How many coats is recommended, and also should I put a clear coat on? If so, is there one that is recommended? lly I would have liked to put tung oil on them, but I figured I would use the linseed since it had been recommended to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,

Maren G

[mdallensr]

Hi Maren: I'm not a fan of BLO, so I may not be the best to reply to your question. But, I do mostly oil finishes, with tung oil, "Danish" oil and some others. They mostly work the same. Oil finishes penetrate the wood and tend to seal the surface as they dry. On dense wood, one coat does most of the work. After that initial coat, you're mostly "coating the coat", and that can lead to problems if you do too much. A recent exception for me is cypress, which seems to be a sponge for oil. It was still soaking tung oil after three coats.

As long as the wood will accept more oil, I re-coat. I let it soak for a few minutes and wipe off any excess or puddles. I buff with 4/0 steel wool between coats and after the final coat to knock down the shine. I let it dry for a day between coats, and even longer before applying a Bri-wax finish, which gives a nice luster without the plastic, shiny appearance (most wood paste waxes will work fine as well). I re-coat with wax until I don't see a difference, which may be two coats or 3-4. Wax finishes tend to remove older wax layers, so there's no reason to keep applying wax after you see no improvement in the finish. This isn't your father's Buick you're waxing, so don't worry about the multi-layer, deep shine look. You created the finished appearance with the oil, and the wax will enhance that look and protect the carving. Good luck. Mike

[Maren G]

Thank you for the input! Where would I find the bri-wax finish?

[mdallensr]

Bri-wax is sold by Woodcraft, Rockler, and several carving supply dealers. I use the clear wax on light colored wood and their antique mahogany on dark woods. Mike