Thread: OSMO PolyX RAW oil - playing around with it

I didn't bother photographing the Blackwood. Trust me - it looks like shight.


Black worm holes turn white.
20. White Worm.jpg

As does tear out (which wouldn't normally be there)
21. White worm and tear out.jpg

Fine cracks can become dotted lines because of the high solids.
22. Dotted cracks.jpg


WOP doesn't do any of that (there is a little residual dust or lint). The tear out is just a little darker, and matt finish compared to semi-gloss.
23 WOP cracks.jpg

The Ironbark board has been finished for 72 hours, so even though I said I would wait a week (and there is no mention of a "fully cured" time on the can), I thought i may as well have a go. If there is a fail point then i can just repeat from there in 4 days time.

Earlier this arvo I put 5 pools of red wine on the Ironbark, and they are to be left for 10-30-60-120 minutes, and overnight. (also on the Bluegum board)

30. Red wine on Ironbark.jpg


As I was preparing those previous posts I was going down to the shed to wipe up each pool after the number of minutes timed out.

10 minutes - no problem, straight off and feels good
30 minutes straight off, but feels a tiny bit rough in one part of the grain. No stain though.
60 minutes - well I was going to report that this was the fail point, because after I wiped it up the timber still looked a little wet. However, this has now dried out, but is a little rough in the same streak of grain.
120 minutes - not looking too good. Quite obviously a pink stain - will check again when it is fully dry, but this looks like the fail point. However, the Bluegum (a less hard timber) has no stain, wetness or roughness.

I think I am inexorably coming to the conclusion that Osmo PolyX RAW is for even more specific purposes than I first thought. I never expected it to look any good on timber darker than blond, but I hadn't counted on the quality of the timber surface being quite so important. That is, if there are any cracks or worm holes they either need to be filled with clear epoxy, or you have to put up with them being white highlights.

Filling the worm holes in this Blackbutt is not to onerous but there are too many cracks to do because the timber is so curly.

So, for a good result where you can't really see evidence of the Osmo, you need:

• Quite pale blond timber (others may work, like the Ironbark, but test check)
• no surface checks or holes
• fine grained timber
• Sand to 240
• Oil
• Maybe a quick buff with 3000 grit if the surface feels a little rough
• Oil
• A quick buff with 3000 grit to finish.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

The Ironbark board has been finished for 72 hours, so even though I said I would wait a week (and there is no mention of a "fully cured" time on the can), I thought i may as well have a go. If there is a fail point then i can just repeat from there in 4 days time.

This is probably my biggest gripe with hardwax oils - information. OSMO are particularly bad in it - each distributor around the world seems to run off a different set of instructions (US satin is different rest-of-the-world satin, 3054 vs 3032)
From the information I've gathered and some tests I've done in the past, depending on the temperature with PolyX you should wait 8-12 days before "use".

Similar to the off-gassing and crosslinking period for polyurethanes, HWOs seem to "transform" after 8-12 days (Fiddes seems to be 6-8 days) and they'll feel different (better) to touch and be far more resistant. I haven't actually tried it with alcohol, but haven't had issues with water, tea, sugary drinks after that time period. Within 2-4 days, it was prone to water rings if not careful.

Ok, so another test in a week's time (pretty cool here atm).

I just had another look at the 2 hour pool. Colour seems to be back to normal but it is definitely rough to touch. Just the overnite one to check tomorrow.

I was just watching Peter Parfitt testing another Osmo (satin?) and he did a 7 hour wine test almost straight away, with a perfect result. Beats me.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Use it and weep at what you've previously missed George!

OK you've convinced me Brett.

Now where can I get some of this magical 4000 grit stuff (cheapish).

What did you sand up?

1000

I mean what timber?

After the red wine had been on for 24 hours, there was a distinct mark that was quite rough, and upon immediate removal still felt damp. This time the Bluegum also had a slight stain and roughness.

I've brought the piece of Ironbark up to the house so it can cure for a week with a bit of warmth around it. It has dried out now and the visual mark has receded but can certainly still be seen. It is still quite rough to touch.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

I mean what timber?

Spotted gum and also a non-descript eucalyptus that I cut down a few years back.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

I've brought the piece of Ironbark up to the house so it can cure for a week with a bit of warmth around it.

Saturday marked about 12 days curing so I did the red wine test again, leaving it there for 24 hours.

The result was the same as previous - I can see in the grain holes that there are dark stains, and the grain has lifted up to be rough. I can only conclude that either a third coat is needed (probably not a good idea with translucent finishes), or that the claims of being "red wine proof" are somewhat exaggerated.

If a spillage occurs it would be best to wipe it up within the first 30 minutes. I have to think that the slight acidity of the wine eats at the surface a little which allows the stain to penetrate slightly to the wood. It may be that if the grain was filled before applying the PolyX Raw there might be a different result, but Ironbark is pretty tight grained timber.

Ironbark board with PolyX Raw, but no wine left on it:
IMG_5671.jpg


2-3 days after PolyX, and 24 hours of red wine:
IMG_5670.jpg

12-14 days after PolyX, and 24 hours of red wine:
IMG_5669.jpg



Now if they were floorboards, I wouldn't ve concerned at all, but if it was a table where it is much closer to the eye, and the roughness can be felt, that's different!


However, I'm not going to quit just yet on this $65 can of German technology. This arvo I flipped that board over, sanded it up to 320, did two coats of dilute shellac sanding sealer (which I did not use last time), sanded to 500, and applied a coat of PolyX, which I clothed down shortly after. I will add another 2 maybe even 3 thin coats (as they are after clothing down) and then repeat the wine test in a couple of weeks.

Also, on the right half of the new side, after the sanding sealer I filled the grain with slightly water diluted Timbermate.

After your finest grit are you wiping over with clean water to raise the grain, and then lightly resending with the finest grit you use?