Anybody have a recipe they are partial to?
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Home brew Danish oil finish
- Thread starter Webb Willmott
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With all the wood finishes that are available commercially I have never understood why one would spend time making a "home brew" wood finish. I can't believe that any "home brew" would be superior to that available in the marketplace.
Help me understand the reason(s) for "home brew" wood finishes. - John
Help me understand the reason(s) for "home brew" wood finishes. - John
Lots of commercial "danish oil" products( watch danish oil, tung oil finish etc...) are basically poly, BLO, and a whole lot of thinner as far as most people can tell. It can be more economical to mix your own. I don't anymore, but I mostly used tried and true danish oil, shellac or spray laquer
I’m getting ready to refinish the top of my bench. My can of Watco is old and not enough to do the job. Danish oil was used when I built it and it has served me well and since I most likely have all ingredients on the shelf, why not home brew a batch.
I always used 1/3 each of BLO, MS, and varnish. Many of the commercial products have as much as 70% thinner, I prefer a little more of the varnish and BLO in mine.
I don't make it, but Frank Penta recommended:
1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil
1/3 Polyurethane
1/3 Mineral spirits
I used the stuff Frank mixed up on a number of things including these sapele platters, the largest 19" dia.
Others use different recipes. All seem to work OK.
I just buy the stuff in a can, cheaper from the Ace Hardware down the hill than anywhere else. I have no complaints.
To keep "danish" oil in good condition forever I replace the air with argon gas each time I put the cap on the can. I do this with all finishes.
JKJ
1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil
1/3 Polyurethane
1/3 Mineral spirits
I used the stuff Frank mixed up on a number of things including these sapele platters, the largest 19" dia.
Others use different recipes. All seem to work OK.
I just buy the stuff in a can, cheaper from the Ace Hardware down the hill than anywhere else. I have no complaints.
To keep "danish" oil in good condition forever I replace the air with argon gas each time I put the cap on the can. I do this with all finishes.
JKJ
Your finish looks great. What’s your technique?
I have found where I am the price of Danish Oil 1 litre is equal to three litres of home made DO. So for me I go along this way and it does allow for some customization and 3 litres last me for long time
I start out with the 1/3x1/3x1/3. These days the brew is probably closer to 40:30:30, 40 being polyurethane, another trick luthiers used to use was to leave the BLO out in an open container till thickened up, so it would somewhat concentrated.
Does it make a difference if water based or oil based urethane is used?
If your comment and question was for me, thanks. My procedure is the same for all "danish oil" finish. It's not for the impatient.
- Sand by hand - never power sand.
- Apply in initial generous coat, applying more until no more will soak into the wood. (Some people will immerse.)
- Let set for 30 minutes or so and reapply to any places that don't stay wet.
- After about 30 minutes wipe off all finish on the surface with a paper towel or cloth. (Dry or dispose safely to prevent a fire.)
- Let dry for at least overnight, longer is ok.
- When dry, repeat the generous application and wipe
- Let the second application dry at least overnight..
- Repeat the daily application, 30 minute wait, wiping off excess, and drying overnight six to 10 times. Each application leaves behind a microscopically thin layer. The more applications, the tougher the final finish.
- If at any time after a coat dries I see or feel dust or something on the surface I wet sand with the finish and 400 grit paper, then wipe off.
- After the last application, let the finish dry for at least a week then buff if desired. (Some say 2 weeks)
I use this procedure for most platters and bowls and often a less intensive application for smaller things.
I never use it for exotic woods like cocobolo/rosewoods or ebony.
I do use it on olive where it really brings out the color and figure.
.
Other examples of this finish technique:
This finish also nicely brings out the chatoyance in figured maple, walnut, etc.
JKJ
Yes indeed. The waterborne won't mix well with the BLO and MS.
Your results speak for themselves. I’ve only done a 3 time application, never 6 to 10. Can you tell a big difference after 3rd coat?
Thought so. Thanks.
I think it is less about quality than it is about cost?
I was just at the woodcraft store the other day. Shelves full of quart cans of finish, ranging from $54 to $90 each. For a QUART. This is in Colorado. Don't know about the rest of the country, but that's sticker shock for some of these finishes... I think a can of Tung oil that I've bought in the past for less than $30, which is a drying oil like Danish (i.e. they have heavy metal driers in them) but instead of BLO it is Tung oil, was $47 for a quart.
