What a big fat mess!!!

[Cutting Cathy]

Uuuurrrrggggg!!! I really hate finishing. I wanted to put a finish on my motorcycles tonight so reading the magazine he suggested Danish oil. Well I just so happen to have some Formby's Danish oil. I put some in a tin pan and dunked the pieces in one at a time getting them all covered. About half way through, both my gloves were falling apart!! I finally ditched them and went to wipe down the pieces..... It was all sticky!! Extremely sticky. I wiped them down as best I could and they are sitting out in the shop. I just might be throwing that cycle away. What in the heck did I do wrong and how do you guys finish these puzzles?? Any advice for me?!?!?!?!

I wish someone would write a book about finishing small craft items. There are all kinds of books about finishing big pieces, I want one specifically for small items, boxes, puzzles, crosses, plaques.......

[Riverlady]

that's good to know I just bought some danish oil and was going to finish a portrait of a woodie, I'll be checking back to see what the responses are before I tackle it
Erin

[joez71]

Personally when i use danish oil, or boiled lindseed oil i use a rag to wipe on a thin coat, and after a few minutes wipe off the excess.

You can build up the finish with multiple coats over a few days.


The wood whisperer has a dvd available that might help you, A Simple varnish finish, The Wood Whisperer Store | The Wood Whisperer Woodworking Video Podcast and Blog

Personally i like spraying my finishes, but you'd need a compressor and spray gun. Once you get the hang of it spraying say pre-cat laquer is a breeze and touch dry in a few minutes...


joez71

[sawdustus]

Cathy, the problem could be age...the finishes not yours. As finish sits in a previously opened container, oxygen in the container reacts with the finish and tries to get it to harden. This has the effect of slowly spoiling the finish for future use. The more times you opened and closed the can over a period of a year or two without using it up, the more likely it has partly reacted or has had its solvents partially evaporate. Throw the Formby's away and buy a new can of it. Spray cans do not have this happen because they are usually pressurized with nitrogen which does not react with the finish or its solvents.
When I find a can of finish that has been opened before and more than a year or so has gone by without it being used, I often ditch it and start a new can, especially if when I open it, it is thicker or a different color than what I normally expect it to be. If you look on the bottom of the container, you will find a use by date. They really do mean it. The one time I did not follow my own advice, it took 3 weeks in a warm basement for Watco danish oil to dry completely enough for me to touch it without it coming off on my hands, and another month for the smell to completely disappear.
One solution that has been used to prevent oxygen from getting into the can is to use a product (quite expensive however) called bloxigen which is basically an nonreactive, heavier than oxygen gas, that displaces the oxygen (air) before you reclose the can. Another is to put very clean pebbles or marbles into the can to displace the missing finish and bring its surface back up to the top of the can thereby forcing the oxygen (air) out of the can before resealing it.

george

[CanadianScroller]

Cathy you may try washing the pieces with mineral spirits. It may remove the stickiness I am not sure. I think we have all had that same issue before at some point.
I wouldnt throw them away. There has to be some solvent of some sort that will remove the finish and let you start over.

[Bill Wilson]

I agree with Carl. Try and salvage your work by wiping it off with mineral spirits. It may take a couple applications, some patience and elbow grease, but it should work pretty well. If you still end up with a little stickiness, I would try spraying a coat of shellac over it. You can get rattle cans of shellac at Lowe's or HD. Shellac is the ultimate barrior coat finish. It's often used as a bridge between incompatible finishes. The only caveat is that you have to use a de-waxed shellac if you are going to topcoat with polyurethane. I'm not sure whether the rattle cans are de-waxed or not. If they aren't, shellac is fine as a stand alone finish.

[LarryMarshall]

It's important to make the distinction between "danish oil" and other oil finishes. Dipping parts in linseed oil or lemon oil is fine because, well, they're just oil.

But danish oil is a mixture of oil and varnish. In truth, Formby's "Danish Oil" was the first form of wiping varnish. Thus, the "sticky" part of this is the varnish drying on the surface of the pieces.

Cheers --- Larry

[Forester21]

Cathy - I had the same problem when I used Formby's tung oil once - I let the wood set too long without wiping it down, and when I got to it the finish was very sticky.
What I did was take my rag and put more of the tung oil on the rag, then wiped the item down with it. For some reason, the stickyness was gone and I was able to buff the wood down. Then I let it set and dry.
Theresa

[lucky788scroller]

Cathy Cathy Cathy.... I feel for ya... heres my finishing book (condensed version of course), Ill use the giraffe puzzle on the sswc cover for an example.... clean off all the sawdust, glue residue, ect. Pour Watco Danish Oil in a dipping pan (I use the plastic trays meat comes in at the store). Plop your puzzle pieces in the pan, and slosh the stuff around, and flip the pieces over in the pan a couple times, cuz you want it to soak in good. After 5 minutes or so (roughly), pick each piece out and stand it in another pan so the excess drips off, while you put away the oil in the dipping pan by pouring it into a jar or other can (not back into the original can) to save for next time.Then, one by one, take each puzzle piece and wipe it off good with cheap paper toweling, and place each piece on a hunk of paper bag, cardboard, or whatever to dry. That oil should cure good enough in 24 hours or so depending on humidity. Then, spray all the pieces with Deft Gloss wood finish in aerosol can, wait till thats dry, flip, and spray other side. Do this twice, then lightly hand sand with 400 grit. Wipe off the dust, and give the pieces another coat or two. If you dont want a glossy finish, just use semigloss or satin as your final coat.

[wood-n-things]

Cathy,
I always try the old method of the "hair of the dog that bit ya" Method. In other words

First try wiping it down with some of the same finish that started to go bad on you. For some reason it has worked for me in the past. I always test a little on a scrap piece of wood, if the can has already been opened, for reasons others have already mentioned...You can salvage your work it will just take a little while longer than you had planned.

If that does not work try Mineral spirits, get it he best you can and then clear coat it and sand as usual for a nice finish.