# BLO to bring out grain



## Displaced Canadian (Dec 22, 2009)

I have seen threads about how BLO can bring out the grain in wood. After you apply the BLO to bare wood how long do you wait before finishing the pen to prevent a cloudy finish? And do you think it really works. Not to be rude, I'm not asking how to do a CA BLO finish. I know how I choose not to. A plain CA looks better to me. :biggrin:


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## leehljp (Dec 23, 2009)

For me, almost immediately. What I do is apply it with paper towel and then use clean paper towel to burnish it for about 30 seconds to a minute as the lathe is turning it. The heat helps it set up fast.

I personally have not had problems with this. I don't use BLO most of the time, only when I want to do as you mentioned here - to increase / change the tone of the wood to a more vibrant amber color. Sometimes it seems to change the iridescence a bit, but that is more of an individual / subjective matter. There are several woods that I do not use it on - oily woods and holly specifically.


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## Displaced Canadian (Dec 23, 2009)

Thank you, Earlier this evening I put some on a Jatoba and bamboo pen. I put it on just like a coat of CA. Do you think it works better if you burnish it as opposed to just putting a layer on and letting it dry?


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## leehljp (Dec 23, 2009)

Displaced Canadian said:


> Thank you, Earlier this evening I put some on a Jatoba and bamboo pen. I put it on just like a coat of CA. Do you think it works better if you burnish it as opposed to just putting a layer on and letting it dry?



My impatience will not let me find out! :biggrin: Truthfully, I don't like the long "cure" time for that or other finishes, so I burnish it. Even in flat work, initial coats or two and sometimes all of the layers, I will hand rub oil finishes until they are well soaked and "dry" to touch. ( I will add that in flat work, I "usually" spend as almost as much time in the finishing side as I do in the construction side.)

When the purpose is to enhance/amplify the wood grain, there is little gained in waiting more than a few minutes. How it cures is not important as to letting it cure. Heat from burnishing does this. There may be some here that will let it cure naturally and I can't object. Your location suggests a fair amount of wait time for curing. Still, I would be happy to see other people's experience with this.


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## traderdon55 (Dec 23, 2009)

I have never tried just letting it dry. On the few woods that I use it to bring out the grain I just burnish it in then proceed with my finish and have never had a problem.


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## Larry in Harrow (Dec 23, 2009)

The belief that BLO is any better than any other finish at bringing up figure in wood is another urban legend.  It simply acts like a lens.  Fine Woodworking magazine has illustrated this many times.  Fast drying materials like shellac and lacquer "pop" the grain just as much and don't add the colour that BLO does.  Shellac being my choice as a universal sealer and " grain enhancer".


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## leehljp (Dec 23, 2009)

I don't know how BLO looks in different areas. I can't remember the color of US BLO but I have had two different BLOs here. One is amber and one is fairly clear.

While "Popping the grain" originally had the meaning of wetting and lifting the grain of wood prior so that it could be sanded and not "lift" during finish application, - it is used more widely today to refer to enhancing the color by adding an amber tone.

Usually amber toned finishes (not speaking of BLO per se, but oil finishes in general) will enhance some grains by the amber tone, - and this used to be referred to as giving it "warmth". This is what I usually use BLO for on pen blanks. I will not use it on holly because it makes very white holly look like antiqued ivory. It also makes bright maroon bloodwood look more like a slightly burnt orange in comparison. But on beige looking woods, it brightens it to a more lively tan tone. "Popping the grain" in this case is for the purpose of giving a warmth, a more lively tone than is achieved from a very clear finish such as a clear lacquer, CA by itself, plexi and clear water based poly finishes will. These do make great finishes, but there is a place for enhancing the grain for the purpose of a particular tone achievement.

There are many articles online that deal with water based polys and oil based polys, and then noting that one of the differences was in the "warmth' or tone of the oil based. This is changing. There are a few articles that deal with the tone that clear oil based finishes of other kind also add. 

I can wipe on CA, I can wipe on water, and I can also wipe on BLO and there will be a different tone for the BLO. Sometimes this "tone" change is desirable and a bonus to a finish that clear ones do not give. Larry mentioned shellac and the shellacs that I have used (but very not much) add nice tones to wood.


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## Larry in Harrow (Dec 23, 2009)

Morning Hank,

You are correct about the term "popping the grain".  Actually the word "grain" shouldn't be used in a discussion about finishes at all.  Grain is the physical structure of the wood created by the fibres.  "Figure" is the proper term to describe the visible surface of the workpiece.  Thus "popping the grain" refers to actually manipulating the fibres, ie. raising them to remove the fuzz.
I've never seen clear BLO probably because I have never looked.  Dyes work much better at enhancing the figure and more controllably.  I use mostly the new generation of water born poly which has a much nicer color than the old bluish stuff.  Shellac (super blond) is my choice of sealer because it is compatible with almost all top coats and over any stain or wood, probably would seal in your BLO and allow the use of my water born stuff as a top coat.  I know it seals oily woods like the rosewoods and allows the use of the water born poly.
Have a great holiday Hank!




leehljp said:


> I don't know how BLO looks in different areas. I can't remember the color of US BLO but I have had two different BLOs here. One is amber and one is fairly clear.
> 
> While "Popping the grain" originally had the meaning of wetting and lifting the grain of wood prior so that it could be sanded and not "lift" during finish application, - it is used more widely today to refer to enhancing the color by adding an amber tone.
> 
> ...


