Finishing problem

**Woody 1** · 08-09-2007, 05:59 PM

I just got done with a table made out of cherry some of the frame work is very light in color and some is real dark. I bought a quart of MINWAX POLYSHADE cherry and the stuff is awful wonder what would happen if I wixed it with blo. Do you think if would ever dry ? Barry

**Sawduster** · 08-09-2007, 07:27 PM

BLO will dry in wrinkly puddles if any not absorbed into the wood is left on the surface. If you mix it in any proportion with something else, you need to wipe off the excess on the surface after a few minutes or it will dry wrinkley. With some woods, you even have to come back after a couple hours and wipe off more that has leeched to the surface after it was initially wiped dry.

BLO adds a bit of an amber tint to the wood and that highlights the grain. Don't know what you might hope to accomplish by mixing it with a stain.

Cherry is quite problematic in coloring if you want a uniform homogenous color to the wood. Especially if you have some sapwood mixed with the heartwood on pieces. While cherry will darken with age and exposure to UV light, the sapwood will not get as dark as the heartwood. Applying stain or dye to the entire surface will darken both the heartwood and the sapwood, but the heartwood, starting off darker, will still be darker than the sapwood. You can get a nearer match applying dye to only the sapwood to darken it, but keep in mind that the hearwood will get darker still as it is exposed to UV.

Best case is to pick your wood well to begin with and avoid boards with sapwood if you eventually want a somewhat even color.

**Danford C Jennings** · 08-10-2007, 12:24 AM

Barry,

If memory serves "Polyshades" is a so called "one step" finish; polyurethane/stain. I really can't see the logic behind mixing it with boiled linseed oil at this point nor would I recommend it. Since the cherry is effectively "sealed" by your using Polyshade the blo won't be absorbed into the wood...

Dunno what else to say other than stay away from the Polyshade in the furture. Min Wax "Woodfinish" (oil based, yellow cans) stains are the way to go IMNSHO. They are easy to blend in, mix well with other colors, and have been around since dirt was invented. FWIW.

Dano

**brownkm52** · 08-10-2007, 12:54 AM

You know, this is a bit off topic, but I've always wondered - why do they call it MinWax "Wood Finish", if it's really just "stain"? I mean, nobody is really finished after MinWax, are they? Pretty much everybody I know puts a clearcoat of some other "finish" on after that - poly, or shellac. If it's not a "finish" product, why do they call it that?

- Kevin

**Howard Acheson** · 08-12-2007, 10:48 PM

>> why do they call it MinWax "Wood Finish"

It's just a brand name for their oil based wood stain. From the label, "Penetrates, Stains and Seals". It containa a small amount of resin (varnish) to hold the pigment onto the wood surface. Therefore, the surface is "sealed" by the varnish. For full protection it should be overcoated with a clear finish.