Danish oil solidified

[Beowolf]

I just poured out the last of my Danish oil to use, and there was about 1" of solidified oil in the bottom of the can.

Is this due to the low temperatures it's been stored in? Can it be recovered? How temperamental is it, generally?

It's Rustin's Danish Oil. I've no idea where this is in the quality stakes, but was all my local shop had available.

(I'm using it to finish mainly oak, for interior use.)

I hope the simple/silly questions are ok...

 

[The Shark]

Hi Beowolf,
My experience is also that if I don't use the whole tin fairly rapidly then there is a solidifying mess in the bottom of the tin.
For this reason, I just buy small tins so not too much gets wasted.
I seem to remember a thread on this subject before, and someone mentioned mixing with white spirits. I've never tried this, so don't know if it works or not.
Rustins is a good Danish oil IMHO, but as always it is down to personal preference.

Malc

 

[Argus]

.



Danish oil contains a small proportion of solids that settle down to the bottom of the tin, hence the gunge ..... If you have been using it without stirring or shaking then it's likely that you have used a rich concoction of solvents instead of the nutrition that settled in the tin.

It pays to keep stirring it back in as you go, but the shape of the neck of the can makes stirring with a stick difficult

Tip: When you start a new tin, open it up and put in a few old (clean!) nuts, bolts or screws. You need to give the tin a vigorous shaking before use and the bits you add will break up the settled solids sand stir in the stuff at the bottom. The same as in an aerosol can of paint.


Another tip: Wipe the threads of the cap and tin clean, otherwise it will dry out and be very hard to open.

Providing that the lid is on properly, it has an almost indefinite shelf life.

Mixing Danish oil with white spirit (I use a ratio of about 4:1 or 6:1 depending on the porosity of the wood) is a technique for the first coat on new wood to allow it to penetrate.



Hope this helps.



.

 

[newt]

A guy in a local shop said they make money on the fact that folk often throw half a tin away. He said the trick is to fill up the air space, he sugested dropping marbles in as you use it, to maintain the top of the liquid just uder the cap.

 

[Beowolf]

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely drop something into the next can to keep it well mixed. I haven't really been stirring it at all.

 

[frugal]

Isn't Danish oil an Oil / Varnish mix. I thought that you needed to stir it before using otherwise all of the varnish solids sink to the bottom.

 

[Beowolf]

If, when I get home and can have a look, it says 'stir before use' on the tin I shall be very embarrassed.

 

[Terry Smart]

He said the trick is to fill up the air space, he sugested dropping marbles in as you use it, to maintain the top of the liquid just uder the cap.

That's certainly correct and is one way of dealing with it, although I'd use something less likely to break when shaken than marbles... I usually suggest small pebbles.
At one time we could suggest decanting the oil into a smaller receptacle with no air gap, but we can't say that nowadays as the new bottle probably won't have the correct labelling and warnings nor the correct type of closure...