I have been working on a tight budget since last year. These prices, which were high late last year, are now up starkly this year, are making me start to feel like I am being priced out of the market. I was actually there to buy some shellac flakes, thinking it would be less than $30 (actually I think the last time I bought, which was years ago, it was $22), and the super blond I was looking for was $62 a 1/2lb bag!
If you are making your own, I can't imagine its for quality, but for cost!
Thank you for this, John. I have always loved the look of your finishes. Long process, but it looks like it pays off in the end.
has to be oil based other wise it wont mix
Thank you. I wasn’t sure if the water based was miscible.
I can’t say I can see the difference between 3 and more coats. However, I think more coats are more protective - I know they hold up quite well over the years, even with significant use. As mentioned, each coat adds another very thin layer.
Also, this method was recommended years ago by someone I trusted. If I remember correctly, the advice was at least 6 coats, but more were better if time allows. Also, the daily regime was recommended - perhaps that’s the right amount of time to allow one coat to dry enough but still allow the next one to bond. And as I mentioned, I like the way the wood still looks like wood. And feels like wood.
JKJ
Tom Wirsing, Am Woodturner 2018. He uses Tung oil instead of BLO, and the application method is very similar to JK Jordan above. I personally think that oil is only needed on the first coat, to pop the grain. Subsequent coats could be varnish only or thinned varnish only, this would produce a harder more durable film in less coats.
So this discussion is interesting to me. This blending of an oil, a varnish, and mineral spirits... I wonder how much the kind of oil matters here. Some "Danish" oils have things like cobalt or other heavy metal drying agents in them, right? Others do not. I've been using Watco Danish oil and Tung oil for a little while now. I've never blended it like this, just used it out of the can... I thought that these had heavy medal drying agents in them, but on investigation, apparently they do not. Seems they are touted as "safer" finishes. They do have some VOCs, but apparently not as much as other brands?
Then there is BLO. I am pretty sure most if not all of the BLO brands I've bought over the years, have heavy metal driers in them. So, is this a necessary factor? The "Boiled" part is really more of a chemical soup of VOCs and heavy metals as I understand it. I know that BLO cures quite differently than the Watco Danish and Tung oils. So I wonder if that aspect is a necessary factor, in making some kind of home made "danish" oil...
Or is the only thing that really makes it "danish" the varnish thats mixed into it? I think the Watco Tung oil I use, actually does have some varnish in it. I don't know if it is poly or something else, but I do think it already has a varnish mixed in, and then of course it has some volatiles (IIRC the can does warn about mineral spirits, but I think its a bit more of a diverse mixture of aromatics and other compounds, than the cheap crummy Klean Strip "odorless" we can get here in Colorado.)
Anyway, just curious what makes such a blend work?
Linseed oil is very slow to cure without the driers, I suppose it's possible that in the DO mix, something makes it dry faster or hides the fact it's not fully cured. The old MSDS for Watco shows it uses raw linseed oil, so it seems to not have the driers. The SDS also shows the Watco has as much as 50% of the stoddard solvent (MS).
Something definitely makes the Watco DO dry pretty fast. I don't know what it is, but after distributing my last can to smaller bottles that I then sealed (kind of like a stop loss bag, but with many small single-project sized bottles), I still had a small amount in the bottom of the can. I think it was a couple of weeks, and that can crumpled up a fair bit on its own! Whatever is in that stuff, it does seem to react very readily with oxygenated air, and the oil polymerizes pretty fast. I always thought it was heavy metal drying agents, cobalt, as that's what I'd heard...but I wonder if its just the solvents they use. Maybe they also do something to pre-polymerize a little bit as well?
In any case, the DO in particular, but also Watco's Tung oil, seem to have some pretty powerful curing agents in them, whatever they are.
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I use Watco Danish oil in a schedule much like JKJ uses but no more than two applications are usually all you need. When I use more applications it mostly buffs off . I can also say that DO is not the best finish for all woods but is great for cherry and Bradford Pear. Oak and other porous woods finish better for me with 100% Tung oil thinned 50/50 with turpentine. usually take 8 to 12 applications and the dry time extends beyond 1 day for the last 3-4 .
Watco and many other finishes certainly do react with oxygen. I've seen cans collapsed like that. The worst I've found (fastest to be ruined) is TruOil, a fantastic finish often used for gunstocks. I wondered why they sold it in such small bottles! Once you expose the inside to air what's left sets up solid in a short time, seems like just weeks.
