Q: What would be the best finish on raw redwood chairs?
Jules
A: The best wood finish is one that will displace water and not chip or peel like paint. Linseed oil (a vegetable oil) is the very best wood preservative money can buy. You will see it on the shelf as “boiled linseed oil,” b
ut please, don’t try boiling it.
Mix the oil into solution with an equal volume of mineral spirits. Linseed oil by itself has a very high “viscosity,” meaning that it has a very thick consistency. Actually, the oil so thick that it can’t be absorbed by wood, chairs or otherwise.
Using mineral spirits to thin the linseed oil will alter the oils consistency so that it can be readily absorbed by the wood. The mineral spirits evaporate leaving the linseed oil to dry within the pores of the wood. Linseed oil prevents moisture from attacking wood by remaining in the pores of the wood thereby displacing water.
The Carey Brothers, onthehouse.com
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