What happened ?
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- This topic has 22 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 11 months ago by Brett aka Pheasantww.
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9 May 2013 at 8:53 pm #11804
Hi everybody, my first post although I have been a member for a few months.
I have been making all Paul’s projects including the ones in the book and especially enjoy making tables so armed with my limited knowledge I have just finished a hall table in pine which has woodworking wise came out perfect, even the glue up was smooth for the first time ( I actually got organised first!).
I done what I thought was a good preparation, sanding with 240 grit before applying Danish oil but after applying it, the finish on the table top has a couple of dark blotches! Is this just where the grain changes? I hear the term raising the grain but not actually sure what that means..Sorry for the newbie questions.10 May 2013 at 4:12 am #11826Hey Martin, welcome!
When wood gets wet, it swells up a bit. So, after you have sanded your wood and you put a finish on it, this can swell the surface, or “raise the grain”. Just sand it smooth and apply another coat of finish. Sometimes I will intentionally raise the grain and sand it smooth prior to finishing, since the grain typically won’t raise a second time.
If you want to see what the wood will look like wet without raising the grain, use mineral spirits.
As far as botching, some woods are worse about this than others. Wood conditioners, or gel stains can help with this. I have not used Danish oil before, so I’m not much help there.
Good Luck! We would love to see some pictures of your work.10 May 2013 at 9:04 am #11830I am not sure what is causing the blotches, as Robin said, a photo would help.
Regarding raised grain:
Grain raises when it gets wet. This means that a previously smooth surface becomes rough to touch after finish, or other liquid, is applied. This is mostly a problem if you are using a water-based finish. You may end up with a tiny bit of raised grain with an oil finish but I doubt this is your problem.
10 May 2013 at 9:26 am #11831Thanks for the replies everybody, Robin it was a Danish oil in a medium oak colour.. I will post some pictures later to show what happened, still happy overall..thanks
To add, the blotching is caused by some areas of the top absorbing more oil than others. You can reduce the amount of absorption with the shellac sealer coat.
Personally I’d just go with a shellac finish all the way anyway. Blond shellac over pine always looks terrific.
[quote quote=11831]Robin it was a Danish oil in a medium oak colour[/quote]
That is what I thought. That is a finish and a stain combined in one, so the rules for staining pine apply. I have heard of a couple of options:Option #1 a pre-stain conditioner.
I have not tried this but the concept is the conditioner is applied right before the stain. It does not seal the wood, just kinda pre-wets it so the stain soaks in slower.
Option #2 sealer coat
This is the one I have been experimenting with. I do not use regular shellac. I use Bullseye SealCoat. Sealcoat (2 lb. cut) is already half as concentrated as regular Bullseye shellac , but needs to be thinned even more for use under danish oil. I have been using a 50/50 mix but not much stain gets in. Here is a quote from Highland Woodworking:
Option #3 gel stain
Have not tried this one either. The basic Idea is the stain doesn’t soak into the wood hardly at all. just stays near/on the surface. I do not think a danish oil could be used as the finish though. The whole idea of danish oil is to soak in and give depth to the finish.
Robin –> @bargey
P.S. If you have some scraps of the same pine left over, I would experiment on those to get just the right look you are after.
10 May 2013 at 5:48 pm #11899Thanks for the replies everybody, and the clock was a easy project to practice my dovetails 🙂
There is a good article on working with pine in this magazine/book on page 120. You can buy it here:
AMERICA’S BEST-EVER WOODWORKING PROJECTS & SHOP TIPS 2006Robin
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