Many people may not realize that these influencers often recommend boiled linseed oil to make the finishing process less intimidating for beginners, encouraging them to start building and completing projects without fear of mistakes. While this is beneficial for novice woodworkers, it can lead to a misconception that boiled linseed oil is the best oil finish. In my opinion, boiled linseed oil is one of the worst finishes if you aim for a professional look. It drastically yellows wood and dulls its figure, leaving little room to achieve excellent chatoyance and depth with the final touches.
On the other hand, tung oil is arguably the best all-natural, one-ingredient wood finish in the history of woodworking. Tung oil does not alter the wood's color and, due to the way it polymerizes, it forms a reasonably sturdy film that enhances the wood's reflective properties, providing extra chatoyance and depth to the finished product.
When choosing an oil finish, these two oils—tung oil and linseed oil—are primarily the ones to consider, as other drying oils are more suited for oil painting rather than wood finishing. Although many products on the market claim to be the best, it's essential to evaluate them based on your preferences and needs.
Here are three factors to consider when choosing an oil finish:
- Color Change: Does the oil change the color of the wood?
- Drying Time: What is the drying time, and can you wait that long?
- Cost: What is the monetary cost versus the benefit?
As a beginner, I remember not wanting to invest in expensive oil finishes, as they would cost more than the project itself. Natural oils and blends without driers take ages to dry fully. For instance, cold-pressed tung oil and straight boiled linseed oil need to be diluted 50:50 with mineral spirits or your preferred solvent before application and will take 5-7 days to dry fully. There are tung oil, boiled linseed oil, and Danish oil products that dry in hours due to added metal driers. While not inherently bad, many people prefer to avoid metal driers due to potential health hazards.
If the oil changes the color, you cannot use it on lighter woods like maple without losing the wood's light color. Considering all this, I always recommend starting with either cold-pressed tung oil or Glancy’s No.1. Both oils are excellent choices without a high cost. Cold-pressed tung oil needs to be diluted 50:50 with a solvent, requires 2-3 days between coats (2-3 coats in total), and 5 days to fully dry before applying a hard finish like shellac or polyurethane.
Glancy’s No.1 is an oil made from all-natural ingredients, contains no driers, doesn't change the wood's color, dries in 8-10 hours, requires only one coat, and is already diluted to the ideal concentration for maximum penetration. I designed Glancy’s No.1 specifically to address the pitfalls of my favorite drying oil, tung oil.
Take this blog post, like all information you read or watch about oil finishes, with a grain of salt. Consider all the details, pick an oil, and start finishing your project—one you'll be proud of for the rest of your life.
Until next time,
Chase Glancy