Oil before CA: Wait to cure or not?

[TattooedTurner]

I'm going to finish a pen/pencil set with Minwax Antique Oil then CA. Should I wait 2-3 weeks for the oil to fully cure first, 2-3 days for it to dry, or 2-3 minutes because I hate waiting or skip the oil altogether? These are for a friend's wife and I don't want any issues with the CA finish 6 months from now, which has happened to me. The wood is several years old and bone dry so moisture won't be an issue. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[MRDucks2]

I don't pretend to know the right answer, Jay, but my wife is presently redoing our kitchen cabinets with paint, then antiquing, then polycrylic (water based). She is waiting 24 hours but says you will need to wait longer for oil. (She done a trial with oil based antique from Minwax).

While she is a good wife, the wife in her does come through. She said to tell you to read the back of the can. lol

 

[magpens]

@TattooedTurner

Hi Jay,

My advice is to skip the oil. . I have never used any oil, BLO or any other kind of oil, with CA on the 500+ pens I have made and finished with CA.
I think the jury is still out on whether the oil does any good at all under any circumstances.
Unless, of course, you may have a specific reason for it, such as depth or quality of color. . But since you first raised the possibility of skipping the oil, that's what I advise.

 

[TonyL]

Hi my friend. This DOES NOT answer your question, but I when I am confronted with the same issue, I use https://www.woodcraft.com/products/doctors-woodshop-pens-plus-16oz. I little goes a very long way. I then hit it with his non micro abrasive wax.

 

[Brage]

After sanding I use to rinse with alcohol, and then apply a coat of BLO. Over the BLO I use CA together with BLO. The BLO actually speeds up the curing of CA (see my experiment in the finishing forum). I am not suggesting that this is the best (or even a good) finishing method, as I have not tried any other ones.

 

[dogcatcher]

Skip the Minwax Antique Oil, it is a mix of a little BLO, a little varnish, and a lot of thinner. Pop the grain with a little BLO and thinner mix, then CA finish.

 

[TattooedTurner]

Thanks for the replies. I already put AO on the first pen last night so I think I'll play it safe and wait a bit. As @magpens mentioned, there's no added benefit & I normally don't use oil on pens these days, but this was an unknown wood from Brazil that looked a bit bland so I wanted to pop the grain a bit and maybe add a little color to it.

 

[dogcatcher]

Try this to pop the grain on plain wood, get some black or brown leather dye, Fiebings alcohol based NOT the oil based version. Before you sand apply a light coat of dye, brush on and wipe off. Then sand through the grits. You will remove most of the dye, but the softer spots will have soaked in deeper, giving you a contrast. I said black or brown, but Fiebings sells a rainbow of colors. Try what ever suits your fancy. Need more ideas,, there is a TON of ideas if you research it a little.