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Anyone ever use this for finishing? http://www.liberon.co.uk/oil-finishes/f ... QmfA%3D%3D

I have heard great reviews of it for finishing guitars, that it transforms the surface into a very hard durable surface. I'm thinking of using it for my next one.

Kevin Aram uses it on his Classical Guitars. See the most recent copy of "American Lutherie", from GAL. He does not use it per the instructions on the can, however. In the article, he said he tends to leave it on the surface, rather than wiping off, then sanding a bit between coats. He states that it is not a "high gloss" finish, but he really likes it.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

After reading that Kevin Aram uses it, I bought a can of it from Rockler and have been experimenting on several types of wood (scrap pieces). Aram works it to a satin finish, but it can certainly be a high gloss finish with some build up. I like it a lot and will try it on a guitar sometime this year.

I use it a lot on furniture. It is one of my favorite finishes. I intend to use it on a guitar. I once asked about it here but got no response.
L.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

I doubt that there is much difference between this product and Danish Oil. I don't use the Liberon version but a similar Danish oil product.
Not sure about the 'hard durable' bit. That might be stretching it.

Michael, How can you make such a statement ?
A. What is Danish Oil ? This is hard to determine since it can be many things depending on the manufacturer so you can't make a comparison to it.
B. You haven't used the Liberon Oil so how can you compare something you haven't used to something that in it's many offerings can be so different.

I have used it extensively and I can assure you it is, quite hard and quite durable. It is by far the best Oil finish I have used in over 25 years of furniture building.
It can also be brought to a gloss finish as well. You should try some.
L.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

This is very interesting to me,
why?,
because Danish oil is oil with varnish in it.
Sound familiar to "French polish"?
might be a varnish version of that.
I might try some old "tung oil" I have, and see what happens.
I think it's quite similar to "Danish oil",
but might be thicker, more varnish in it?
I'm just sick of spraying, sanding, spraying, sanding, polishing.
Maybe this is a good way to avoid using so much sandpaper,
and not creating a lot of dust.
Link, I saw you at Todds the other day.
Name didn't register then.
I saw your name on some ski packs on the racks on yer truck.

How different is the Liberon from Tru Oil? Sounds like they go on the same. How about build, gloss, and hardness.

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Chuck Kish

Link. I never stated that all Danish Oils are the same as the Liberon. I said that I use a similar Danish Oil product. Going by the descriptions of it's contents, the references state that it contains drying oils (mainly Tung) with added resins. That's precisely what my Danish Oil contains (and I've tried a few). Drying oils do not get hard, you have to rely on a high resin content to achieve something that I call hard.
But you are correct, I'll put some on my next order and try it.
My contention is with the term 'hard' rather than the term 'durable'.

I was a bit shocked to see this thread. I was just communicating with a Norwegian accordion builder to see what finish he used on his, I love his look, and he told me it was Liberon. He said it is applied like what I would call a wiping varnish (wipe one wipe off), and is very durable. Looks like a nice satin finish, which I want.

His website is http://bergflodt.net

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Bryan Lafleur
www.lansegriseaccordions.com

I just noticed the thread title is referring to Liberon finishing oil, which is what Rockler carries. They have finishing oils and different varnishes.

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Bryan Lafleur
www.lansegriseaccordions.com

Alan,
I remember seeing you. Now I have a face to the name. You going to the next Nor cal meeting this weekend ?
Link
P.S. That "ski pack" are levels. Few years back I bought a whole set of Stabilas levels and the custom bag. 6 levels in that pack, biggest one is a door level (78") smallest a torpedo . One of the best tool purchases I have ever made.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Even though you'd have to wait longer between coats I suspect you'd get a better, and quicker building finish with Waterlox. I'd also prefer Waterlox over Tru-oil, or miniwax wipe on poly.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Thanks for starting this thread.
I spent hours on Sunday looking for a good solution for my finishing after reading it.
The latest finish I'm using is varnish.
The problem for me is dust, slow drying, and sanding every time between coats.
Beautiful finish with nice chatoyancy!!!!!!
Not much info on da net about liberon,
but lots on waterlox.
So Sunday, I thought that's what I'd try.
Monday, I changed my mind and went out and got some General Arm-R-Seal wipe on poly.
I am doing tests on scraps of mahog, filled, not filled, blah blah.
Also using it on an elec I am building.
I LIKE!
On the test piece of 1/8" mahog, it seeped through some of the pores on the back of the wood.
The other test piece of mahog was filled with regular paste filler,
and it didn't go through, and looks really nice.
I also am testing some old Jasco tung oil on the same mahog.
That looks really nice too!!
Sorry to bore you.
Ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I put a TruOil finish on the uke I just made and loved how easy it was to use (and repair) and the beautiful choyance of the wood. I read the Aramaic article and plan to try the Liberon on the guitar I'm completing. I do hate French Polish!

