I'd like to talk about Boiled Linseed Oil

[Marsha]

I went to my friendly Lowes' store yesterday to buy some Boiled Linseed Oil, I've read so much about it on this forum, I thought I'd try it.

After reading the uses and directions I didn't buy it. It didn't seem to be a product that I would use on everyday items. The number 1 use listed was for treating decks & fences against water damage and to prevent wood rot. The safety precautions stated it should not be used for interior projects. The directions also stated that it takes 8 - 10 days to cure and the deck or fence should not be touched during that time.

I would like to know, from the folks who use Boiled Linseed Oil, why you use it, and how? What do you add to make it safe to use on indoor projects. Are there 2 varieties of Boiled Linseed Oil and was I looking at the wrong one. The associate at Lowes' didn't thing there was another product with the same name, and when I explained to her what I wanted to use it for, she was very insistent that I not use it.

Thanks Marsha

Well now I'm even more confused, the product I was looking at had nothing in common with the stuff I goggled.
So can someone actually give me a brand name of what you're using?
Thanks Marsha

[Mick Walker]

Marsha, the brand I have is Sunnyside, I very seldom use it because I don't care for the smell and it takes a long time to dry. Some mix it 50/50 with mineral spirits. There is boiled linseed oil (BLO) and raw linseed oil. You don't want the raw. I have used it a few times to "pop" the grain on wood but can get almost the same results by using Formby's tung oil finish which contains little or no actual tung oil. Be careful if you use BLO, the rags you use to apply or wipe it with should be hung or spread out to dry as they are prone to spontanious combustion.

[earlinjax]

Marsha, my seven cents, (had to adjust for inflation). I, too, after reading so much about it, bought a can at Lowe's. I tried it and didn't like the way it looked on my work or the way it didn't dry. It is setting on the shelf and I continue to use Watco which I like very much.

Earl

[GrayBeard Phil]

Marsha:

Boiled Linseed Oil Brand:
See attachment, I purchase it at my local Home Depot (The Original BORG)
Stole the JPEG attachment from: Welcome to KleanStrip.com

BLO can be found on the Kleen Strip web site under "Thinners and Solvents"

Please note: BLO has been used as a finish for many years, maybe hundreds of years. Raw Linseed oil, the oil obtained from pressing the seeds from the plant flax, had many uses around a farm a mere 100 years ago, or so I have been told (I wasn't there back then!)

{IMHO} Why Use BLO:

1. It is inexpensive.

2. It is inexpensive enough so I can dip my projects in a bath of BLO and hang up the projects to dry. (you still have to wipe them down.)

3. Since it is a finish that interacts with the minutely thin surface of the wood, and not act as a thin film on top of the wood, it is not prone to "dust mites" or "dust nodes" as a varnish is.

4. BLO is a very "dull" and specifically understated finish. No shine, no polish. Some scroll saw work has the eye focus on the cutting (where the wood ain't,) mostly with fret work. A shine on the wood draws the viewer's eye to the wood is exactly opposite of the artist's / artisan's intension. (very different from traditional woodworking where the goal is to draw the eye with the shine.) Artist choice. BLO is not a good choice with Intarsia.

Down-Side of BLO {Again, IMHO}

1. Rags used to wipe down BLO, (You do know you have to wipe down the surface don't you?) can cause your house to catch fire. Spontaneous combustion. Care of used rags is a long discussion and deserves it's own thread.

2. Takes a Long time to dry, but to cure takes even longer. BLO can take up to several months (yes, months) for full cure.

3. Raw linseed oil can be ingested, however modern BLO should not be ingested due to the chemicals added to make modern "Boiled" BLO and the chemicals added to allow BLO to "Dry." Dry to the touch is not Cure.

4. I, and others, have the opinion that a project finished with BLO should not be allowed to be used by very young children who put everything in their mouth. This is an opinion. Others have a valid point that a fully cured BLO finish is less toxic than pine wood itself (tree sap residue.) Many emphatic opinions on this subject.

5. One of the solvents used to thin BLO is generic Paint Thinner, or Mineral Spirits. Paint Thinner does have an odor that some are allergic to. Paint thinner is high in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) which some communities in North America have banned due to Air Pollution problems.

6. And this is just for the guys: If you don't get your own special dipping pan for BLO, and just grab you wife's good roasting pan out of her kitchen -- Then YOU WILL learn the meaning of "Down Side."

Phil

[GrayBeard Phil]

Sorry I forgot to add the following:

In traditional woodworking, BLO is frequently reapplied to furniture to maintain protection of the wood.

