Concentrated Finishing Oil: The One You Mix to Suit the Job
Every other finish we make arrives ready to use, formulated for a purpose we decided on. Concentrated Finishing Oil is the exception, and that is the whole point of it.
It is the same oils and solids as our Original Finish with less of the citrus solvent. What you are buying is the finish before it has been diluted, which means the dilution is yours to make. That one difference turns a single product into whatever the job in front of you needs.
The idea: you control the ratio
Leave it as it comes and you have a thick, high solids finish for hand rubbing. More material stays in the wood per coat, you build depth faster, and fewer coats do the work. This is the version for furniture, for a countertop, for anything where you are building a surface rather than just protecting one.
Add solvent and it flows more easily and penetrates faster. Thin it with our Pure Citrus Solvent and you have something closer to Original Finish, or thinner still if you want a first coat to go deep in a hurry.
Everything between those two is available to you, which is why this is the product experienced finishers tend to settle on. Once you have a feel for it you stop thinking in products and start thinking in ratios.
Two rules. Mix enough for the whole job at once, since matching a dilution by eye later is harder than it sounds. And test on an offcut of the same stock every time you change the ratio.
Where it does things the others cannot
Thirsty wood. Reclaimed timbers, weathered exteriors, softwood floors, pine, reclaimed Douglas fir. Absorbent wood will drink a thin finish forever and still look starved. High solids fixes that, because more material stays behind per coat.
Very dry timber as a first coat. Use it undiluted for the initial application when you want deep hydration and fewer coats overall.
Earthen floors. Build up four to six coats as desired, let dry to the touch, then buff in a coat or two of Liquid Wax End Sealer for the top coat.
High moisture areas, countertops, and floors, where it makes an excellent top coat.
Beyond wood. Tool handles, and concrete. Our finishes are not limited to wood, and Concentrated is the one people reach for when they are trying something unusual.
For the technique on a specific project, see our articles on furniture, wood floors, countertops, and earthen floors. This article is about the product. Those are about the jobs.
Application
Apply until the wood surface is saturated, then rub off any oil that does not soak in. That instruction does not change no matter what you have diluted it to.
By hand or by sprayer. This finish suits hand application and commercial paint sprayers. Thin it if you are spraying.
Sanding between coats is not necessary. Wet sanding and buffing, however, produce a superb finish, and on open pored species the slurry of oil and fine dust fills the pores in a way dry sanding cannot match.
The buffing setup that works. For fine woodwork or floors, power buff with a terry cloth pad, or put a thick cotton towel under a white pad with the edges tucked under and held by the buffing wheel. Or simply rub on thin coats with an old cotton T-shirt. Both ends of that range give good results.
Borate first, where it applies. For additional protection against insects and molds, treat the wood with a borate solution before oiling.
Concentrated or Original?
Choose Concentrated when the wood is thirsty, when you are building a surface, when you want to control the dilution yourself, or when you would rather buy one product and adapt it than stock several.
Choose Original when you want it ready to go, when you are covering large areas and the extra solvent helps it move, or when you want fast penetration without mixing anything.
Many people use both: Original for the first coat to establish penetration, Concentrated for the coats that build the surface. On very dry or reclaimed stock, reverse it and lead with undiluted Concentrated.
What is in it, and what is not
Our finishes are premium penetrating oils, handcrafted in small batches from all natural ingredients from sustainable sources: beeswax, pine rosin, linseed oil, tung oil, and citrus solvent.
Made without toxic heavy metal driers, chemical processing, petroleum distillates, or bleaching. Biodegradable and non-ozone depleting. Listed in several leading green building material publications.
No driers, in any of our products. Instead we polymerize the oils before they go into the can, so the curing work happens under controlled conditions in our shop rather than being forced on your wood by a catalyst. That is why the finish can sit on a surface for an hour or overnight without gumming or hardening, which greatly increases how much of it gets absorbed, and why it keeps wicking deeper into fibers, grain, and checks long after the surface is dry.
Specifications
- Coverage: approximately 400 square feet per gallon, or 500 board feet per gallon, undiluted. Rough sawn absorbs more than planed. The first coat usually takes more than the second. Softer species such as pine and reclaimed Douglas fir take more than oak. Dry wood takes considerably more than green timber. Overestimate when ordering, and remember that thinning stretches a gallon further.
- Ingredients: beeswax, pine rosin, linseed oil, tung oil, citrus solvent. Polymerized oils, no metallic driers.
- 100% bio-based. Food safe once dry.
- Shelf life: keeps indefinitely stored with minimal air exposure. Shake well before the next use.
- Cleanup: Pure Citrus Solvent for spills, overspray, and brushes. Turpentine or mineral spirits also work.
What Concentrated Oil will not do
It will not spray undiluted. Thin it first.
It will not penetrate as fast as Original Finish at full strength. That is the trade you are making for solids, and it is why thinning exists.
It will not build a film. No penetrating oil will, no matter how thick you leave it. Extra solids mean more material in the wood, not a layer on top.
It will not cure quickly. No driers, by design.
It will not go over an existing finish. Bare wood only.
It will not prevent checking, though filling checks and slowing the drying rate reduces further checking on green and freshly sawn stock.
Safety: oily rags will start a fire
Natural drying oils generate heat as they polymerize. That is the reaction hardening the finish in your work, and it does not care whether it happens in a floor or in a wad of cloth. A pile of oil soaked rags holds its own heat, the temperature climbs, and it can ignite with no spark and no flame nearby. High solids means more oil per rag, so this matters more here rather than less.
Lay used rags flat and separated on a non combustible surface outdoors until stiff and fully dry, submerge them in water in a sealed metal container, or use a listed oily waste can. Never in a heap, never in a bin, never in a pocket.
- Not sure what dilution your project wants? Call us at 541-844-8748 or write info@heritagenaturalfinishes.com. We are glad to send a sample so you can test ratios on your own offcuts.
- Photo and furniture by Peter Brown. Finished with HNF Concentrated Oil.