Correction, I read the Aram article (my iPad substituted the word.....I hate that)

Has anyone tried Watco. Very nice and like truoil in big bottles.

What about Maloof finish. 1 part valspar semi gloss, one part polymerizing tung oil, and one part boiled linseed oil. Doesn't water mark, has some hardness (great for tables). Not an offensive degree of surface build. Applies like an oil. Wipe on wipe off.

I suspect Maloof used semi gloss varnish because he wanted a semi gloss finish, and didn't want it to convert to gloss from contact with people's clothes. For guitars I would use gloss varnish, as I have done on furniture also.

Another option is the Beal method which is basically buffed out tung oil to a high shine.

By the way, I don't think Danish oil is oil and varnish. The stuff I have used is an oil like tung with a thinner and some hardener. So you could make your own with some turps, tung, and japan drier. Except it normally has some fancy oils in there also, oils we don't normally get at the paint store which, I guess, is why I buy it. Oil and varnish are short varnishes.

The term 'Danish Oil' doesn't tell us a great deal. Different manufacturers use their own formulations. Commonly it is a blend of drying oils with a certain percentage of Resin, all diluted with a thinner to obtain a wipe on consistency.
No idea if any of these are short or long oil varnishes. You would have to know the proportion of resin and oil to know for certain.
The advantage of these wipe on (as opposed to brushed on) oil finishes is that the dust problem is minimised. Brush on oil varnish and it tends to pool and accumulate around dust particles, resulting in huge nibs. The wipe on, wipe off finishes never gets thick enough in any one coat for that to happen.

Oils and varnishes are totally different and used for different purposes. Typically oil finishes do not have resins, and varnishes have resins and polymerising oils. The ratio between oils and resins determines if it's a short (more resins) or long (more oils) varnish. There is no such thing as a short or long oil finish.
Oil finishes are perfect for a very thin, satiny finish showing the texture of the wood. Do not expect to build a perfect, mirror finish. For this you need an oil varnish, i.e. a finish with much more solids in it.
Oil varnish is not hard to brush on, there is a technique to it, but it is possible and the results will be worth it.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I'd like to repeat Chuck's question...

How different is the Liberon from Tru Oil? Sounds like they go on the same. How about build, gloss, and hardness.

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

How about buying both and comparing?
Liberon is a blend of oils, so it is similar to a tung oil finish: virtually no build, slow polymerisation and so on. Great when one wants the natural sheen and aspect of the wood. Tru-oil is a mix of oil and polymerised oil that kind of act like a resin so it feels more like an oil varnish. However it is very thin in the bottle and requires many more coats than an oil varnish. As Woody mentioned, Waterlox is probably a much better product, however it is also very thin and requires a lot of coats to get a decent build.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Is the Liberon just blended oil? Half the stockists list it as also containing resin. The MSDS is of no help either.

Laurent,
Is there a particular oil varnish that you have brushed on to successfully achieve a harder, gloss finish?
Beth

This hasn't been my experience. It is thin but one can get a decent build with not to much trouble. It can be buffed out to a high gloss as well.
It sets up quite hard and I suspect it has a fair amount of resin in it.



I could guess just a easily that the Liberon is a better product than Waterlox but I wont because I have never used the Waterlox.



Based on some of the recommendations I will give it a try. The Waterlox that is. Then I will be able to speak to which one is a better product. IMO of course.

L.

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.