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How do I smooth out an new oil finish

Zonker92

Zonker92

All shiny and chrome
I've gotten in the habit of oiling my speakers with Watco Danish Oil or Teak Oil, and between coats, after they've dried for a few days, if they feel a little rough I may very lightly sand them (just a quick soft rub) with, say, 400 or 600 grit, then a damp cloth, then let them dry, then hit them with another coat of oil and repeat as needed.

Eventually, after five or six coats, they will be very smooth to the touch. Then I let them dry a few days then wax them.

But here's my question: If I want to get them smooth without re-oiling them and hoping that each new coat will finally feel smooth, is there a good way to lightly sand them without having to re-oil them after sanding? Maybe wet sand them with 2000 grit or hit them with 0000 steel wool or something? Because whenever I try that, it always seems to dull the shine a little.

So ... I'm really asking, what's the best way to polish them smooth before waxing, while keeping the semi-gloss finish of a fresh coat of oil?

Thanks.
 
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0000 steel wool very lightly going with the grain. Should be just enough to take the edge off. That's what I use when doing a Tru-Oil finish on a guitar neck. Afterwards buff the surface down with some old denim to get the shine back.
 
2 add-ons; I use 3M ultra fine pads instead of steel wool. Sometimes a steel fiber will embed into a wood pore and cause a wood zit. If you want to polish to a higher gloss than wet-sanding, try using a paste of finishing oil and rottenstone (good paint store should have it) on a hard felt pad.
 
TudorTurtle is right about the 3M pads. If you're close to the wood don't use steel wool. It'll leave a mess. If you're a few oil thicknesses away from the wood the steel wool is alright.
 
Wood is best when it is waxed. Try to find a quality furniture wax, not Pledge. It comes in cans like car wax does. Minwax bees wax is very good. the result will amaze you and it helps hold the oil in the wood so the wood does not get that dusty look after a year or so.
 
Thanks. I'm using the Watco wax and I also have some Howard's. Plus various automotive products.
 
Howard's feed and wax applied with your fingers generously and then while covered with the wet wax steel wool with 0000 and then buff with a soft cloth.

Works like a charm

Eric
 
I would use 0000 steel wool opened up to a nice wide flat palm size piece. Thats if you have the rolled up pieces. If you have a bulk roll cut enough off to make a nice pad. The trick is to be using your palm and not your fingers or a bunched up wad.

Now if you do not have any "WAX" on the wood you have Watco on. Im telling you this because this product will clean off the wax. Witch in some cases might be what you want, But I would use Naphtha first to devolve the old wax.

Orange Glo is a citrus cleaner and very light oil. Take the speaker lay it on it's side put some oil in the pad. Pad the whole side edge to edge full length with the grain. Don't over work the very edges because you can burn though the finish faster there. But make sure you do everything evenly and consistent. When the side feels smooth (no Pimples) dry it off with the grain also. Do all side the same way nothing is finalized yet so don't worry about flipping the speaker on an oily side you did, just have a clean moving pad to work on. Once you did all surfaces stand it up-right dry it off good getting rid of the dirty oil with steel wool lint. Take a clean soft cotton rag and just a little Orang Glo and wipe a nice dry coat like your dusting something in the house. Let stand and evaporate.

First Rule, Sample a small area first!
I am not there nor is anyone else giving you advice.

What you are effectively doing above is Wool lubing kind of like wet sanding. But when your done you will have a satin finished look. Unlike dull scratchy dry look after wet sanding.

The steel wool is an abrasive
The Orange Glo is a lubricant that will help protect the finish in the process.
The Orange Glo also hides faint superficial scratches and lubracats down in the pours/ grain.

I would Not! use Scotch Bright pads as mentioned above to abrasive for final finish look.

Also when I do use Watco it's mostly to refresh old wood work in homes. What I do is thin it with naphtha about 50/50. The naphtha is a fast drying pant thinner so it clean as well as it helps the watco saturate into the wood and only leaving a thin coat of watco as the finish. Also let watco dry at least three day before working with it again in any manor ie: recoats, waxing.

Now that I think of it this 50/50 mix might work for you as well after your build-up and used for final coat. In witch case you can sand the previous coat with 320-400 lightly just to knock down pimples and streak lines. Then apply thinly with a lint free rage like bed sheets. Don't over work it because you don't wan't it to soften the previous coat while your whipping it.

I am a furniture and Architectural wood finisher by trade. High end homes,custom made & designed furniture. 35 years, Any other questions just Pm me for my #:thmbsp:
 
Another little trick is to reverse fold sandpaper or use a piece of cardboard and buff. (We'd do that after lacquering woodwork to smooth the occasional over spray rough spot.)

