You'd better check your polyurethane and tung oil...

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[StumpyNubs]

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[Boog]

A number of years ago, I worked for a coatings company. We made high end finishes for boats, planes, cars, furniture, and musical instruments. Our finishes were not cheap because they used real polyurethane resin. Some had UV inhibitors, some were made for outdoor uses. Quite often we would analyze other companies products because clients requested it. More times than not those products only contained 5% poly in them. Some had no poly resin at all yet they claimed to be a poly product. You have to read the MSDS sheet very carefully to be sure of what you are about to purchase.

[PVS]

I like your comparison that "Finish" on a label is like "Food product" at the grocery store. A "cheese food product" isn't cheese. A "Tung oil finish" isn't Tung oil.

[BertelB]

Fun fact, Danish oil is neither made of pastries nor Danes. I live in Denmark and have never seen Danish oil here.

[rubecountryman]

I've been making my own finish(es) for a few years now. Once you start to understand all these points, it's so easy to make your own finish that's appropriate for the job you're working on. For a fine finished jewelry box or something, I love to make my first coat more thinned down to get a great penetration than work up layers with less thinner as you go. But for quick easy projects, use less thinner and 1-2 coats is just fine.
I save the marketing money for my own business needs 😉

[ohiomoto]

The ready-made stuff is useful for someone who is doing a small project and doesn't want to have to store or dispose of extra materials.

[egbluesuede]

I totally agree. I've been using 100% pure tung oil diluted with a citrus solvent (50-50) as my go to food safe finish. The solvent helps it penetrate quickly and the tung oil polymerizes in the wood after about 30 days. It does take a while, but once it does, your home made kitchenware will last years. This is especially important to me because I give a lot of my projects as gifts and I don't want my family to perform a lot of maintenance.

[loki]

I agree Jim, 'Its varnish but not as we know it'. Sorry I couldn't resist it. This is a bit removed from wood working, but I do a fair bit of gardening too and use a natural product to repel bugs from the vegetables called 'Neem Oil'. Its available in all sorts of formulas and spray bottles for premium prices. And just like rubbing finishes as liquid as you can get; almost thinner than water!
Neem oil is the consistency of contact adhesive and to mix it with water for spraying you drop the required amount into a hand spray bottle with hot water where it mixes up well. Off you go and spray your veg. Its very effective and harmless to humans too as Neem is actually a nut. A half pint bottle cost the equivalent of $15, I'll be using my bottle for years. So its not just the paint and finish guys having a dip in our pockets. Excellent video as usual.

[bradnail]

I anticipated, and loved the quip about Danish oil being "squeezed from danishes."

[navret]

Stumpy, you never fail to deliver. Thanks for this invaluable (without fillers) information.

[caneycreekwoodcarver]

I do gun stock work and have been using boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits with a little raw umber oil paint to finish the stocks for about 30 years instead of name brand stuff and works better. Great video and thanks for the info

[Dwayne_Bearup]

Your comment about how buying premixed finishes is more convenient hit the nail on the head. Any convenient product always costs more. Just as a cake from the bakery costs a lot more than the ingredients would cost separately, different blends of wood finishes cost a lot more than their pure counterparts. Because it's more convenient for me to buy a quart of something that has been made from a blend of different substances that will do what I want than it would be for me to buy the ingredients, mix them in various ratios, and test them out, trying to achieve a specific result of appearance and protective performance. I'm not a chemist, and my woodworking projects need to look right the first time, so I'll just buy what the chemical engineers suggest to meet the needs of my various projects.

[mickdog]

Bob Flexnor's book on finishes was a great read. This is a good video

[richpeggyfranks]

Thanks for the refresher about finishes. I have mixed finishes for years (decades?) just to see how the differing ratios act on wood. I have an uncle who swears by Danish oil and Craftsman tools. They make him happy. God bless and Happy New Year.

[Warshipmodelsunderway]

Thank you for this! I'm down to my last can and a fraction of Formby's, and while I look forward to trying the formula out that you mentioned, I have to say that it worked very well for me over the years. It was easy to use and produced a high quality finish that I couldn't be happier with. I'm glad there is an affordable alternative, because there was no way I was going to pay collector's prices for another can. In fact, if people are really paying that much, perhaps I will let go of my last one.

After I try your formula 🙂

[jason-labs]

I thoroughly appreciate the detail in which you delve into your topics in your videos; stripping away the uncertainly and double-speak and get to the basic meat of the matter at hand. Thank you.

[als]

Excellent video. I still remember decades ago, learning to mix oil with varnish to create custom material, from George Frank's book.

[christopher_hawn]

You said it at the 8:00 mark: "Convenience." Like so many things in this world, you pay dearly for convenience. Thanks Stumpy for this video. I've been using a super-secret "3:3 Finish" for years on a multitude of projects. It's 1 part paint thinner, 1 part polyurethane, and 1 part boiled linseed oil. I Love the stuff, though it takes weeks to fully cure. It can even turn MDF into something extremely water resistant and quite durable.

[robertflanders]

Wow, great explanation. You should make this type of video fo EVERYTHING ELSE out there.

[kenday]

I must say, another excellent presentation - very informative!