There are stop loss bags, filling a jar with marbles, and other methods to displace the air but what I do instead is replace the air with inert gas - less messy, always works, and keeps the finish in the original container. I have an opened bottle of TruOil that is still good after 8 years of occasional use. Since I started doing this to all finish containers I have had no failures.
I used to use a spare cylinder of nitrogen but I now use argon. The gas is pretty cheap but the cylinders are not. But with my small welding shop I always have spare cylinders (size Q, I think, the largest you can buy from the compressed gas distributors)
I have a regulator on the cylinder with a small plastic hose connected. Before replacing the lid of any finish I put the hose in the opening and run the gas in for a few seconds. Pull out the hose and fasten the lid and it's protected. Doesn't take much gas. Someone told me recently the same method will also extend the life of CA glue indefinitely. I'll try that when I get my next large bottle. (With CA the problem may be the moisture in the air instead of the air itself, but I don't know.)
You can buy small cans of inert gas from the Bloxygen people to preserve finishes. It's not real cheap but a lot cheaper than buying a cylinder and regulator. Their web site mentions there's enough gas for 75 quart sized containers. (For a typical hoby wood working/turning shop, a cylinder like I use might last a lifetime.)
Bloxygen - Inert Gas Preservation
Save your leftover paints, finishes or food from getting ruined by oxygen or moisture. Simply spray, seal and store for up to 10 years. Never have hardened paint or rubbery finishes ruin your day. Safe for food, coffee, cannabis. Tested by manufacturers. Industry best practice.
www.bloxygen.com
I have an old can of Bloxygen from long ago and the label says it contains argon, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide.
But at some point they switched to pure argon. (I think they found the CO2 reacted with certain finishes)
JKJ
There are several reasons why some folks may wish to make their own. They include obvious ones like cost and knowing exactly what’s in the product.
I made some abrasive wax a couple of years ago. Even buying small quantities of the ingredients it still worked out at about 25% of the cost of the commercial products and was incredibly easy to make. I gave some to friends to try and they all gave it the thumbs up.
There’s a well known oil finish available over here which is apparently, primarily Tung Oil, the price however is about 12 - 15 times the cost of raw Tung oil.
I suppose it depends on your disposable income. Nearly all the YouTube videos I’ve seen on making home brew wood finishes comes from American contributors so I’m guessing there may be quite a number of folks going the DIY route?
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Wine bags are excellent for saving finishes. Much cheaper and all air can be removed upon closing. I have some poly in them for maybe two years. The Watco Danish lid was so hard to get on and off and the wine bag also solved that problem. I have made a few home brews but was never happy with results. I do think most of the finishes I use to make them flow on better
Watco and many other finishes certainly do react with oxygen. I've seen cans collapsed like that. The worst I've found (fastest to be ruined) is TruOil, a fantastic finish often used for gunstocks. I wondered why they sold it in such small bottles! Once you expose the inside to air what's left sets up solid in a short time, seems like just weeks.
There are stop loss bags, filling a jar with marbles, and other methods to displace the air but what I do instead is replace the air with inert gas - less messy, always works, and keeps the finish in the original container. I have an opened bottle of TruOil that is still good after 8 years of occasional use. Since I started doing this to all finish containers I have had no failures.
I used to use a spare cylinder of nitrogen but I now use argon. The gas is pretty cheap but the cylinders are not. But with my small welding shop I always have spare cylinders (size Q, I think, the largest you can buy from the compressed gas distributors)
I have a regulator on the cylinder with a small plastic hose connected. Before replacing the lid of any finish I put the hose in the opening and run the gas in for a few seconds. Pull out the hose and fasten the lid and it's protected. Doesn't take much gas. Someone told me recently the same method will also extend the life of CA glue indefinitely. I'll try that when I get my next large bottle. (With CA the problem may be the moisture in the air instead of the air itself, but I don't know.)
You can buy small cans of inert gas from the Bloxygen people to preserve finishes. It's not real cheap but a lot cheaper than buying a cylinder and regulator. Their web site mentions there's enough gas for 75 quart sized containers. (For a typical hoby wood working/turning shop, a cylinder like I use might last a lifetime.)
Bloxygen - Inert Gas Preservation
Save your leftover paints, finishes or food from getting ruined by oxygen or moisture. Simply spray, seal and store for up to 10 years. Never have hardened paint or rubbery finishes ruin your day. Safe for food, coffee, cannabis. Tested by manufacturers. Industry best practice.
