Morris Minor Owners Club

Just tried out the Osmo oil on Hetty's beautifully sanded rear door, and it's turned it a horrible yellowy pine colour!I don't think it will change as it dries, so I hope I can sand it off and start again in a few days.

I really wanted to keep the natural light colour of the wood.....is there a truly clear oil or varnish that will do this?

All help gratefully received as she comes back from paint this week and the wood will need doing ASAP.

Thanks as always

Emma
x

all oils will darken the timber to a degree

So is a varnish the answer?

x

I personally wouldn't use varnish because when it starts to crack and split with time / weather , you can't see where and therefore the water gets in and before your aware of it the dreaded rot has set in , with oil you can replenish at any time without sanding down and fear of scratching the paintwork but each to his own .

take a look at this
http://www.restexpress.co.uk/acatalog/R ... g_Oil.html

Budgie wrote:I personally wouldn't use varnish because when it starts to crack and split with time / weather , you can't see where and therefore the water gets in and before your aware of it the dreaded rot has set in , with oil you can replenish at any time without sanding down and fear of scratching the paintwork but each to his own .

Yep totally agree Budgie....that's exactly why I wanted to use an oil....but I want to keep the colour too.


Thanks aupickup.....I'll check it out now!

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Can't claim to be a traveller expert, but how about using linseed oil as used on good quality oak furniture?

Would need to be done twice a year for best protection and takes a day or so to fully dry but won't crack or flake like a varnish and is very easy to apply with just a rag.

Just a thought.

NOT linseed - but yes to teak or danish oil. They work well. But have you 'treated it to the Cuprinol 5 star treatment??? Very important before doing anything else......

^^^^^as above Cuprinol 5 and then Danish Oil. Cuprinol is clear - a preservative and the Danish oil is very slightly tinted - but once it soaks in you get just a "warm wood glow".

Received and understood! Thank you
x

Just realised its Danish oil that I use on my wooden work tops and it definitely has an orangey-brown colour to it.

I've been talking to a furniture restorer and she says that the only way to retain the natural colour is to use a clear yacht varnish.

There are many choices for finish, each has its own pros and cons. Fir a really light finish, then there really is no substitute for clear exterior varnish. However, that will not be good long term protection unless you are prepared to keep the car in a heated garage, wipe it down after rain; and sand and re-varnish every year. I prefer to use the car!

Put four Traveller owners together and you'll get six different views as to what is best I'm afraid that it is a trade-off. I use Burgess, but it gives a dark colour. However, it can be applied to damp wood, and even in light rain. No easy answer.

I'm so confused!!!

She'll be garaged, but not in a heated one (I wish!), and wiping down after rain is not too arduous I suppose, but I want to give the best protection.

I think the solution is that I need to invent a clear oil! How hard can it be?

Mine is the original wood so the wood itself has naturally darkened a bit so the Osmo oil has merely showed the grain to its best and looks exactly right for a car that was made back in 1969. I certainly wouldn't described as a yellow finish at all - did you get a tinted one? Protection wise and for ease of cleaning etc I simply can't fault it. It is infinitely better than any varnish because the wood can breathe and it doesn't trap moisture beneath. If you want to keep the very pale ' straight from the tree' look then the only thing is varnish but the wood will still darken naturally due to the UV etc so you'll have to plan to keep sanding back and re-finishing if you want the fresh from the factory look. Personally I think that's a bit artificial for a forty plus year old vehicle and the Osmo oil finish looks right - better than other oils I've seen because it doesn't stay tacky and hold the dirt like some do. It has to be a personal choice but for longevity, ease of application and efficacy the Osmo oil leaves varnish in the starting blocks if you ask me.
I did research a new 'nano' technology varnish system but it was extremely expensive and I didn't want to end up having to re-do Monty if it didn't work well - Osmo has been around for ages

Danish oils I see are clear??? I use teak oil - and it is almost clear.. I would avoid varnish at all costs.....

The wood is original and doesn't look brand new at all - it looks lovely and aged with a beautiful grain, so quite in keeping with the car. I just prefer a creamier colour to the wood, that is all.

I got the clear 420 Osmo oil with biocides, and it definitely changed the colour and gave the wood a yellowy hue. I wish I could upload a picture but I use an iPad and it won't let me!

I will get some Danish or Teak Oil and try a patch test after I've done the Cuprinol stage....I don't mind minimal darkening, but definitely don't want any colour added.

Watch this space

Probably picture resolution is too high Emma - i-phones and i-pads are high res gadgets. Try reducing the size of the picture and re-posting - mine are usually around 200 kb which seems to work OK.

Once a wood has "aged" any oil will darken it's colour/or send it "yellower" Teak oil in my opinion is too dark. Ok if it's always been used on the car. I applied Danish oil to my wood when it was new (6 years ago) It was very white, but over the years the ash darkens and yellows in natural sunlight on its own without any help. Now my wood has mellowed and each time I top up the Danish oil it yellows up for a time and then settles down again.

The only way you will get white wood is to fit new wood treat it with Cuprinol 5 and keep the car in the dark garage - something I'm sure you don't want to do! Treat the wood - don't stress over it going yellow and get the car on the road get in it and enjoy it!

Minors don't like being shut in garages they like to go aMinoring!

Thanks Lou. I'm not stressing as such, I just don't want to undo all my hard work removing the nasty brown colour that was there, only to put it back! Aged wood isn't the problem.

I'm sure I'll sort it out somehow - thanks everyone.

brucek wrote:Probably picture resolution is too high Emma - i-phones and i-pads are high res gadgets. Try reducing the size of the picture and re-posting - mine are usually around 200 kb which seems to work OK.

Oh? The browse button is totally disabled on my iPad which implied it wasn't possible regardless of the resolution - I will try to investigate when I have time!