Comments on: Hands-On: Watco Danish Oil - Cherry Finish

By: Sean

Sean — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:27:33 +0000

I used this on red oak, and the colour was very washed out after 2 coats - using the instructions on the can. So, I applied a third coat - big mistake! the oil no longer seeps into wood after 2 coats so if your colour is not even - applying more does not help. I found it ended up in a nice sticky mess which I had to wipe off with rags and then wipe off the stuck on fibers from the rags. Now I’m going to sand the entire piece down, getting rid of any remnants of WATCO and I will be reverting back to my MINWAX stains. I was told that WATCO was extremely easy to use - maybe the ORIGINAL but any coloured WATCO does not apply well (I also tried another coloured WATCO with same results on another piece). It seems that the oil seeps in before the stain therefore the colour stays on top and basically when you return to wipe off the excess oil, you are actually wiping off the colour. I’m extremely dissatisfied with the oil.

By: Toolmonger » Blog Archive » The Week in Tools: Toolmonger Top 5

Toolmonger » Blog Archive » The Week in Tools: Toolmonger Top 5 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:56:45 +0000

[...] Hands-On: Watco Danish Oil - Cherry Finish Finishing a wood project often takes longer than building it, so it sucks when some of these difficult-to-apply finishes don’t wear well. In the Toolmonger shop, Danish oil has become one of our favorite methods — it’s easy to apply and looks great afterward — so we decided to try Watco’s latest formulation, a cherry stain, to see if it holds up to what folks have come to expect from the line. [...]

By: Chuck

Chuck — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:20:56 +0000

Just be sure to dispose of the rags as indicated on the can - store them in a sealed metal can under water (meaning water in the can - not the can in a bigger bucket under water). One issue of spontaneous combustion later, and I now take those warnings seriously.

By: BC

BC — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:41:59 +0000

Poly is compatible with danish oil if you scuff sand the surface first.

By: R47

R47 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:01:46 +0000

I used wipe-on poly over Watco Danish oil on my workbench, came out fine.

By: txinkman

txinkman — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:02:43 +0000

I bet you could if you used a non- wax shellac seal coat (aka Zinsser Seal Coat Shellac). I use it all the time between dissimilar finish coats. Also, thanks Mr German, for your comment, I’ve battled with arthritic hands against childproofing for way too long — it never occured to me before to cut cut the booger off. Duh!

By: SuperJdynamite

SuperJdynamite — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:47:45 +0000

Can you put poly over danish oil?

By: Bren R.

Bren R. — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:23:41 +0000

I used Watco’s Danish oil on a gun stock and fore end for the first time last week (I’ve used double boiled linseed oil and tung oil extensively before). I have to suggest that you ignore the instructions on it and instead flood the surface, wait a short bit, WIPE OFF EXCESS, wait for it to kind of set (but not be sticky) and reapply. By following the can instructions, I ended up “heat weeping” oil out of it with a halogen lamp for 3 days.

By: Jim German

Jim German — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:46:28 +0000

I’ve found that if you pry/cut/manhandle the plastic off of those caps then you get a nice easy to unscrew normal metal cap instead. (course then its not child proof, but whatever)