I have an old can of Bloxygen from long ago and the label says it contains argon, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide.
View attachment 75889
But at some point they switched to pure argon. (I think they found the CO2 reacted with certain finishes)
JKJ
I try to do what I can with my finishes. It didn't take me long to learn they go bad pretty quick, especially the more reactive ones. I use either small bottles or stop loss bags. I have about a dozen half oz bottles filled with Danish Oil that I distributed nearly two years ago. Filled em righ to the brim, no air in them. The can I distributed is what partially collapsed. I also have some BLO distributed into about a dozen bottels as well, although I haven't really used much of that. I also have a stack of stop-loss bags, and use them for most other finishes. I have two types of spar, poly, and my shellac in stop loss bags. They seem to work, but, they are kind of a pain to use. Poring finish out of them is not fun. I have a newish can of Watco Tung oil, which also has a varnish in it, so its kind of reactive like Danish. It was a full quart, and I need to get it distributed, as thus far I've been using it from the can. Not much, but still.
Using the little bottles is the easiest. A small half or one ounce bottle gets used up pretty quickly, and you can squeeze out any air easily too. So no matter what you do you are never exposing much to air at once. I have found them a lot easier to deal with than the stop loss bags, but, they are much more of a pain to fill. I guess, I'd ratehr have the fill struggle than the usage struggle.
I've spilled so much out of stop loss bags because they are just a pain to pour, then re-extract the air from, etc. I have heard of bloxygen. I haven't used it, but I've always wondered how easy it was to fill a can or bottle with it without letting more air back in.
Tried and True Danish Oil is 100% polymerized linseed oil. No additives. Tried and True Original is the same linseed oil mixed with beeswax. They are about $40 a quart, but a quart will last me nearly a year. You use very little.
How is the curing time significant? I can see it if you made a bowl and want to ship it out right away, but most of the time the bowl is going to cure in your house.
How is the curing time significant? I can see it if you made a bowl and want to ship it out right away, but most of the time the bowl is going to cure in your house.
My home brew is what I call my shop finish. The basic ingredients are 1/3 tung oil, 1/3 BLO, and 1/3 gloss polyurethane. Having said that, I hardly ever mix to that proportion. Most commonly its 20% tung oil, 20% BLO and 60% poly. Sometimes even higher on the poly. The purpose is to increase shine and water resistance. It still behaves quite like DO except higher gloss and better wear characteristics.
A last coat finish is equal parts tung oil and BLO. Instead of poly I add enough beeswax to make a creamy consistency. Both finishes were inspired by Sam Maloof, if it was good enough for Sam..........
The last few months I've replaced the beeswax with medical grade carnuba wax. Getting really close to all those German made and expensive hard wax oils. Still a work in progress.
A last coat finish is equal parts tung oil and BLO. Instead of poly I add enough beeswax to make a creamy consistency. Both finishes were inspired by Sam Maloof, if it was good enough for Sam..........
The last few months I've replaced the beeswax with medical grade carnuba wax. Getting really close to all those German made and expensive hard wax oils. Still a work in progress.
With regards to coating a varnish/poly finish, with wax, or an oil/wax blend... I guess the main question is, why? Is the poly itself, not more durable and resistant, than a wax based final coat?
IMO, by far the “easiest” storage is to turn the jars / bottles / cans upside down! The containers are liquid-tight, but certainly not airtight.I try to do what I can with my finishes. It didn't take me long to learn they go bad pretty quick, especially the more reactive ones. I use either small bottles or stop loss bags. I have about a dozen half oz bottles filled with Danish Oil that I distributed nearly two years ago. Filled em righ to the brim, no air in them. The can I distributed is what partially collapsed. I also have some BLO distributed into about a dozen bottels as well, although I haven't really used much of that. I also have a stack of stop-loss bags, and use them for most other finishes. I have two types of spar, poly, and my shellac in stop loss bags. They seem to work, but, they are kind of a pain to use. Poring finish out of them is not fun. I have a newish can of Watco Tung oil, which also has a varnish in it, so its kind of reactive like Danish. It was a full quart, and I need to get it distributed, as thus far I've been using it from the can. Not much, but still.
Using the little bottles is the easiest. A small half or one ounce bottle gets used up pretty quickly, and you can squeeze out any air easily too. So no matter what you do you are never exposing much to air at once. I have found them a lot easier to deal with than the stop loss bags, but, they are much more of a pain to fill. I guess, I'd ratehr have the fill struggle than the usage struggle.