The traditional phrase for this reapplying BLO is:
Once a week for a month
Once a month for a year
Once a year for life.

Phil

[Marsha]

Thanks Phil, very informative.
Marsha

[greatdane2]

Marsha
Thanks for the post and info. A friend gave me a bottle years ago to do a couple of large picnic tables and I have used it since. No more.
The internet can be a scary place for us old farts. but the amount of info is stagering if we look.
Alan and Chance.

[Plaquerd]

Watco oil is Raw linseed oil, it just has MORE VOC's in it than BLO.
Read about BOL here:http://images.rockler.com/tech/RTD20000209AA.pdf

and Watco oil here:http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/msds/108744.pdf

and DGME which is an ingredient in Watco here: http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Dipr..._Ether-9923864

BLO is safe if used correctly. It dries hard if applied correctly and is safe once dry and you can achieve a high gloss shine with it. I wouldn't use it on things for little kids.......but then again I don't use any finish on any of the toys I make for kids. Dipping BLO isn't a method of FINISHING, it only coats the piece and some of it penetrates the wood. To finish with BLO properly, it must be rubbed into the wood, gun stocks, floors and good furniture are finished in this manner, check it out here:HowStuffWorks "Guide to Furniture Finishes: Tips and Guidelines"
and here:WoodCentral's BP Archives: Hand Rubbed Oil Finish

I'm posting here because of the "bad rap" BOL has been getting........any product with VOCs in it can harm humans........we just have to use them ALL in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and not take any thing for granted about how safe any of them are.

Mick
Tung oil will spontaneously combust also!!!!!!!
Look here:Real Milk Paint ® - Material Safety Data Sheet

Any product with VOCs can spontaneously combust.



reason for edit: note to Mick Walker

[lucky788scroller]

I prefer using Watco danish oil, but have in the past used BLO . I always used the BLO in a 50/50 mix with MS (mineral spirits).The smell of BLO/MS stinks to me compared to Watco. From what I do remember,I switched to Danish oil because of both the smell and because I had trouble with the BLO/MS staying sticky for a long time on a niceclock of red oak and padauk. It dried nicely on the red oak, but took months on the padauk.Definatly not the BLO's fault, but the wood prep on my part.I switched to danish oil,and have no desire to go back to BLO/MS mix.

[Marsha]

Originally Posted by Plaquerd

Watco oil is Raw linseed oil, it just has MORE VOC's in it than BLO.
Read about BOL here:http://images.rockler.com/tech/RTD20000209AA.pdf

and Watco oil here:http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/msds/108744.pdf

and DGME which is an ingredient in Watco here: http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Dipr..._Ether-9923864

BLO is safe if used correctly. It dries hard if applied correctly and is safe once dry and you can achieve a high gloss shine with it. I wouldn't use it on things for little kids.......but then again I don't use any finish on any of the toys I make for kids. Dipping BLO isn't a method of FINISHING, it only coats the piece and some of it penetrates the wood. To finish with BLO properly, it must be rubbed into the wood, gun stocks, floors and good furniture are finished in this manner, check it out here:HowStuffWorks "Guide to Furniture Finishes: Tips and Guidelines"
and here:WoodCentral's BP Archives: Hand Rubbed Oil Finish

I'm posting here because of the "bad rap" BOL has been getting........any product with VOCs in it can harm humans........we just have to use them ALL in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and not take any thing for granted about how safe any of them are.

Mick
Tung oil will spontaneously combust also!!!!!!!
Look here:Real Milk Paint ® - Material Safety Data Sheet

Any product with VOCs can spontaneously combust.



reason for edit: note to Mick Walker

This post is also very informative. I will not be using the BLO simply because it recommends not dipping the project, and the particular project I wanted it for requires dipping. I also want something that dries fairly quick.

Originally Posted by lucky788scroller

I prefer using Watco danish oil, but have in the past used BLO . I always used the BLO in a 50/50 mix with MS (mineral spirits).The smell of BLO/MS stinks to me compared to Watco. From what I do remember,I switched to Danish oil because of both the smell and because I had trouble with the BLO/MS staying sticky for a long time on a niceclock of red oak and padauk. It dried nicely on the red oak, but took months on the padauk.Definatly not the BLO's fault, but the wood prep on my part.I switched to danish oil,and have no desire to go back to BLO/MS mix.

Dale, I can't find Watco Danish oil in my area. I've only looked in Lowes' and Home depot, and neither store had it.
Thanks for all the input.
Marsha