Now there’s another can of worms for you to open. The door, side panels, side lights and overlights are pretty complex and all have raised panels, etc. BLO is cheaper so I would say the best bet is BLO, mineral spirits, and poly. I have plenty of deck stains but not the same color so I thought I would like to mix the color into one of my other exterior clear stains to try to match the remaining boards. Not familiar with the product. I have built two white oak dining tables to match some other dining tables for a client. So I’d say go for 2-3 coats and that’s it. Wiping off the excess several times until touch dry. I’ll do some tests on another piece of wood first. The usual ratio is about 3 or 4 parts varnish to one part of the mineral spirits. Once it cures, it will likely be smoother than if you simply wiped on the finish. Some one recommended the book Flexner on Finishing. Im sanding between coats but thought if I just added a cap full of the linseed out it would give me a little more times to appy without seeing the brush strokes…. Right now, I’m just gluing right angles without a joint to connect them. I really don’t want the plastic look and I want it to be somewhat repairable, but I am afraid with the high traffic I should omit the oil to achieve more durability. And for the final coat, thinning the satin spar varnish sounds like a reasonable thing to do. Now the kicker is this, use a paper towel that does not have any embossed patterns, the Viva is smooth and works really well, this is a personal choice and the choice is yours. He stained the wood to get the rich, darker look we wanted, but I’d like a really nice hand-rubbed looking finish. Water marks can happen with just about any finish, if the water has the ability to absorb and get trapped. It’s still beautiful. Jim, Hi, We’ve just bought a fixer-upper from 1916. You might try something like the finish recommended here: http://www.thewoodwhisperer.co.....or-finish/. A guitar amp cabinet to be exact. Do want as natural a look as possible with some protection from spilled hot/cold drinks on the mantle ( coffee, red wine). Do I have to sand everything off and start over? Its a developing country and high quality cannot be afforded here by most people. I do need protection and I don’t know if I put the BLO and mineral sprits if that will dry enough so I can put a poly on or something to protect it. Other folks believe you should go bare and let the wood age naturally. Now from what you described, the products sounds like a fancy oil/varnish blend, and the application would be similar to what you see on a can of Danish Oil. I’m living in Missouri and the Cardinals gonna loose! High gloss is not desirable from an optical standpoint. You can alter the mixture to suit your need. I ordered a pre-mixed version today from Amazon/Rockler after googling around and seeing some impressive results. Wondering, what ingredient you would use for a “Gloss” finish. I learned my lesson on too many coats of oil/varnish blend..some older samples i did are still sticky..I applied to thick..after 2 weeks! Used that on my cedar pergola and it worked pretty well. Should I try one of the mixtures that everyone’s raving about? This is a very porous wood. :). There isn’t a website that describes it but I did find an old can which says “..with linseed oil, tung oil and wax.. fortified with ultraviolet inhibitors and water repellants…” In reading the blogs there are so many recipes & finishes….I’m confused. 2 coats will probably get you where you want to be based on your description. Should I just wipe this on and let it dry overnight and then sand in between coats? You can try tung oil. An oil varnish blend on padauk is a recipe for trouble. I’ve slowly grow to dislike the look of straight polyurethane. I want somthing that can be easily broomed on/ wiped off Will a BLO/spar varnish/mineral spirits mixture work well or should I use something like a clear outdoor deck sealer? So if you’re looking to build a good protective layer, leave out the Danish Oil. Polyurethane? PLEASE HELP!!! What should the proportions be and should we add anything else to it. Unfortunately, I can’t keep it mixed enough to give me a uniform color throughout my project. Would a 1/3 tung oil , 1/3 white spirits & 1/3 varnish mix be ok & would i get away with one coat. When you wipe it on wood the acetone will evaporate leaving a thin film of epoxy. And some resins are probably better at resisting this than others. Is it possible to use a faster drying solvent such as denatured alcohol instead of mineral spirits to speed up the drying time of a penetrating oil? Might be worth a look. Years ago (35 to 40yrs ago), I made pine furniture and finished it with a hand rubbed finish. You can just thin it so that you can apply light coats if you are trying to avoid a thick plastic looking finish. Or Before heading toward causes and cures it’s good to briefly define the problem, especially if this issue is new to you. The whole oil/varnish blend thing, at least in my opinion, is more of a romantic notion than anything. So, will linseed oil cause my presure treated wood deck to turn black? my initial aim was to give as many coats of BLO as possible to fill in the grain. Flood it on, let it soak in for a minute or so, then wipe off the excess.