I have heard of bloxygen. I haven't used it, but I've always wondered how easy it was to fill a can or bottle with it without letting more air back in.
What I do is use the finish, whichever it is, and then close/seal the can/jar/bottle. I let it sit on my work surface for the rest of the day, or overnight, to let any remnants on the edges dry, then turn it over and put it on the shelf. The “water-based” polys come in a can with a metal rim and lid. Storing it upside down was leading to rust on the rim and lid. So I started decanting them to a quart (?) peanut butter jar (it’s plastic) and storing that upside down. It has worked! A couple years ago I started storing all my spray finishes upside down. We’ve all had spray cans that still have product in them but no propellant. Well, storing them upside has pretty much solved that too. The propellant is trapped above or behind the liquid!
Attachments
I started using Watco Danish Oil in about 1980 on furniture pieces and then moved to turned pieces. The process that I use is:
1. Apply the first coat, let it set for about 1 to 2 hours and rewetting dry areas then wet sand using the DO as the wet and finally wipe off the excess.
2. Wait for two days regularly checking for bled, especially for open grain woods like oak.
3. The second application is started with rubbing with steel wool or scotch brite, than wetting with fresh DO and after the 1 to 2 hours etc. as in #1.
4. see #2.
5. The third application should be similar to the first and second and will likely not show any dry spots.
6. See #2.
7. A fourth application will only be necessary if there are extremely porous end grain areas.
8. The final touch is a buffing with scotch brite then wax coat using a quality wax the one I prefer is Watco Satin Wax due to the ease of application.
The house that I currently live in was built in 2006 and the entire inside all of the woodwork including the cabinetry was built from locally cut red oak than finished using Watco medium walnut DO and dark satin wax.
The white walnut or butternut urn that I recently posted in the users gallery is very soft and porus was accomplished in three applications of the oil and one application of the satin wax. The thing that may have helped with the end grain areas is that I first poured oil inside rolling it around to cover as much as possible, than noticed that the oil had seeped through to the outside on the bottom. The final finish is not as shiny as a surface coat can be if polished, but it really brings out the beauty of the wood.
1. Apply the first coat, let it set for about 1 to 2 hours and rewetting dry areas then wet sand using the DO as the wet and finally wipe off the excess.
2. Wait for two days regularly checking for bled, especially for open grain woods like oak.
3. The second application is started with rubbing with steel wool or scotch brite, than wetting with fresh DO and after the 1 to 2 hours etc. as in #1.
4. see #2.
5. The third application should be similar to the first and second and will likely not show any dry spots.
6. See #2.
7. A fourth application will only be necessary if there are extremely porous end grain areas.
8. The final touch is a buffing with scotch brite then wax coat using a quality wax the one I prefer is Watco Satin Wax due to the ease of application.
The house that I currently live in was built in 2006 and the entire inside all of the woodwork including the cabinetry was built from locally cut red oak than finished using Watco medium walnut DO and dark satin wax.
The white walnut or butternut urn that I recently posted in the users gallery is very soft and porus was accomplished in three applications of the oil and one application of the satin wax. The thing that may have helped with the end grain areas is that I first poured oil inside rolling it around to cover as much as possible, than noticed that the oil had seeped through to the outside on the bottom. The final finish is not as shiny as a surface coat can be if polished, but it really brings out the beauty of the wood.
Very interesting!
Do you notice over time, as more and more air gets into the cans, that this upside-down approach still works? Or do you eventually get enough new oxygenated air in them, that the last bit of finish still goes bad?
From what I’ve read commercial “Danish Oil” can be almost anything these days! Some are even food safe. I used a commercial one years ago but I must have applied it wrong as I ended up with a sticky finish. I never bothered with it after that. I should give it another try I suppose, as the bottle of Finishing Oil I have, recommended by a professional turner at my club is nearly empty.
Hi Jon. Yes, the surface film of cured varnish is by far the most durable and protective to the wood surface, wax can't hold a candle (pun!) to varnish as a protective top coat. Wax on top cured varnish just makes varnish prettier, period. That is its job.
