I just finished my 100th piece using only natural oil finishes and the difference is huge.

I just finished my 100th piece using only natural oil finishes and the difference is huge. It started as a personal challenge after a bad reaction to a polyurethane in my old Chicago shop. I've used everything from pure tung to walnut oil on pieces from raw pine to reclaimed maple. The depth and feel you get after building up that many layers by hand is something a can finish just can't match. Anyone else gone all-in on oils and found a favorite application trick?

4 comments

4 Comments

corar373mo ago

Honestly, a hundred pieces is wild. Tbh my arms would fall off after the third coat on a single table. Ngl though, the part about the bad poly reaction in Chicago is the real tip here, that stuff is nasty. Guess you really learned the hard way to just stick with the rag and oil.

logan_mitchell1mo ago

Actually, rag and oil is a finish too, not just prep.

foster.tessa3mo ago

That Chicago poly reaction, what did it actually look like?

maxf333mo ago

So you saw that post about the poly going wrong? I read a whole thing once where it got all sticky and cloudy because the guy did it in his garage when it was way too humid. Like it never really dried right.