Finishing pyrography

[PyroMaynia]

Hi All

Just starting out in pyrography. Just wondering what those who are more experienced use to finish their work. I'm happy to use yacht varnish for items that will be outside. But for interior items (door hangers etc) I'm don't want to use a gloss varnish. I've seen in books that Danish oil might be good, but just wondered if anyone had any experience of using this?

Thanks
David

[woodtattoos]

Danish oil is probably the finish that I use most often, it does give the wood a nice warm lustre.

Si.

[bodrighy]

Danish oil is probably the finish that I use most often, it does give the wood a nice warm lustre.

Si.


Do you find it darkens the wood a lot Si?

pete

[V2Steve]

In my experience Danish oil darkens the wood a little but most importantly it really makes the grain stand out.
I rekon its probably the way to go, 3 or 4 coats put on over 3 or 4 days works well.

[PyroMaynia]

Thanks all for the replies. Much appreciated.

I'll give it a go.

Cheers
David

[Scorch]

Yup to all the above. Or you can use good quality wax furniture polish for indoor items. A big tin of Briwax neutral works great for me...

[V2Steve]

Yup to all the above. Or you can use good quality wax furniture polish for indoor items. A big tin of Briwax neutral works great for me...

I will second that one too. :)

[PyroMaynia]

thanks again - I'd wondered about wax polish, but thought maybe it would be too high maintenance over time. Another one to try.

[sparkysdad]

thanks again - I'd wondered about wax polish, but thought maybe it would be too high maintenance over time. Another one to try.

Good furniture waxes like Briwax are great for unfinished natural wood.. easy to apply and they buff up to a nice finish. They usually dont darken the wood as much as Danish oil if you want to keep the wood closer to the original colour. With a bit of elbow grease you can also buff them to a decent shine if you need to.

Once they are "done" you dont need to do anything further.. a wipe over with a dry cloth to remove dust and thats it..

On the negative side, these waxes are not waterproof, so they are not suitable for heavy use items, or anything that may get wet.. Danish oil would be better.. (Danish Oil or Teak Oil will also survive on outdoor pieces if re applied every few months)

[PyroMaynia]

thanks sparkysdad. I was thinking of trying something different. Had good success with Danish Oil, but wasn't to enamoured by the warning on the side of the tin about laying out the cloth so it didn't spontaneously combust. Would be interested to know if that's ever happened to anyone.

[sparkysdad]

thanks sparkysdad. I was thinking of trying something different. Had good success with Danish Oil, but wasn't to enamoured by the warning on the side of the tin about laying out the cloth so it didn't spontaneously combust. Would be interested to know if that's ever happened to anyone.

Think you might be having to buff very hard for that to happen! - Obviously oils are flammable and there is a level of solvent in most waxes and oils to make the product easy to apply and to aid the drying process.. so there is a risk that dry cloth, oils/waxes and solvents could combust far more easily.. so usually the advice is not to store the cloths you have used and to dispose of them carefully.. But we are not talking indoor fireworks here! :mf::mf::mf:

[Scorch]

Yes, they can spontaneously combust, honestly. Literally burst into flames all on their own - it happened to my Grandad years ago, though it only burned up the contents of the (luckily metal) bin.

"Drying oils", like Danish oil, get warm as they dry, as there's actually a chemical reaction happening. If you leave a cloth soaked in drying oil all crumpled up in a ball, the heat can build up inside it and it can catch fire all by itself. Especially if it's somewhere warm anyway...

[bodrighy]

thanks sparkysdad. I was thinking of trying something different. Had good success with Danish Oil, but wasn't to enamoured by the warning on the side of the tin about laying out the cloth so it didn't spontaneously combust. Would be interested to know if that's ever happened to anyone.

That is true of a lot of finishing products. When woodturning you need to be careful if polishing with the lathe running. Some people use a fine wire wool and that also can ignite. Used properly it is fine, only when on cloth or something like that and say in direct sunlight can it be a problem.

Pete