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Lemon oil

comish4

comish4

comish4
I drug out my B&O system which has some Beovox S75 Rosewood venier speakers. I have always used paste wax then Lemon oil to feed some oil on it like elephant wax on leather to keep it supple and alive. Does anyone else still use Lemon oil or is there a better product:thmbsp: ?
 
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Lemon oil contains petroleum distillate (mineral spirits) with a tiny bit of fragrance. It dries out the finish so you'll use more of it. Just like Chap Stick. Try General Finishes Orange Oil or an equivalent brand that is basically pure orange oil.
 
been using Howards Orange Oil and Howards Feed'n'Wax for my speakers over the last 7 years.
 
elcoholic said:
Lemon oil contains petroleum distillate (mineral spirits) with a tiny bit of fragrance. It dries out the finish so you'll use more of it. Just like Chap Stick. Try General Finishes Orange Oil or an equivalent brand that is basically pure orange oil.
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I use orange oil on guitar fingerboards, GREAT stuff.
 
Sorry fellas, don't mean to hijack this thread but since were on the topic I've got mediocre pairs of 3-way towers with the typical vinyl finishes and I'm interested in bringing a little shine and lustre back to them. I'm considering buffing a bit of automotive grade vinyl shine products like detailers and spray wax but they contain petroleum distilates. I'm sure these products will give the finishes the shine I'm looking for but I'm concerned about the long term effects (i.e have seen vinyl dry out or browning over the long run).

Can anyone suggest a good product for vinyl finishes?
 
vinyl

I've used some Honda spray polish to clean and shine my vinyl covered speakers. Not bad stuff, no unpleasant aftereffects. Picked up a pair of vinyl covered speakers awhile back that were all sticky and dull. The Honda stuff cleaned them and they look just fine after months of sitting around. The stuff has a smell of coconut to it. As a side line, it gets rid of glue residue from stickers real well. I suppose that's the carrier doing that. Works to wipe off magic marker too, even the permanent stuff. Lots of car detailers use it.
 
linseed oil....with some mineral spirits (4:1) to thin it out...been using that for 30 years on teak, walnut, solid and veneer...
 
KevinCorr said:
For finished furniture I use a good quality (according to the wood store) lemon oil "General Finishes Brand.
But for refinishing wood I use a pure Tung oil not the kind mixed with petroleum products.
Really one should consult the experts at Fine Woodworking who have a lot of articles and books on finishing. http://www.tauntonstore.com/complete-woodfinishing-gm0009.html
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+1 on FWW, I have a complete set of the magazine starting with #1 that when paired with their online index is an awesome reference resource.
 
In all my finishing time I've learned that "easy" seems to trump. Drying oils,non-drying oils,waxes....they all have very real benefits and negatives. In my environment the non-drying oils are best and easiest (Howard's type) but Tung Oil as a finish.element within a finish, is best for a little more toughness /easy to maintain too. (A little more work though).

I keep it simple for a natural look:

Toughest and best w/caveat:
1. Restore raw wood
2. Tung Oil
3. Ultra thinned Oil/Poly for first coat
4. Thin to moderate coat of Epifane "true' varnish. (Or Captains "true" varnish.)
5. Caveats = Tougher than heck/ages extremely well but finesse is needed in future repairing.

Easiest:
1. Howard's products and procedures
2. Caveats = Not all that tough BUT...always an easy and fast freshen up/easy fixing of possible future damage.

So many good ways to do things other than this but I really don't care to expand "natural" beyond this. Custom finishes that amaze would need a book, but there is no reason a natural/done well can't be in the same league. (These are my two approaches.)
 
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elcoholic said:
+1 on FWW, I have a complete set of the magazine starting with #1 that when paired with their online index is an awesome reference resource.
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I subscribe to Fine Homebuilding for lessons on remodeling but use FWW for finishing. I just ordered another book from their site.

As bd1886 illustrates, it is not really so simple. What finish goes over what old base etc.
 
Let me see if I have this all straight: Never use chap stick on my speaker cabinets 'cause it dries them out, and if my lips are chapped, find some guy named Howard who hates lemon oil.

Got it - thanks! :thmbsp:
 
KevinCorr said:
I subscribe to Fine Homebuilding for lessons on remodeling but use FWW for finishing. I just ordered another book from their site.

As bd1886 illustrates, it is not really so simple. What finish goes over what old base etc.
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bd1886 is not wrong, just off topic. The OP and my response we're talking about caring for a finish not finishing raw wood, restoring a finish, and even restoring a finish.

I learned a very bitter lesson in ruining the brand new finish on my dining room table which I easily had 100 hours into. This is no ordinary table. It's a sequential 2 board top 8 footer of solid 8/4 Koa with a solid ebony stringer. The wood was harvested in the 60's and is since been protected and nearly unobtainium in sequential large slabs. The 2 planks had an estimated value of $3k, each 15 years ago. The finish was EnduroPoly over 2# cut shellac over thinned BLO. I waxed and buffed it with Briwax which unfortunately contains a petroleum distillate - toluene. It permanently softened the top coat. The table "debuted" for our extended family Christmas of 2000. Imagine the look on our faces when my B-I-L's paper plate of spaghetti catastrophically and permanently stuck to my table. A year wasn't enough time for it to harden enough to be sanded or scraped. Ultimately I had to go buy a pneumatic RO sander and wet sand that finish off and begin again. Consequently I won't recommend anything I haven't used myself without saying so. FWW, Joyce and mistakes have been my teacher.

That said I have B&O M70's I bought new in '76 with the same rosewood veneer and finish and will stand by my recommendation of GF Orange oil on his B&O's.

DC said:
Let me see if I have this all straight: Never use chap stick on my speaker cabinets 'cause it dries them out, and if my lips are chapped, find some guy named Howard who hates lemon oil.

Got it - thanks! :thmbsp:
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Yup, Bob's your uncle.
 
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