Watco is a great finish (is mostly designed for thin film usage) but I've used the stuff for all kinds of purposes from making long glazes in faux finishing to using it as an extender in some custom coatings. (Have to know what your doing because caveats abound.)
It does yellow aggressively but is so easy to knock down with a sanding or blend out with a furniture refinisher.....just tough enough to be good and easy, but not too tough to keep from doing easy repairs with down the road. Nice balance.

One major thing about Watco.... rags with it don't "stand a chance" of catching fire, they "WILL" catch fire! Immerse in water or securely drape to dry.
Also....be careful with using steel wool on light colored/open grained woods as particles caught in the open grain can rust in humid environments when using low millage oils.
As an aside: Never use steel wool with waterbased finishes as it is a guarantee for a rust problem/equaling nightmare! (I've fixed every possible scenario imaginable and this one was very trying.)
 
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bd1886 said:
Another little trick is to reverse fold sandpaper or use a piece of cardboard and buff. (We'd do that after lacquering woodwork to smooth the occasional over spray rough spot.)

Watco is a great finish (but is mostly designed for thin film usage) but I used the stuff for all kinds of purposes from making long glazes in faux finishing to using it as an extender in some custom coatings. (Have to know what your doing because caveats abound.)
It does yellow aggressively but is so easy to knock down with a sanding or blend out with a furniture refinisher.....just tough enough to be good and easy, but not too tough to keep from doing easy repairs with. Nice balance.
Click to expand...

Ya thats why I mention the 50/50 mix. I think they are over using the product it's not meant to be built up like lacquer. You end up with a sticky mess might be why there is so much lint on the project. Rag Drag pulling the fiber off the rag. :thmbsp:
 
Zonker92 said:
I've gotten in the habit of oiling my speakers with Watco Danish Oil or Teak Oil, and between coats, after they've dried for a few days, if they feel a little rough I may very lightly sand them (just a quick soft rub) with, say, 400 or 600 grit, then a damp cloth, then let them dry, then hit them with another coat of oil and repeat as needed.

Eventually, after five or six coats, they will be very smooth to the touch. Then I let them dry a few days then wax them.

But here's my question: If I want to get them smooth without re-oiling them and hoping that each new coat will finally feel smooth, is there a good way to lightly sand them without having to re-oil them after sanding? Maybe wet sand them with 2000 grit or hit them with 0000 steel wool or something? Because whenever I try that, it always seems to dull the shine a little.

So ... I'm really asking, what's the best way to polish them smooth before waxing, while keeping the semi-gloss finish of a fresh coat of oil?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
First and foremost is surface preparation. After a proper sanding I blow the surface off with roughly 40psi from the compressor. This flushes out ALL the pores that are holding dust, which can be picked up during brush strokes and lead to the "rough" like finish. Next, where applicable, I rub out with lacquer or paint thinner. This will absorb, again, what ever dust is left after blowing. Let air dry adequately. Next spray finish with HVLP gun. I use a touch up gun since speakers are no where near as large as an automobile (which by the way is why I have HVLP guns to start with). After using 3M pads between coats I rub out with 3M Automotive Rubbing Compound followed by 3M Automotive Polishing compound. You can bring the "luster" to whatever level you like. The more you finish polish the higher the shine.

IF you have a very well controlled environment you won't need to go through all this effort. I worked in a cabinet shop that had a spray booth, like automotive, and because of the controlled environment they rarely ever had to clean up between coats and the finish was like what you would expect from a true cabinet shop.

I personally stopped using steel wool for wood working many years ago. Before 3M pads it was the way to go. Not anymore. There are automotive paint shops that no longer use steel wool either. Still use it for clean up on metal parts, but rarely before painting something.

By the way, the nice thing about the 3M pads is you can actually bring a shine back, to some degree. I've actually polished a surface using the 3M pads. Best thing is to experiment on some scrap to get the idea.
 
Great stuff; thanks! Someday maybe I'll get a HVLP gun, etc., but in the meantime it's good to know.
 
My last step for any piece of wood that I've refinished or waxed is to take a lunch paper bag and put it over my hand and rub the wood vigorously with the grain. Apparently there is a small amount of wax in the paper and this step leaves the finish silky smooth every time I've done it. It removes any microscopic dust and debris that may have settled into the finish. I recently acquired a nice pair of Ohm 3's and while the cabinets looked pretty nice I gave them a healthy dose of Howards Bee's wax and after I wiped the wax off I hit them with the paper bag and damn they look great and are so smooth to the touch. Note, the thinner the bag the better...
 
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