Oil problems - blotching

[Wjbryan1993]

Hi all,

A complete newbie here, know very little about wood. Designing a stool and got this top turned for me in Sapele. I was advised by the Turner, when mentioning I’d like to oil it to bring out the lovely red-browns, that a few coats of Danish oil would be suitable. However as you can see from the first two photos it is incredibly blotchy in parts after a first coat, despite me applying an apparently even coat (see third photo).

upon googling it seems that maybe I should have applied a pre-stain conditioner or shellac mixture or something like that before oiling. Or I could just apply a couple of coats of shellac and then a lacquer? Or just a lacquer..? I’m not planning on becoming a woodworker, so ideally simple options for a nice finish would be ace.

Can anyone please advise me how I should go about avoiding this kind of blotches, and also how I could save this poor current piece of Sapele from my incompetence?

thanks very much!

 

[paulrbarnard]

The first coat will often soak in unevenly where the grain changes direction. I would carry on with that one to see where you finish up, before starting the others. You can rub down, gently, with 000 wire wool after a couple of coats which will also even things out.
Don’t forget to wipe off excess oil before it goes sticky.