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## islandturner (Dec 23, 2009)

Larry in Harrow said:


> Fast drying materials like shellac and lacquer "pop" the grain just as much and don't add the colour that BLO does. Shellac being my choice as a universal sealer and " grain enhancer".


 
Larry, 

I agree with your comments about shellac. It is an amazing finishing product that has fallen out of favour over the years, as the synthetic plastic finishes have flourished. Shellac is nowhere near as hard as plastic, and more likely to be damaged by water. But for a sealer, there is nothing better.

Years ago, I had an old set of drawers that had developed a strong highly unpleasant musty odour. With a light sanding of the entire interior of the carcass and drawers (inside and out except the drawer fronts), and a wipe-down with shellac, the odour was gone. Gave the drawer-bodies a nice patina that suited their age.

I often use it to seal wooden pens before the CA, too. Orange shellac seems to bring out the colours just like BLO.

I buy it from Lee Valley and mix it as required so it is always fresh.

Cheers
Steve


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## jkeithrussell (Dec 23, 2009)

Larry in Harrow said:


> The belief that BLO is any better than any other finish at bringing up figure in wood is another urban legend. It simply acts like a lens. Fine Woodworking magazine has illustrated this many times.


 
+1

I've taken 2 barrels from the same piece of wood (actually several types of wood) and experimented by finishing one with BLO and then a CA finish, and one with just straight CA.  The grain looks the same on both but the finish is better with straight CA.  

To each his own.


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## leehljp (Dec 23, 2009)

Larry and Steve's comments, along with a few other comments occasionally, have made me want to start experimenting with shellac as a sealer and tone enhancer. It is hard to find "sealer coats" here in Japan. 

Thanks fellows! :biggrin:

Have a great Christmas and New Years!


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## Displaced Canadian (Dec 23, 2009)

Thanks to all for your input. And after careful consideration of the facts, I'm going to try it and see what happens. Gather information, them grab the electric fence to see how much it really hurts :crying: It's just how I roll.:bananen_smilies051:


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## RussFairfield (Dec 24, 2009)

There are several conflicting truths running through this thread, and we are having difficulty communicating because we are all using our own definitions without recognizing the differences.  

The meaning of "popping the grain" and the use of the word "grain" has different meanings to different people who live in different areas of our planet. These differences were not a problem until the advent of the Internet and we started talking to each other.

One definition of "grain" is the physical structure of the wood. The other definition of "grain" is the visible pattern or picture that is presented on the surface of the wood. 

"Popping the grain" also has more than one meaning. One is that the physical grain of the wood is lifted from the surface. The other is that the pattern or picture of the wood surface is "accented" or "enhanced". 

Which definitions are used depends on where you live on this planet. I have never lived in an area where "popping" meant anything other than visually "accenting", it was acceptable to refer to the pattern on the surface of the wood as the "grain", and that "raising" the grain was what we did when we made the fibers stand up from the surrounding surface. 

There are 2 ways to accent the grain picture of a piece of wood. One is by changing the color of the wood and depending on the more open end-grain absorbing more of the colorant than the flat-grain. The other is by changing the reflectivity of the surface and depending on the flat grain being more reflective than the end-grain which tends to scatter the light and thereby have a darker appearance. In this case the higher the polish on the wood surface, the greater the "enhancement" of the grain pattern under the final finish.

All oils will darken the wood and the more oil that is absorbed, the darker it becomes. The only reason to use BLO is because it turns the wood darker fraster than any other oil we can put on the wood.

The only problem with using BLO is that, unless it has totally cured and dry, the oil is incompatible with anything other than another oil finish or shellac. Those who are successfully using BLO under their CA glue are using very little BLO, and spinning it for some period of time that allows it to get hot and cure before they apply their CA glue. It follows that those who cannot make it work are using too much of the BLO and it isn't cured before they try to use the CA glue.


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## CharlestonPenWorks (Dec 24, 2009)

Let me preface my comments by stating that my definition of grain used in this context is not the physically alternating Xylem and Phloem layers found within the wood structure, but how striking the contrast between the two layers looks.  
     That being said, I often use BLO to accentuate that in the finished blank before adding CA.  





> Those who are successfully using BLO under their CA glue are using very little BLO, and spinning it for some period of time that allows it to get hot and cure before they apply their CA glue.


And Russ is right, I don't use that much and I heat it up to cure it before beginning the CA process.
     I have found that in many cases, just adding the first layer of CA will also make a huge difference to the color of the wood.  It just depends on the wood.

Have a Merry Christmas.

DJ Harry


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## Karin Voorhis (Dec 24, 2009)

I have done both and my personal very nonprofessional take is that just straight CA is the way I choice to go.  But I have just in the last few months getting really good finishes and the BLO just is an extra that gives me a chance to mess up that I prefer not to add anymore for what I feel does not much if anything extra to add to my finish.


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## Bree (Dec 24, 2009)

I don't use BLO to pop grain.  I do use it to accelerate and lube CA as it cures.  And I use Russ' method which I think is excellent.

Personally, I like to use Tung Oil to pop grain.  Tung also requires time to dry like BLO.  But I mix my own batch with drying agents that quicken the time.  I mix it 50/50 with Mineral Spirits and then put in a small amout of Japan Drier (usually 5 ml.).  Then, I apply very small amounts and heat it as Hank suggests.  Still I let it sit for at least a couple of hours.  Overnight is better.  I don't think the polymerization of the oil will take place simply by friction heating it.  It takes some time.
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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