Have read numerous posts on boiled linseed oil (BLO) usage to make the grain well defined. Does BLO make the grain any more pronounced than just CA? Have never used BLO but if I am missing any beauty of the wood grain, I want to try it. I do not want to excessively darken the wood however, and expect BLO would do just that, although any finish that brings out the contrast will darken to some extent. Thanks
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BLO no BLO
- Thread starter Chris Bar
- Start date
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The answer is "no", BLO does not make the grain any more pronounced than CA glue, BUT................. it depends on how willing you are to use sandpaper.
There are 2 ways to enhance the grain. One is by changing the color of the wood, and the other is by changhing the light reflection of the wood.
BLO enhances the grain because it changes the color of the wood by making it darker. More of the finish is absorbed into the end grain than on the flat, and that makes the endgrain darker, while everything in between flat and end has a proportionately variable difference in color. You could also use dyes to do the same thing. This works best when the wood is sanded to more than 180 grit because there is more penetration into the less sanded grain. Doing it this way is a holdover from furniture finishing.
We can also enhance the grain by sanding with finer sandpaper. The finer Sanding limits the penetration into the wood, so the color change from BLO is less effective the finer you sand. However, the finer sanding polishes the wood, with the flat grain being more highly polished than the end grain. The differences in light reflection enhance the grain. If you were to polish most woods to 12,000 Micro-Mesh, you would get a grain enhancement that was just as good or better than anything you could do with BLO at the coarser sanding, and there would be none of the blotching that is a problem when using oils and dyes to enhance the grain.
So, the answer is:
You can do as good or better with the CA glue (or lacquer. or shellac), without the color change IF you are willing to sand the bare wood to AT LEAST 600-grit before applying the finish, and it will definitely be better than BLO at any grit if you sanded to 12,000MM first.
There is a common argument, by those who don't want to sand, that fine sanding does nothing to the wood, and that fine sanding causes adhesion problems with the finishes because finishes don't stick to polished wood. My experience is that these arguments are wrong on both counts.
The color change and brightening from dampening the wood with water will be the same as what you will get from CA or lacquer. This will give you a good preview of the finish. Just make sure the wood is dry again, and the raised grain has been sanded back after using the water. You could also use Mineral Spirits for this, but you would still have to wait for it to evaporate, and sand afterwards. I would never recommend using alcohol or CA accelerator because they can introduce some problems into the mix, and I would rather avoid problems.
There are 2 ways to enhance the grain. One is by changing the color of the wood, and the other is by changhing the light reflection of the wood.
BLO enhances the grain because it changes the color of the wood by making it darker. More of the finish is absorbed into the end grain than on the flat, and that makes the endgrain darker, while everything in between flat and end has a proportionately variable difference in color. You could also use dyes to do the same thing. This works best when the wood is sanded to more than 180 grit because there is more penetration into the less sanded grain. Doing it this way is a holdover from furniture finishing.
We can also enhance the grain by sanding with finer sandpaper. The finer Sanding limits the penetration into the wood, so the color change from BLO is less effective the finer you sand. However, the finer sanding polishes the wood, with the flat grain being more highly polished than the end grain. The differences in light reflection enhance the grain. If you were to polish most woods to 12,000 Micro-Mesh, you would get a grain enhancement that was just as good or better than anything you could do with BLO at the coarser sanding, and there would be none of the blotching that is a problem when using oils and dyes to enhance the grain.
So, the answer is:
You can do as good or better with the CA glue (or lacquer. or shellac), without the color change IF you are willing to sand the bare wood to AT LEAST 600-grit before applying the finish, and it will definitely be better than BLO at any grit if you sanded to 12,000MM first.
There is a common argument, by those who don't want to sand, that fine sanding does nothing to the wood, and that fine sanding causes adhesion problems with the finishes because finishes don't stick to polished wood. My experience is that these arguments are wrong on both counts.
The color change and brightening from dampening the wood with water will be the same as what you will get from CA or lacquer. This will give you a good preview of the finish. Just make sure the wood is dry again, and the raised grain has been sanded back after using the water. You could also use Mineral Spirits for this, but you would still have to wait for it to evaporate, and sand afterwards. I would never recommend using alcohol or CA accelerator because they can introduce some problems into the mix, and I would rather avoid problems.
Last edited:
george
Member
Thank you, mr. Russ. Always a joy reading your comments.