Tried and True oil varnish

[varsity07840]

Has anybody tried using some sort of UV curing lamp to speed up the drying process?

[Mike Lyons]

I’ve used sunlight.  It won’t dry if you use thick coats. Just use very very very thin coats,  let it set for 30 minutes to an hour and rub it with a paper towel and then wait 24 hours and do it again. You can rub it in with your hands,  then wipe it with a towel and wait 24 hours before doing it again. You can mix it 50/50 with turpentine too. 

[Mark Elliott]

I use it all the time.  Thin coats will dry overnight.  It is a wipe on/wipe off kind of thing.

[P.Bigham]

Sunlight seems to help. Thin coats. 

[varsity07840]

I’ve used sunlight.  It won’t dry if you use thick coats. Just use very very very thin coats,  let it set for 30 minutes to an hour and rub it with a paper towel and then wait 24 hours and do it again. You can rub it in with your hands,  then wipe it with a towel and wait 24 hours before doing it again. You can mix it 50/50 with turpentine too.

I was thinking UV as an alternative to sunlight. By the time I get to the finishing phase it will we late fall/early winter.

[Fly Navy]

I've had great luck with Tried & True. As others have said, thin coats, sunshine really helps. Other times I've let it cure for 2 days before the next coat.

[smart dog]

Hi Varsity,
I've thought about UV light too.  I am going to try a full spectrum daylight bulb in a dry box this winter.  The last 3 winters in Vermont caused very trying drying conditions because of rapid changes in relative humidity.  We frequently went from temps above freezing and rain and then to below zero in less than 24 hours and then back again to above freezing. The humidity changed drying conditions tremendously despite my heated and well insulated shop.

dave   

[Frank]

Too much time and effort for me. Chambers Oil finish all the way.

[Cory Joe Stewart]

I use it.  Where I am at in North Carolina is unusually humid this time of year and my shop has not climate control.  So it is taking a while for it to dry at the moment.  I cut it with turpentine as suggested here.  I normally end up putting about 5 coats on it. 

Cory Joe Stewart

[J Henry]

  anyone ever hear the saying,, once a day for a week, once a week for a month, then once a month for a year,wipe it down every time you reapply the finish??

[seniorsgt]

seen that on other forums for BLO

[Stophel]

  anyone ever hear the saying,, once a day for a week, once a week for a month, then once a month for a year,wipe it down every time you reapply the finish??

I hear it ALL the time, and frankly, it is... well, it's not good advice.

I find Tried and True Varnish Oil to be still too soft for a surface varnish, so I dissolved some rosin in turpentine and added it to mine (don't ask me how much... ).  I managed to hit the right proportion purely by dumb luck, and now I have a very nice varnish that is not too hard, not too soft, and is VERY tough and wear resistant.

[J.E. Moore]

Would that rosin for a fiddle bow work?

[smallpatch]

J Henry,
While that sentiment sounds nice, it’s just not practical, and never was, for producing a gun in a timely manner. Basically, they didn’t do it back in the day, and I see no purpose for doing it today.
Let’s see, the gun is complete, but it will take 2 years for me to put the finish on......

[Daryl]

You can get a perfectly filled - like glass finish, in a little more than a week in maple, bit longer to a lot longer for walnut of various grades.
If just needing a sealing-grade finish, less than a week using one of the linseed oil finish/varnish's on the market whether tung oil so some
 form of finishes like True Oil. Rubbed back with pumice of rotten stone, equals a very nice satin durable finish.