Danish oil / Shellac

[rick kinder]

Can tou use shellac over Danish Oil and if so how long should you let the oil dry

[Pete Bennett]

Can tou use shellac over Danish Oil and if so how long should you let the oil dry

If the Danish oil has been on there for years you may get away with a very good sanding. If not you're probably best not to. However, if you can give the surface a scraping followed by a de-oiling agent either Carbon Tetrachloride or Trico ethylene followed by a good sanding it should be OK. Trouble is Danish Oil is likely to 'throw' off Spirit finishes if it's still active. Without knowing how much oil was used in the first instance and how long ago, it's a bit of suck it and see.

[kep1019]

I just applied shellac in fact waxed shellac over WATCO "Danish oil" with no ill effects at all. The can itself stated to let dry for 72 hours before appling a top coat. I left it for a good week. The process I used was to brush 4 coats of the shellac, in full disclosure I was playing around with different finishes and techniques on a tiger maple top. Sanded back the brushed on shellac until smooth which almost removed it all then tried a french polishing technique for applying what were the final coats.

[AceHoleInOne]

Yes you can.

As to the dry...well that depends...on wood type, air temperature and air movement, climate conditions, number of coats, thickness of coats...yeah you get the rest. :lol:

Take poplar wood, since danish oil is mostly mineral spirits, poplar will pull, like a sponge, the danish oil deep into the wood. While the outside seems dry, inside the wood it's not and takes time to gas off or dry. So the more coats on top, takes even more time. Finishes takes time to fully cure, someone living in Seattle Washington, with all the humidity vs someone living in dry Arizona climate, the Seattle person will take longer due to climate conditions.

In my opinion no finish fully cures in 7 days, except possibly UV cured finishes.

Ok, lets get to the quick.....more time is better, I like at least 7 to 15 days before you use the finish. 30 days is probably fully cured.

Hard question, no perfect answer...more time is better than less.

-Ace-

[dublinmark]

Can tou use shellac over Danish Oil and if so how long should you let the oil dry

I did my son's bed 5 years ago and have had no issues. the bed is made with walnut and finished with Danish Oil, and then shellac. I haven't had any chipping or fogging or anything.

[mgradwohl]

I have used Shellac over Danish oil many times. Danish oil is a great medium for wetsanding walnut. The slurry creates a great pore filler. After doing this I let the danish oil dry very well (I have a heated shop) and then using dewaxed shellac I apply multiple coats of a 1 lb cut sanding lightly in between. This creates a glass smooth finish. For table tops I then put some coats of wiping varnish over the shellac to give the top more protection.