# Substitute for BLO?



## Larry Gottlieb (Jul 8, 2008)

Is there anything that can be substituted for BLO in the BLO/CA finish to give a lighter color to the wood?
For most of the woods, the BLO is fine, but for some lighter woods I would prefer to avoid the darkening with BLO.

Thank you.

Larry


----------



## rherrell (Jul 8, 2008)

Try straight CA. That's all I use and I like it. If you wipe the blank with accelerator before applying the CA it dries in about one minute. Then I sand with 600, blow away dust with compressed air, wipe with accelerator and re-apply CA. I can put on four coats of medium in about 15 minutes. Not quite as fast as CA/BLO but hey, what's the hurry?


----------



## redfishsc (Jul 8, 2008)

You can also wipe on the CA followed by a 12" distant, quick shot of AEROSOL accelerator---- the aerosol is milder than the squirt sprayers. Does not produce the smoother, satin surface that BLO does, but you can sand smooth and micromesh to a high gloss. 


So long as you and CA get along. Me and CA, well, we don't see eye to eye. I get along a LOT more with lacquer-type finishes.


----------



## dcavazos (Jul 16, 2008)

BLO as a Finish

In order to have the best result preparation and time it needed in order to apply the BLO finish to any wood pen.

This is just an abstract of the way that I do the finish on my pens and I will have a full article and instructions in a near future to share this application

After the pen is finish (live the diameter a little thick than the bushings) proceed with the following sanding sequence 100-120-220-320-400-600-800-0000 then the 0000 Steel wool (if you have 800 and 0000 sandpaper available)

Stop the lathe and remove the bushings; Using pain tape mask the bushings to prevent the CA glue to damage the diameter of the bushings

Set the mandrel with the blanks and masked bushings.

Cut a paper towel and make an shape it into a rectangular shape about 1 inch and the length will be the length of the paper towel

Turn on the lathe and apply a thin coat of the BLO (with no CA glue) into the pen; this will eliminate the dust and will prepare the pen for the BLO/CA Glue

Reduce the speed of the lathe, wet the paper towel and apply the BLO to the pen blank
Then apply the CA Glue and increase the speed of the lathe. Move the paper towel form one end to the other end of the pen blank.

After 30-45 seconds you will feel that the paper towel is hot and that the glue is hard. Reduce the speed of the lathe and do the same procedure to the other blank

My recommendation is that after 2 or three coats of the BLO/CA Glue sand the blanks using 0000 Steel wool with a light touch of BLO Oil

Another recommendation is that the amount of coats be an impair number (3,5,7) and every 2 coats sand the blanks using the steel wool with oil

My next step is to buff the blanks using the 2 PPP (Perfect Pen Polish) First the Dark, No Gloss and then the High Gloss 

I leave the lathe running for 3-5 minutes in so the glue can be dry and hard; some times I use the hot air gun just for 30-45 seconds (cracks on the CA Glue my appear)

The no gloss PPP is apply direct to the blanks on the lathe and also to the buffing wheel;
I use a pair of buffing disks to clear pens and another for dark pens (another for acrylics)

My buffing procedure is to use the outer perimeter of the wheel; I start with the left side wheel and I move the mandrel from top to bottom and also moving my mandrel 360 degrees.

After 3 to 4 full turns, I apply the high gloss PPP to the other disk and I use the outer perimeter (the right side) 3-4 times (same as the left no gloss side)

When the pen is ready for assembly, I remove the blanks from the mandrel and I use the
Lateral face of the buffing wheel to remove any CA/BLO or PPP form the edge of the pen this procedure makes a perfect cleaning to the face of the pen and this will prevent gaps or bad assemblies of the pen components

No Friction polish is needed the high gloss will remain and will be better than the oily finish of the friction polish

Send me an email so I can send the PDF file with pictures of this application
And also send me your comments


----------



## gerryr (Jul 22, 2008)

dcavazos said:


> BLO as a Finish
> 
> In order to have the best result preparation and time it needed in order to apply the BLO finish to any wood pen.
> 
> ...



The OP asked is there was a substitute for BLO so just how does this post answer that question?


----------



## bradh (Jul 22, 2008)

I have heard people using Tung oil as a substitute on light color woods. Have not tried it myself yet.


----------



## workinforwood (Jul 23, 2008)

I pretty much do the same as Redfish.  Only difference is that I start with one coat of thin CA and let it dry on it's own for about 20 minutes before switching to the med CA and accelerator.  After 3 coats of med CA, I take off the blank and start the next blank..I let the blanks sit over night to de-gass before sanding and polishing.


----------



## novop711 (Jul 24, 2008)

I start off applying CA accelerator (pump spray) to a paper cloth, apply to the wood to remove the dust. Then I start applying the CA; between coats of CA I use the accelerator applied with a cloth (like the dust removal step). This works great for me, no BLO required.


----------



## hebertjo (Jul 24, 2008)

What exactly is the purpose of the BLO? To act as an excellorant? If so would a damp paper towel work as well? I think I remember reading that moisture excellorates the curing process of CA.


----------



## bradh (Jul 24, 2008)

The BLO does accelerate the cure, but it also lubricates and alows you to smooth the CA without the paper towel becoming part of the finish.
  I think a damp cloth would accelerate too much. CA goes white-cloudy when it dries too quickly.


----------



## RussFairfield (Jul 24, 2008)

Larry Gottlieb said:


> Is there anything that can be substituted for BLO in the BLO/CA finish to give a lighter color to the wood?
> For most of the woods, the BLO is fine, but for some lighter woods I would prefer to avoid the darkening with BLO.
> 
> Thank you.
> ...



There is no simple answer to your question. The truth is that anything we put on a piece of wood will change its color, and all oils will darken the wood. Linseed oil will darken the wood more over time than Tung or Walnut, and body oils and grime from using the pen will turn the wood darker than anything we put on it. 

The two biggest factors controlling how dark the wood will get from the oil in the finish are the wood species and the smoothness of the surface, because these determine the penetration of the oil into the wood. An open porous grain will absorb more oil finish and turn darker than a tight grain. A 600-grit surface will be more open to penetration than one that is sanded to 12,000 Micro-Mesh. For most species, I can't tell the difference between Linseed and Tung after sanding to 12,000 MM. That highly polished wood surface eliminates a lot of color problems. 

If color is a real problem, I would leave out the oil and go with a pure CA glue finish. 

I prefer using BLO with CA for several reasons. First, it works better for me than any other oil. Another reason is that I get a softer surface gloss than with straight CA, and this gets rid of the "plasticky" appearance and "feel" than some people object to. Finally, the finish itself is a little softer because of the oil that has been captured into the CA, and I like the way it wears and ages better than the harder plain CA finish with no oil.


----------



## badger (Jul 26, 2008)

I use Walnut oil instead of  BLO.  It's what I had on hand when I first started, and it works just fine.  Never tried BLO.

I found that a coat of thin CA, lightly sanded with a high grit, then more thin CA does a lot towards keeping the color true.  I used it the other day on some maple, then did my standard thick CA/Walnut Oil over that, and it came out nice crisp white with very little of the usual browning of the wood.

badger


----------



## Larry Gottlieb (Jul 28, 2008)

*Mineral oil*

As proof of what Russ replied that all oil will darken wood, the result of substituting mineral oil ( colorless) for BLO resulted in considerable darkening of the wood.

It did work to lubricate the CA. To get a better comparison I will try it and BLO on 2 pieces of the same wood.

I don't know what the long term wear will be. I'll never know because these pens will go to the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Larry


----------

