Yikes! I can only imagine.
But then the bowl would be inside-out.
Rarely cured in 3 days in my experience. I usually do a smell test (but then women are know to have a better sense of smell than men
). This bowl passed the smell test, but the chestnut has some relatively large pores. Another test would be to put it in a pretty warm place (please, not your oven, at least not with it on). Heat will make oil that's hiding come to the surface. If you could find a big enough salad spinner, you could try that -- just like putting it on the lathe. Months ago, when it was cold and I had the pellet stove running, I sat down in front of it with an almost-cured bowl that had had nothing on the surface for a couple days, and as I sat there, the bright little oil spots started showing up in places on the surface.
Ahhhh, that might be it. I was using the last of a somewhat aged can, bought new stuff a couple of days later.
That part of the instructions for the Danish oil is somewhat entertaining. I would expect softer woods such as Big Leaf Maple to absorb quite a bit of oil, but what surprised me was the Madrone bowl I finished this weekend, sanded to 800. Perhaps it depends on the definition of "doesn't soak in" but areas of that bowl just kept on drinking. I figured that, just for giggles, I'd keep feeding it beyond what I'd usually do. That resulted in a longer follow-up period of wiping off the little bright releases of oil once the major wipe-off had been done.
I guess knowing when to stop is just as important as knowing when to add DO...!
Press your thumb on the surface long enough to warm it - maybe 30 seconds. Any non-polymerized oil will show as "sweat" where your thumb was.Hah! I've discovered a test for the cured-ness of Watco (or any "penetrating oil" product): Just stick it on the lathe. I have a chestnut bowl that sat for several days, in the house, after applying Watco (judiciously). No longer smelled, certainly looked dry. Threw it on the lathe for a little touch-up of the foot and several pores released their treasure in tiny little bright spots/splots. Amazing how long it takes sometimes.
Gerald, I have some Renaissance Wax, but haven't tried it on anything but small spindle work. Do you mind sharing details on how you apply it, buff, etc., on something larger like a bowl?
Nope, no brochure (I actually read instructions, strangely enough). That aside, if there's one thing I've learned on this forum, it's that the instructions included with many finishes have only the slightest relationship to real-life application.
Hey, thanks, Gerald. The Wood Finish Supply link reads like a brochure, so that'll probably suffice (appreciate your offer though!). I got a chuckle out of this part: "[it] is a semi-synthetic microcrystalline fossil-origin wax...." [emph. added] I assume it isn't officially "food safe." (Though in reality, it probably is for some things, eh?)
I ask, because I may use it on the infamous Madrona bowl that's pretty much cured now.
Hey, thanks, Gerald. The Wood Finish Supply link reads like a brochure, so that'll probably suffice (appreciate your offer though!). I got a chuckle out of this part: "[it] is a semi-synthetic microcrystalline fossil-origin wax...." [emph. added] I assume it isn't officially "food safe." (Though in reality, it probably is for some things, eh?)
What about this part, from Wikipedia: "Waxes are not permanent, though, and will attract dust and lint over time, necessitating removal of the dirty wax." Have you run into that problem with Ren, and if so how did you fix it? (Hah! and you though you were done with this thread.
I have read dire warnings about dark gummy messes being the result of using a wax finish as if any of the products that woodturners use were actually some sort of soft gummy products. No doubt these dire warnings come from those who aren't familiar with what is being used. If any dust settles on any waxed turning that I have sitting around in my house (did I mention the likelihood of that?), a simple dusting with a feather duster (an industrial leaf blower here) fixes the problem.
Thanks for the comparison, Fred. I did two bowls yesterday -- a wide (10") shallow Madrona bowl with Carnuba, and a smaller chestnut bowl with Renaissance Wax. The woods are very different, the chestnut is pretty open-grained, the Madrona very tight, so they sanded out quite differently. The carnuba-waxed Madrone has a much silkier feel, the hand doesn't slide as nicely over the chestnut/Ren-waxed. I'll turn a small bowl out of the Madrone and try some Ren on it and see what it's like. I think I'll get a dedicated Beall buff for Ren-wax purposes -- too many problems with my hands to hand-buff.