DIY Finish vs Store Bought and More Woodturning Finishing Tips 

Hard to argue spontaneous combustion is not a real safety hazard to deal with. My "pile" of 4 to 5 two inch squares is misleading, but could make inexperienced finish users think spontaneous combustion is not a serious concern. I rarely use more than one 2"x2" rag soaked with finish and perhaps a second one to buff off excess that absorbs very little. I usually throw them away the next time I add a coat a day or two later but sometimes they stack up. But the bottom ones are already dry from use 1, 2 or 3 days before. Hardly a concern for spontaneous combustion. I probably should have mentioned cost but it is such a trivial difference to me I did not see the need to review. But I am sure I left some viewers wondering who were not used to buying the individual components and would not be able to do the math in their head. I use less than a quart a year so we are talking about a quart of store bought for say $20 versus 3 quarts of DIY for about $36. To me dealing with 3 cans with three sticky lids and the trouble of constantly mixing small batches and finding an appropriate small metal container or having 3 mixed batches of which one or two would like go bad before finishing more than outweighs the price difference of a cup of Starbucks. I will pin this comment so more readers will see my explanation.

I am too cheap to buy Odies or Osmos. I will certainly try the Minwax Tung Oil finish but I probably have a year before I run out of the Minwax AO. I see no advantages in a DIY finish.

You bet, Lewis!

Thanks for the tip, Brad.

Thanks, Harold. I would not have tried it but I had run out of Minwax AO.

Great idea for larger finishing rags.

Thanks for sharing, Mike.

Exactly!

Hard to stay too safe. Thanks so much for the feedback, Jacob!

Great tip!

I am curious why you were not able to see the end cards in the last 20 seconds of the video> What device are you watching on and does it not show the end cards? Anyway, I added the link to the show notes.

Thanks for sharing! I did not realize Coleman fuel was naphtha. I have a can that might be 20 years old. Wonder if it is any good? I may try your recipe if I make another batch.

Gunked up lids is a pain with so many. I find the flip top plastic lid on the Minwax ca ns easier to deal with then the screw on "safety" lids that require pushing down and turning.

@@monophoto1 I’ve been draping a double layer of wax paper over the jars or cans before screwing down the lid. Never have a problem getting the lid off.

Yes, thanks for the update!