Ken Johnson

I am working on a project and have two coats of boiled linseed oil on it. The first coat cured in about a week but the second coat is still tacky after two weeks. Is there anything I can do to accelerate curing?

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Ken

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence".
- Samuel Johnson

Wood4Fun

hmmmm

did you thin it at all before putting on that second coat? Did you wipe off the excess after applying the second coat?

I wonder if getting a rag soaked in spirits and rubbing down the table would help in removing the excess that is sitting on top of the table???

I really don't have an answer for you as Im still new to a lot of finish techniques. I'm curious to see what other have to say though

ACP

Are you sure it's boiled linseed and not raw? The raw stuff will take a long time to cure but the boiled has things added that accelarate the curing. Otherwise I don't know. I am curious to find out too though.

Leo G

You should have thinned it with mineral spirits to help the curing happen faster. If you wipe it down with spirits and remove some it will speed the drying process. If you take off too much for your liking put on another thinned coat.

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Julian the woodnut

If blo took a week to cure, I'd say that you put it on too thick, or you're using pure linseed oil.

Are you applying it, then wiping off the excess, then wiping it again every 15 minutes until it stops weeping out? I think you're just going to have to wait it out.

cabinetman

That's what I would do. You could also use VM&P Naptha, which would be a faster cure than mineral spirits.

pjl

I've had a hard time getting blo to cure in my basement work shop in the winter mounths. Thinking the temperature was my problem I took one of those desk lamps that clamps to the side of the desk and has long arms to put it write where you need it. With a 100 watt bulb I adjusted the hight just high enough to keep the part warm not hot. I don't know if this is a good thing to do or if it will work for you, but it cut the drying time down to a few hours for me.

good luck

Paul

Ken Johnson

Ok, here is the solution. I tried wiping down with mineral spirits as suggested but it did not do the trick. Lacquer thinner worked great though. It saved me a ton of time and hassle sanding the finish off my pieces. Worked like a charm!

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Ken

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence".
- Samuel Johnson

red

I'm glad it saved your project and thanks for posting the fix and how well it worked.

Red

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wolfmanyoda

I'd like to add a dumb question to this: what is the difference in 'drying' and 'curing' when it comes to BLO? How does one know when it is cured?
I understand the difference(dry vs cured) in other applications, such as concrete, but I didn't know BLO actually cured.