The varnish resin(s) (alkyd for well over 100 years, pine resins for...ever, polyurethane for many decades) are already solids and are just along for the ride within the oil, but that blend, due to the resin, wants to stay more on the surface. That cured, hard surface film is actually the cured oil, reinforced/toughened with resin particles. In the first coat or two, the oil component of the varnish will draw the blend into the wood grain some, but not as much will penetrate as straight oil.
Solvents simply thin the oil or varnish, and allow it to penetrate a bit deeper into the wood, or change the application method (rag vs. brush vs. spraying).
Take out the resin, and the first several coats of oil will instead penetrate the wood and cure within. Each subsequent coat of straight oil penetrates less, until the time where it more stays on the surface, leaving the plastic film. (Normally I stop applying oil after 2-3 coats to prevent a cured plastic surface film finish. I want the hand to feel the surface of the wood, not a coat of plastic. On most woods, more than 3 coats of straight oil aren't really going to benefit the wood, nor the final look, any more. It becomes wasteful.)
Wax- I think people put too much faith in the magic of wax. Wax's job, when applied properly, is a final top treatment, and fills in the almost-literal "invisible" scratches (the scratches that are impossible to stop from happening, ask the auto painting/detailing industry) on the surface of the cured film to make them appear smoother than they are. It improves the look by filling those invisible micro scratches and not scattering reflected light as much, making the surface look shinier. The feel will also seem somewhat smoother. But, a tiny but of wax goes a long way, because properly applied, you will be wiping off over 99% of what you applied in the first place. No need to goop wax on thick and heavy, that's just wasteful.
Oil- penetrates. Resin- ("varnish") creates the top plastic barrier film, if desired. Wax- finishes the finish, either the cured plastic varnish film, or filing micro scratches on the wood surface of an oil-only finish. Wax wears away with handling and should be re-applied as needed.
Wax will dissolve into oil (and solvents), and the oil/wax blend (such as Tried & True Original) product does, well... I'm thinking as I described above, but the cured oil nearer the surface may be softer in the end, possibly with less depth penetration, due to the wax impregnation. But it will feel creamy smooth.
The best book out there on the topic, by Bob Flexner-
That's probably the varnish in that particular brand of DO.
Over the 40 or so years I’ve been finishing wood I’ve tried mfd do as well as various diy do mixes. The diy mixes did just as well and saved significant $.
I finally settled on using spar varnish, thinned 1:1 with paint thinner, and applied like do. Spar has a higher oil content vs standard varnish, though I’ve never been able to find any specs that say how much more oil. IME I get to the final finish look and feel I want faster (fewer coats, less time) with thinned spar vs the various do mixes, likely due to higher varnish solids content.
I don’t get wrapped around an axle concerning what type of oil is used - at the end of the day its what the finished product looks and feels like, when completed and years later. I haven’t found more expensive oil types to make a difference on turnings that are not utility items - the finish is mostly in the wood, not on the wood.
IME with wood turnings and an “in the wood” type finish that most of us tend to be after, surface prep is the most important aspect by quite some distance. I have never gotten a wood surface too slick that the various do or poly type finishes will not soak in to. Finish viscosity plays a big role, thinner does penetrate through a slick surface better than thick.
I finally settled on using spar varnish, thinned 1:1 with paint thinner, and applied like do. Spar has a higher oil content vs standard varnish, though I’ve never been able to find any specs that say how much more oil. IME I get to the final finish look and feel I want faster (fewer coats, less time) with thinned spar vs the various do mixes, likely due to higher varnish solids content.
I don’t get wrapped around an axle concerning what type of oil is used - at the end of the day its what the finished product looks and feels like, when completed and years later. I haven’t found more expensive oil types to make a difference on turnings that are not utility items - the finish is mostly in the wood, not on the wood.
IME with wood turnings and an “in the wood” type finish that most of us tend to be after, surface prep is the most important aspect by quite some distance. I have never gotten a wood surface too slick that the various do or poly type finishes will not soak in to. Finish viscosity plays a big role, thinner does penetrate through a slick surface better than thick.
Thanks for mentioning thinned spar varnish, Doug. I think that is a great idea and requires buying one less ingredient for the recipe (already has plenty of oil in it). The next time I need a hardier wiping varnish, this will be the way I go. I'll go with gloss spar for the clarity.
And spar varnish can be bought in small cans (8-12oz, depending on brand) at hardware stores and home centers, so a pint or so of Doug's recipe can be mixed in a jar for peanuts.
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I have found that with Watco DO following the duration can work best. “Wipe off excess after 15 to 30 minutes “