Original Finish: Our First Oil, and Still the Most Versatile
It is called Original because it came first. We built it for the specific needs of big timber and logs, which is the hardest interior finishing problem we knew, and it turned out to work just as well on furniture, trim, and almost any interior woodwork. It remains our most popular finish.
The thing that makes it different: no drying agents
Almost every oil finish on the market contains metallic driers, catalysts that accelerate the oxidation reaction so the finish sets fast. Fast setting sounds like a virtue. On big wood it is the opposite.
Our finishes contain no drying agents of any kind. That single omission changes how the product behaves in your hands and in the wood.
It stays workable. You can leave the oil on the surface for an hour, or overnight, without it gumming or hardening. There is no working window to race, no lap marks from a section that set while you were on the other end of the timber, no panic when the phone rings.
It keeps absorbing the whole time. A finish that skins over stops penetrating. Ours does not skin, so every extra minute on the surface is more oil going into the wood rather than curing on top of it. Absorption is the entire point of a penetrating finish, and driers work directly against it.
It keeps traveling after you walk away. The oil continues to wick deeper into fibers, grain, and checks long after the surface feels dry. What you have applied is not a coat sitting on the wood. It is a reservoir that keeps moving inward.
And it can go on green wood. Because there is no skin forming over the surface, an unseasoned timber can keep releasing moisture through the finish rather than being sealed against it. That slows the drying rate, which is exactly what reduces checking.
This is also why our finishes are forgiving to apply. Air bubbles, lap marks, and dust nibs are mostly problems of finishes that set fast. If you can wipe, you can do this.
What it is for
Timbers, logs, laminated beams, molding, tongue and groove, trim, and furniture. It is thin enough to penetrate quickly but carries enough solids for a rich, water resistant coat.
Two coats give a matte finish that looks like wood rather than like coating. If you want more than that, see the section on building sheen below.
For exterior work, use our Exterior Finish instead, which is this formula with a UV blocker and a mildewcide added.
Preparation
The wood should be bare, clean, free of dust and dirt, and untreated. We do not advise applying our finishes over other products or existing finishes. If you want to try it over something, test a patch first and judge for yourself.
It does not need to be seasoned. Green timber is fine, and for the reasons above it is a use the finish was designed for.
Mill glaze. Planed lumber often carries a burnished surface left by the planer knives, and it resists penetration. Light sanding breaks it open.
Borate pretreatment. For log homes, and anywhere mold, insects, or sap stain are a concern, treat with a borate salt solution before oiling. Borates provide protection no finish offers, and applying them first is far easier than wishing you had.
Always test. A small patch on the actual wood, so you know you like the color and can see how the finish goes on. Species vary enormously.
Application
Stir or shake before use. Avoid direct sunlight and rain. In hot sun the solvent flashes off before the oils can absorb, which leaves glossy patches where finish sat on the surface instead of going in.
Tools. A real lambswool applicator or pad, a pump-up or airless sprayer, a well made brush, or a rag. We do not generally recommend paint rollers, though plenty of customers have had good results with a high quality short nap lambswool roller.
Fill the checks. On logs and timbers, work the finish into every check. Checks are open end grain running to the heart of the piece, and they are the fastest route moisture has out of the wood. Filling them slows drying where it moves quickest, which meaningfully reduces further checking.
Wet on wet. Apply only as much finish as the wood will absorb in a day, then buff off whatever is left standing. Coats do not need to dry between applications.
The whole method in one line: apply the oil, let it soak in, and wipe off whatever does not soak in. Everything else is refinement.
For a timber frame interior, two coats.
Building sheen
Two coats leave a natural matte surface. From there, sheen and water resistance are yours to dial up:
- Additional coats over several days
- Wet sanding between coats for a furniture grade surface
- Power buffing
- A buffed top coat of our Liquid Wax End Sealer
Each step adds depth of grain and water resistance. Even at the top of the range the look stays natural rather than glassy, because there is still no film on the surface.
Maintenance
Clean the surface and rub in another coat. That is the entire procedure. No stripping, no sanding, no witness lines, because there is no film edge to feather.
Repairs. Rub finish into abrasions, scuffs, and scratches with an abrasive pad or rag, then buff out. Spot repairs blend rather than announce themselves.
How often. Let the wood tell you. When it looks dry or dull, or wants freshening, it is time. Interior work in a stable, conditioned space can go a very long time between coats, and in some climates that means up to ten years. Frequency depends on your climate, your light, and how hard the surface is used, not on a calendar.
Specifications
- Coverage: approximately 350 square feet per gallon, or 500 board feet per gallon. Rough sawn absorbs more than planed. The first coat 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.
- Sheen: matte at two coats, buffable to greater sheen.
- Food safe once dry.
- 100% bio-based.
- VOC: 405.45 g/L maximum.
- Storage: keep leftover oil in an airtight metal or glass container. Shake well before reusing, and thin with Pure Citrus Solvent if it has thickened over time.
- Cleanup: Pure Citrus Solvent for spills, overspray, and brushes. Turpentine or mineral spirits also work.
What Original Finish will not do
It will not prevent checking. Filling checks and slowing the drying rate genuinely reduces how much further checking you get, and on green timber that is worth doing every time. It does not eliminate checking. Green wood is going to move, and a boxed heart timber will open up somewhere regardless of what you put on it. Any product promising to prevent checking in freshly sawn material is overselling.
It is not a preservative or an insecticide. For mold, insects, and sap stain, borate treatment goes on first.
It is not for exterior use. No UV blocker, no mildewcide. Outside, use Exterior Finish.
It will not work through a barrier. Old finishes, mill glaze, dust, and dirt all have to come off first, or the oil cannot get where it needs to go.
It cures slowly, by design. The trade for everything described at the top of this article is patience. If you need a surface hard by tomorrow morning, this is the wrong product.
Safety: oily rags will start a fire
Natural drying oils generate heat as they polymerize. That is the same reaction hardening the finish in your wood, and it does not care whether it is happening in a timber or in a wad of cloth. A pile of oil soaked rags holds its own heat, the temperature climbs, and the pile can ignite on its own with no spark and no flame nearby. This is the leading cause of shop fires attributed to finishing products.
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 heap them in a bucket, a bag, or a corner. Thirty seconds, every time, no exceptions.
The long view
A finish that never forms a film is a finish you can live with rather than manage. It does not fail, it fades, and the answer to fading is a rag and a can. That is why the frames finished with this oil twenty years ago are still being maintained by their owners rather than restored by contractors.
- Questions about your species, your project, or how many coats you actually need? Call us at 541-844-8748 or write info@heritagenaturalfinishes.com. We are glad to send a sample first.
- Further reading. For anyone finishing furniture or fine interior woodwork, George Nakashima's The Soul of a Tree is the book on what it means to work with wood rather than against it. For timber frame interiors, Ted Benson's The Timber-Frame Home covers how these buildings are put together and how they live.
- Photo and stunning woodwork by MoreSun Timber Frames, Long Creek, SC. Our Original Finish is used on all the trim, floor, railings, timber work, and ceiling.