Experiments with Osmo Polyx

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Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
edited December 2017 in Making & Modding
I'm sure that many of the builders here are way ahead of me on this, but I thought it may be of interest to some of you to outline some of the live trials I've been doing with Osmo Polyx hard wax oils.

I am, when it comes to finishing, still essentially a bedroom builder so look for products and techniques that can be brushed or wiped on. 

As many of you will know from my tortuously long build threads, for a number of years my preferred finish approach has been @WezV's excellent tru-oil slurry and buff method for matt/satin finishes:


...and humble Ronseal Hardglaze, wiped or brushed on, for gloss:


All was going well until I hit two challenges:
  • Needing to find a product that retained some of the 'just sanded' colour rather than the significant darkening and yellowing that most finishes impart on the wood
  • Ronseal, in the laudable aim of saving the polar bears, changed the formulation of their Hardglaze

The above two challenges led me to Osmo.  I knew about the product from a professional furniture maker a number of years ago but, at that time, it was only available in industrial quantities.  But now, people like Wood Finishes Direct sell it in quite small tins

Over the next few posts I will cover some of my experiments and results and, as I continue to experiment, I will update the thread from time to time.  Other Osmo users are very welcome indeed to post how they find the best way of using it

 
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Comments

  • gavin_axecastergavin_axecaster Frets: 526
    tFB Trader
    Look forward to your results - I've got a few sachets of the Polyx Oil Tints on the way to try out on a couple of necks over Christmas.

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  • OK - how did I find Osmo Polyx?

    Well - it was a specific project.  Remember the Psilos Bass?


    One of the things Mick, the chap who commissioned it, wanted, was for the bass to look as close to 'sanded colour' as possible.  Added to that, I wanted as little colour difference between the white sycamore body and rock maple integrated neck as possible.

    This was as it was freshly sanded:


    But this is what a very thin coat of tru-oil, slurried and wiped off immediately, looked like after drying:


    In normal circumstances, just what you would want - a bit of warmth added and a major enhancement of the figuring in the sycamore.

    But quite different to the sanded colour and now a major contrast between the maple and the sycamore.

    Some internet searching, especially on furniture making forums, led me to a specialist version of Osmo Polyx - their product 3044.

    It has a whitener in it and is designed to minimise the 'wetting' effect of the finish on light coloured woods.

    Having got it and doing a few trials, and knowing that it needs to be applied VERY thinly to avoid white patches or streaks, I had a thought.  Any reason why I couldn't slurry and buff it?

    No reason at all :)  The result was a super silky feeling surface with very little (compared with the tru-oil above) colour change but still with a touch of enhancement of the figuring:

     

    Also - it was as hard as nails once fully dried.

    Next post I'll cover my first experiment with the Gloss version 3011, and my ongoing experiments with the whitening 3044 and the Satin version 3032 on darker woods.
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  • MegiiMegii Frets: 1670
    Interesting stuff Andy, speaking as someone of very amateur capabilities, who has also sometimes wished he could keep the look of the unfinished wood. Cheers mate! :)
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited December 2017
    I'll come back to gloss a bit later.  The next experiment was using the whitened 3044 with darker woods.

    Actually, as long as it is 'wipe over with a dampened cloth' thin, the white doesn't show even on ebony - this is the back of the Psilos bass:


    But - how would it fare with a more standard application?

    Maybe a little more mixed.

    For my present project of re-bodying a Fender Rascal bass with a walnut-topped, sapele-backed Precision-Lyte inspired shape, the owner wanted the walnut to be only darkened to a limited degree, if possible.

    Good opportunity to experiment.

    This was the sanded top:



    So first of all I did a Tru-oil slurry and buff (one coat only).  And a pretty decent standard 'black walnut' type of result:


    I then sanded it back down to fresh wood and, with apols for the different background colour but the aspect and light level striking it was very similar, this was Osmo 3044 slurry and buffed one coat:


    Quite different.  And against the other background it was even more different to the Tru-oil version

    Now, ignore that some people will prefer the darker one at the top, in terms of whether 3044 is doing what it claims to do, this was the air-exposed untreated billet the wood came from:

    Very sandy-coloured, which the 3044 reflects closer than the Tru-oil, even though the Tru-oil is slightly reddish in tinge and the 3044 is milky white.

    So my conclusion is that yes - even on some dark woods 3044 broadly does what it claims to do.  But is that good for all dark woods?  No - but you'll have to wait for the next post

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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8591
    Andy. I hope you don’t mind me jumping into your thread. I’ve been experimenting with Osmo myself, and had been thinking of starting a similar thread. Here are two oak bowls. Both are finished with Osmo PolyX. The difference is that one was applied with a cloth, and the other with wire wool. The Osmo wasn’t wiped off afterwards, so the impact of the iron wire is magnified. You can see the orange rust tinge. The iron also enhances the grain by leaving a blackish residue in any cracks and imperfections. 


    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • Fascinating @Roland   Feel free to jump in some more :)
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  • ChalkyChalky Frets: 6807
    Keep going lads, very interesting for bedroom builders!
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16547
     I have a tin here, but the only thing I have used it for so far is ageing some felt washers for strap buttons.  
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  • Having confirmed that the 3044 whitened version could work with a darker wood, once it was dry, I then started applying the Satin 3032 type to aim to retain the lighter colour, but give it more of a semi-gloss sheen.

    The full process I used was:
    • Apply a decent coat of the whitened 3044 with a soft brush and slurried with 400 grit wet and dry, working with the grain
    • Wipe off with (industrial - cheaper and bigger rolls) kitchen roll
    • Let dry overnight
    • Repeat
    • Apply a thin coat of Satin 3032 with a soft brush and wipe off with the industrial kitchen roll
    • Let dry overnight
    • Add a further decent coat of 3032, slurried gently with 800 grit, and wipe off with the industrial kitchen roll
    • Let it dry overnight
    • Apply a thin coat of 3032 and wipe off with the industrial kitchen roll
    And this is what it looks like:


    The sapele also looks pretty good - however, I would make a change here in future builds:


    The change I would make is that, in the future, I would stick with Satin 3032 for sapele or mahogany.  This looks OK, but close to, it does look a teeny bit milky.  With the more open grain, the whitened slurry of the 3044 first coat is thicker and you see the milkiness, just a tad.

    But folks - this is four days, done in the spare bedroom - very low VOC, very low fumes with a cheap artists fan brush and a few sheets of cheapo kitchen roll... and by tomorrow or worst case the next day this will be hard enough to give a light buffing polish and it's ready to use! 

    And it's tough stuff.... :)


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