Linseed oil on dry timber hull

[steve pilot 35]

Hello, im just after a bit of info on giving my dry sand blasted mahogany hull linseed oil , the timber is 50 years old and is very very dry after being out of the water for the past 4 months, do you think it would be a good thing to give the hull 2 or 3 coats of 50-50 linseed oil and kerosene, i want to give her 2 coats of thined down bottom paint, 70% thinners 30 % bottom paint to stop worms, she will be back in the water just befor xmas, please give me your ideas. thankyou steve

[Dave Carnell]

Just wet it down with ethylene glycol auto antifreeze, which will act like low-volatile water with the water in the wood and the wood itself.

[Thad]

I like the linseed oil approach, I thiink the wood does too.

[dmede]

Not exactly the same situation but here's what I got after asking a similar question:

http://www.woodenboat-ubb.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=011750

dave

[sdowney717]

I like the antifreeze idea.
Do you put it on straight or dilute it 50 /50 with water?
Swells the wood and stops rot.
What about adding a borate to the mixture for additional rot prevention?
How does linseed oil turps etc.. affect the ability of the wood to be glued later on with epoxies?
Negatively?

[steve pilot 35]

Do i put a few coats of raw linseed on first then finish with a coat of boiled

[Phillip Allen]

would it be better to thin the oil with terps?

[dmede]

From what Ive gathered here on the forum a good mix would be 50/50 BLO & turps. Wet the wood out liberally and reapply every 15 minutes or so until it won't take anymore (don't let the BLO dry).

Warm your mix up before application, float a can of it in some hot water etc. (not over an open flame however). If posible apply in open sunlight and let the surface really warm up.

Some people have suggested raw linsead oil over BLO because it won't have the driers and salts of BLO which I guess inhibits the woods ability to soak it in. I can't get RLO off the shelf here so I'm ok with BLO. You might want to ask Mr. Smalser or Mr. Flemming about this distinction however. They can probably give you a lot more practical info on its application.

dave

edited to comment on: "Do i put a few coats of raw linseed on first then finish with a coat of boiled".

Regardless of what type you choose to apply, be prepared to spend a several hours applying many coats every 15 minutes (depending on the wood type and how dry it is).

[ 10-19-2005, 12:06 PM: Message edited by: dmede ]

[Phillip Allen]

Boiled dries faster...the raw oil takes a very long time to dry...advantage is that it soaks in deeper. Home Depot used to carry it in gallon cans but you may want to try paint specialty stores such as sell to contractors...

I use raw oil where flexibility is important and deep penetration is desired...thin a lot and keep applying (one part oil, two parts turpentine to half and half and finally straight...)

If boiled is all you can get, thin as above, it’ll work fine.

[dmede]

I aplogize for hijacking this thread but I have a related question:

I'm geting ready to do the BLO/turps soak on my western red cedar canoe in a few weeks (maybe next month) but I'm concerned about the air temps. It's cooling off here in the Bay Area and I'm worried it won't be warm enough to do a good soak. How much does the air temp play into a good applicaion of the BLO mix? If it's in the mid 60s by the time I get to it is that too cold?

dave

[Dan Lindberg]

Dave,

Becareful not to put too much oil mix on your canoe, it will get heavy fast.

I limit mine to 1 qt of mix per side, usually mixed 50/50 with mineral spirits (it doesn't smell like turp does) I also use tung oil on the inside (so it won't turn dark) and linseed oil on the outside.

If you are concerned about the temp, just mix it with more thinner.

Dan

[dmede]

thanks. Im not worried about the color since I plan on top coating with varnish on the inside and oil paint on the outside.

its a small boat (12') so I don't expect to be adding too much weight with the oil... we'll see.

when you say you use tung oil inside do you mean as a top coat to the linseed oil or instead of linseed? do you thin the tung oil at all? i'm not interested in it for this boat but it might be agood application for the next boat (a 14' atkins skiff).

dave

[Dan Lindberg]

Dave,

Instead of linseed oil, just to head off the darkness that LO turns.

When I first got into old canoes, I made up some samples of red and white cedar and put on a several finish treatments, a mix of oils and varnishes.

The bottom line is that I couldn't tell one from the other after they had dryed.

I use mineral spirits instead of turp because turp smells so bad (or good depending on your view point) that I couldn't oil a canoe in the basement, with low oder MS I can (with some ventilation).

Dan