Wipe On Furniture Finish-Make It Yourself.

When I need to apply a quick finish that can be wiped on, I make my own.  It has decent durability, requires little or no sanding between coats, and is dry to the touch in 20 minutes or so.  Here is the formula...


1 Part Fast Dry Polyurethane


1 Part Boiled Linseed Oil  (It will say "boiled" on the can when you buy it.  Do not attempt to boil linseed oil on you own!)


1 Part Mineral Spirits


Mix all 3 parts together in a can and shake a minute or so until well mixed.  The mixture will foam a little bit and bubbles will be present, but this is not a problem.


This finish is now ready to apply.  It goes on kinda like a tung oil.  Just wipe it on with a paper towel.  Wait 15-20 minutes and wipe off excess finish.  Apply a second coat right away if you want.  More coats may take a litle longer to dry.  Finish cures completely in about 24 hours.  That's all there is to the application.  Pretty easy. 


I do not use this finish on things that will require a ton of durability like tabletops.  I also do not use it on things that require thick coats.  But, it is great for small projects that you don't want to get out your brush for.  I was using it on one of my hand carved cooking spoons the other day and it was teriffic. 


Tip:  This finish works a lot better if your project is VERY well sanded before you apply it.  On my recent walnut spoon project I sanded it down to 400 grit and it was pretty nice.  You can go with even finer grits and get even better results with this finish. 

I recommend trying it out on some well sanded scrap before you use it on a project, so you can get a feel for it.  Let me know how it goes.



Rory