oil for finishing pallet wood inside

hi I have used pallet wood to line the inside of my cabin/shed and am looking for something to feed the wood. I have coarse sanded or lightly hand planed the surfaces so they remain fairly rough. I use old sump oil on the garden shed and this has helped a thin featherboard cheap shed last nearly 20 years. So I am wondering if there is a similar liquid that could be painted on the inside. Either a product or by product, but not too expensive or I would have used decent wood in the first place!! On our boat woodwork we use danish oil and its great, but its for reused teak and cedar so I'm thinking of a cheap, simpler alternative.
I have beeswax aplenty. Any advice on a solvent oil to make a runny paintable stuff that could penetrate the wood?
thanks

Hi Cesca,

I have used a blend of oils for over thirty years that works great. I now purchase it from Heritage Natural Finishes.

As for "sump oil" I can not recommend that at all because of the environmental damage leached petroleum product contribute to ground water and environmental pollution. It adds nothing to the wood. Oiling wood (what some call feeding the wood) is probably more an aesthetic treatment than anything else unless the wood is in direct contact with the ground, and/or extremely exposed to weathering such as on water craft, and roofs. In these cases the "oil treatments" and other natural finishes act as a "sacrificial layer" to the wood, thereby protecting its dried out cell structure from environmental degradation.

Wood from even rot prone species can last centuries untreated if employed in such a fashion as to allow good air circulation around it on all sides, and/or good drainage/dry out between exposures to water. I routinely still find old wood siding over 300 to 400 years old in excellent condition and have seen wood over 1000 years old in some the more rot resistant species.

Purchased oils can be expensive, and even the environmentally good choice of "citrus oil solvents" is not without cost. If cost is a concern, then I would offer just leaving the wood the way it is, as oiling for interior application is strictly an aesthetic treatment for the most part. If you have lots of beeswax, that alone is a wonderful treatment for wood, and can be thinned out with citrus oil or traditional natural turpentine (not the type with petroleum distillates and drying agents.)

"Soap finishes," are also very nice and typically less expensive if "home made." Be careful with the "soap finish recipes" found on the internet, as much that is online advice is "bogus info." Try to find an old book or "Elder" that understands this method. It is a wonderful traditional method, and not to expensive, again the wood doesn't need this, just an aesthetic and/or sacrificial layer to the wood cells.

Good luck...

As an alternative to your sump oil, I recommend finding some waste vegetable oil used in restaurant fryers. Talk to some of your local eateries (mom and pop shop) to see if they will set some aside for you. It will have an odor, and it may grow stuff on it, but it may work out just fine.

Hi Matthew,

I'm not sure that I would recommend "fry oil" as a wood treatment...??...

Vegetable oils are not "drying oils" and as such are in the "wet oil category." This is why, as they do "try" to dried they gum so horridly on surfaces...even something pores as wood. I am not sure, or I haven't heard/read of a method of changing them naturally/chemically where they would polymerize like "drying oils" do, but if you have some experience there I would love to read about it....

This why I have even switch to food grade flax oil for my wood cooking surfaces and utensils...At minimum I would use "coconut oil" since it is less prone to go rancid and doesn't gum as badly as olive oils do.

Regards,

j

I see now that this will be used as a dwelling, not just a shed.

Waste oil would not be appropriate for this use.

I see no harm in leaving it untreated, but would use flax oil with turpentine if I were to use anything. I am not sure if adding beeswax would help in this situation, but I don't think it would hurt. Maybe 1st coat just oil and turp, second coat add the wax to the mix.

Is drying time a concern? Boiled can dry faster. Be careful with "boiled" linseed oil as most contain chemical, metal, or salt dryers.

thanks for all your help. I think I will use linseed/flax oil thinned with turps with some beeswax wherever necessary/ aesthetic pleasing!. I'll have to play with proportions. I understand the thought that there is nothing wrong with untreated wood as long as it isn't getting wet. So the large wall areas I'll leave alone.

thanks all.

Hi Cesca,

That is a classic and very old blend with a wonderful history!

I think you will like it, as it is a "foundation blend" for many different oil, wax, a finishes...Its also a big part of some very old varnish and shellac blends as well...

Would love to see photos when your done.

Good luck!