jhoak Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Has anyone ever used any of the Watco oil finishes. In particular the ones that "stain & finish". If so I have questions for you. 1) Does the color get darker with succesive coats or do you need to switch to a non-staining variety after the first or second coat? 2) Will latex paint stick to an area that has the oil on it? I plan to paint the motorboard black and like Greg Roberts I prefer to stain first then paint. I suppose I could mask off those areas but I'm lazy and would prefer to avoid that if possible. I know that I'll be masking the stained areas prior to painting, just trying to avoid double work. 3) How did your project turn out? Are you happy with the results? Would you do it the same again? 4) Is there any compelling reason to NOT use Watco oil finish? My project is a pair of 83 La Scalas that are undergoing a total restoration/rebuild/refinish with a little "surprise" for you guys. What's the surprise you ask? Yep... Another pair of "reflex modded" La Scalas only with a twist. These are slot ported out of the back of the tophat. I haven't really mentioned the project here except in passing because my camera has been at Nikon being repaired. I got the email yesterday that it had shipped so I'll be able to post some photos very soon. Come on... You know that every time someone posts a new project the very first response is "pictures... we need pictures... More to come... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I have been a watco fan for a while. I usually use the natural. The stain colors work differently with different woods and surface preparation. Best try it on the speaker bottom first. I do the full prep first then mask of the unfinished wood and spray (per greg's method). After everything is dry I apply the watco. I used three coats (3m 000 pad rub between coats) and then a couple of coats of wax for a little gloss. See my cornwall project thread for pictures. Can't wait to see the ports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 The final veneer is red oak. I've tried a sample with the Watco "cherry" oil with stain. A single coat makes the color I'm after but I'm afraid the second coat will make it darker. Something I don't want. I'll know more tomorrow when I apply the second coat on the sample piece. I really hadn't thought about wax but now that you mention it I suspect it's a good idea to (a) bring out a bit more sheen and ( add some protection. I can't wait to have my camera back in house. Trying to use my phone to take decent pictures is an exercise in frustration. I've got a document started documenting the process. To date I'm 7 weeks in. I have high hopes for them. I'll be crushed (momentarily) if after all of this work thay sound like crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Go with one coat of stained and then go natural for the final coat(s). The natural will darken a little but not much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 I've never done an oil finish. How many coats should be done? Do they need to sit for a while before I can apply wax? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awsjr Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I've never done an oil finish. How many coats should be done? Do they need to sit for a while before I can apply wax? I have used watco oil on all my stuff....the natural will turn slightly amber on unfinished wood....two coats of dark walnut on my horns and the second coat made the finish a little darker but richer....for a final topcoat I have used both tung oil and the watco natural satin wax and both are very good....the watco oil soaks into the wood....wipe on with a soft cotton cloth, wait a bit and wipe the extra off....wait 24 to 48hr (48 is better) and do it again....I tried the method of using a very fine sanding pad to apply the oil and that works pretty well too....I like watco much better the stain but the finish colors are limited.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Check this article out http://www.woodworking.com/wwtimes_oilfinish.cfm. I have applied with and without wet sanding. Not a huge difference in the woods I like to work with. Some woods are prone to blotching. Multiple coats can minimize the blotching. A light first coat of thinned shellac can eliminate the blotching for woods like cherry. I used a bounty paper towel folded in quarters to apply and wipe off excess. The oils take a long time to dry before the wax can be applied. I waited a week after the last coat. I applied the wax coats in my listening room and used a wool pad in a car polisher to buff them. Three coats of watco and two coats of wax. Go with light and even with the coats of wax. I had some dried wax build up at the corners and it is tough to buff out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 If you have some "scraps" laying around, try your stain with a 10% mineral spirits mix. That should barely lighten it up to compensate for the Watco. On the Watco, you can do it by the directions, or by repeated light coatings thinned about 15% with mineral spirits. Personally, I prefer the gradual repeated oiling method. It allows me to obtain the overall sheen that I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 First coat of watco drying on my project. You can see the blotching. A couple more coats and sanding and it went away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hklinker Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 First coat of watco drying on my project. You can see the blotching. A couple more coats and sanding and it went away.I agree with Groom and Bliss, multiple coats will give you a more uniform finish. If you want to get it like glass, after the oil has dried for about 24-48 hours try taking a piece of 600 wet/dry paper and putting lemon oil on it. Then gently hand rub the finish in a circular motion. After a minute you can feel the finish start to break down into the lemon oil, almost like it has a slight tack to it. Wipe off the excess oil and feel the finish....just like butta! You can wax it or not, the Watco penetrates so the finish is well sealed. I like the wax myself.Herb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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