best type of oil to use on oak frames

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rubyred25
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best type of oil to use on oak frames

Post by rubyred25 »

Hi All

I've recently been asked to apply an oil finish for a couple of oak frames I'm making up.
I normally apply a wax or stain finish on oak so not sure which type of oil would work the best - liberon finishing oil, danish oil, tung oil etc and wondered if anyone could suggest the best type to use.

much appreciated kind regards debbie
fusionframer
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Re: best type of oil to use on oak frames

Post by fusionframer »

I would go with either danish oil.Danish oil is a mixture of tung oil (or linseed oil) and a mixture of other things such as varnish and mineral spirits.

Tung oil will do a good job, but it needs more coats applied and 24 hours between coats wheras danish oil penetrates the wood quicker.

So the answer is really both will do a good job, but danish oil is quicker to apply.

Nick
www.fusionframing.co.uk

Never trust a dog with orange eyebrows.
rubyred25
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Re: best type of oil to use on oak frames

Post by rubyred25 »

Perfect and thankyou for speedy reply Nick
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Re: best type of oil to use on oak frames

Post by Justintime »

I've used the Liberon finishing oil, it worked great. It's recommended for pieces in high humidity kitchens or bathrooms.
Justin George GCF(APF)
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Re: best type of oil to use on oak frames

Post by Not your average framer »

Ordinary wood finishing oil, like Danish oil takes time to set, which means you will need to leave the frames somewhere for the oil to dry. So you will need space for this. I don't find this at all helpful, as I do make some frames in batches, I therefore have a different method. I therefore use Shellac and a small amount of added Danish oil which mixes well with the shellac and seals the shellac to prevent it absorbing atmospheric humidity which otherwise produces that unwanted white bloom on the shellac. I normally add one to two teaspoons of the Danish oil to a 250ml bottle of shellac sanding sealer. Any more Danish oil and it can't be made to set in a nice quick time. My method of making the shellac / Danish oil mixture to set is by using a hot air heat gun, such as made for paint stripping. It is necessary to keep the heat gun moving back and forth, to avoid excessive heat and damaging the wood / finish. Applying the shellac / Danish oil mixture with a brush saves time and reduces waste. I don't need to wipe off any surplus, before using heat to set the finish, as I am well practiced at doing this.

I do this mainly on smaller frames, which is more convenient to do in batches. When I want to use a wood stain under the finish I usually make my own water based finish using acrylic paints and water, which again is lightly brushed on and then rubbed in using a piece of disposable paper kitchen towel, afterwards I set this home made stain again using the heat gun. I make such batches of frames using mostly oak, or pine mouldings. The oak ones are particularly easily to sell. I don't usually use strut backs to make small frames stand on flat surfaces, but make them instead from deep box frame mouldings, which will easily stand on a flat surface. This helps me to avoid the extra cost of buying strut backs and therefore helps me to maintain more worthwhile profitability. If you are making your own batches of nice quality ready made frames, this is not an easy market for the unwary. People expect most ready made frames to be much to cheap and this is not a way to make money. Your ready made frames must not look anything like those normally available in most shops. The must be really different and up market items, this is essential.

Do not be tempted to make anything which looks lke the once popular colour of antique pine. People just don't buy stuff like this. I save pieces of wood with knots, until I have enough pieces to make a frame and use these to make old fashioned "rustic" frames. If you are based in a really old town, with lots of old houses and cottages, you won't have any difficulties selling these at all. Do not sell these too cheap, Customer's judge quality partly by price, if something seems too cheap then it is assumed to be rubbish and does not sell at all. Significant mark ups are essential to making a living out of stuff like this. Also older style finishes, often work really well for me, particularly distressed black over muted red finishes. Very often Customer's wont buy a single frame, with nothing to match it. Pairs of matching frames will quite often sell, more easily than single frames, also selling frames as pairs will increase the value of an individual sale. Tourist and visitors to my town, will often buy a useful amount of things, this can be a bit seasonal, but not necessarily.

Married couples often will appear during the quiter seasons as well and it may be because of a day trip to celebrate a special occasion and buying something special to remember the day may be part of the plan. Having some nice ready to go items in your shop windows is always a good idea. Impulse buys need to be a convenient size for customer's to carry away. Excessively large, bulky items just don't make good impulse buys. Lots of suitable items for my shop windows get made from off cuts and left over bits. There is often no point in leaving your off cuts until they become too small. I try not to produce off cuts, purely suitable only for the dumpster, experience has taught me that I can sell most of my waste, as long as I produce something nice from it and have a good place where it can be displayed. Suprisingly enough, needing to think out of the box to find ideas to use off cuts and left overs, often result in items which can be a little unusual. There are some customers who are on the look out for the quirky and the unusual. such items can be quite popuar.

I also sell items to friends who are in the interior design business and those who like to frame things to sell on eBay, etsy and the like. There can be a bit of haggling over prices with those who sell on the internet, which is o.k. as they need to make their money on the deal too! Mostly car boot sales and the like have disappeared, but there are still a few table top sales still happening and people are still producing stuff to sell at table top sales. It's not a massive market, but it's there none the less and can be usefully worthwhile. I'm in a small rural town and foot fall is a bit variable at times, so you take what you can when you can.
Mark Lacey

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rubyred25
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Re: best type of oil to use on oak frames

Post by rubyred25 »

Thank you Justin, I will definitely keep the finishing oil in mind when making frames are for kitchens
and thank you Mark too - I'm still learning and trying to speed up my production times whilst also trying to find a use for all my oak waste so lightly colouring the oak to sort of unify it sounds good and is something I will practise over the xmas holidays.

many thanks guys
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Re: best type of oil to use on oak frames

Post by fusionframer »

Danish oil and Tung oil will be absolutely fine for kitchens too. Most kitchen oak worktops will be protected with Danish oil or Tung oil. The first coat will probably dry very quickly as the oils soak in quickly.. the glossier the finish you want, the more coats you add.

Nick
www.fusionframing.co.uk

Never trust a dog with orange eyebrows.
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