brand recommendations for home made danish oil? is "green" mineral spirits a bad idea?


plinmaine

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I'm just beginning to mix my own finish and could use help from some veterans on preference: 

I've been using Watco's natural danish oil and like it fine, but not the price if I can make it better myself.  I also feel like there's *something* missing from it.  Subtle, and not sure how to explain it yet.   My first stab was the following: 

1/3 Kleen Strip BLO

1/3 Minwax Helmsman spar urethane (gloss, as Fortner said the matte was just unneeded additives)

1/3 Kleen Strip green mineral spirits. (the white plastic container with the green lettering)

Here's the weirdness:  the mixture is GREEN.  Weird vomit green, although tested on some scrap it looks just like Watco.  The mineral spirits looks like it has white particulate in it that when shaken, dissolves into the solution, but when I let the jar sit overnight, there is a clear liquid on the bottom, some solids, and a murky liquid above.  Any help?  Really, any feedback is GREATLY appreciated.  

What is the best quality varnish to use?  

What is the best choice of mineral spirits?  

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Welcome to the forums.

This comes up every now & then where people want to brew up their own finishes. But I don't see how the average woodworker can come up with a better finish than the big companies with big labs & big R&D budgets. I think your time would be better spent doing test boards of various over the counter finishes & see what works best for you.

Sorry, I don't have any answers to your questions. Others may be able to help.

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