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Can we talk about how Danish oil darkens over time?
I saw a big difference in a chair I finished six months ago. The walnut came out a light golden brown at first, but now it's gone a deep amber color. I think the oil keeps reacting with the wood way after you put it on. People say to just wipe it off good, but that doesn't stop the color shift. Has anyone else seen their pieces change this much after a few months?
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jade8853mo ago
...and that's exactly why my coffee table now looks like it was stained with motor oil instead of Danish oil. I used some no-name brand from a hardware store clearance bin (big mistake, I know) and six months later it's this weird, murky brown that doesn't match anything else in the room. My buddy who used Watco on the same type of wood still has that nice warm golden look, so yeah, the brand absolutely matters. Guess I learned the hard way that cheap oil means you're basically painting with regret.
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the_sam4mo ago
Has anybody tested if the Danish oil brand makes a difference in how much it darkens over time? I used a cheap store brand on a test piece and it turned almost brown after a year, while a friend's fancy brand piece stayed pretty close to the original color. It might be the quality of the oils and driers they use that changes how much it keeps reacting with the wood.
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blairwhite4mo ago
Yeah, cheap Danish oil is basically a gamble. Most of those store brands cut corners with low-grade oils and add extra driers to speed up the curing. That means it keeps oxidizing and darkening for way longer than it should. A good brand like Watco or Rustins uses refined oils that stop reacting after a few weeks, not a year. My rule is to stick with a name brand and test it on scrap, because once it's on your piece you're stuck with whatever color it turns into.
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