MTFCA Forum

I have looked up the past discussions and the subject has been well covered but it appears some say not to oil the new wood ?
When I picked up my newly spoked & fellowed wheels, they had been coated with 'raw' linseed oil. That was about 4 months ago and they have been just sitting since then. Sadly, it will be some years (probably) before that car will be finished and the wheels needed (as I have other project cars ) but was wondering if this oiling means I am stuck with an oil finish ? Or will a few years drying sort the issue ?
The wheelwrights said the best thing to paint them with is P.O.R. 15 ?
The rims were blasted and painted with green oxide primer 12 months or more before going to the wheelwrights.

Penetrol is my go-to product for bare timber. It is thinner than linseed, so does what the name says, it penetrates. You can apply multiple coats and allow each to soak in. It is sand able between coats. It makes an ideal base for finish coats. It can be added to enamels to extend them, assist with brushing, and aid drying. I do not know if there is a similar product available in the USA.

Allan from down under.

I would like something oil based if it were me. It really penetrates into the wood for good adhesion.

In our cabinetmaking business we have used a product called “Nelsonite” to stabilize our door panels and minimize end splitting for over forty years. We dip each end of the panels in the product prior to final machining. The Nelsonite is very low viscosity and wicks rapidly into the end grain. It does not affect the staining or finishing in any way when dry. When we began to make model t spokes we decided to dip them as well and have continued that process for quite a few years. I guess we have done somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 spokes so far with no negative feedback. The only telltale would be a slight smell when received. Nelsonite information is available online - manufactured in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Did the guy actually say "RAW" linseed oil? If true, that is an absolute shocking thing to do unannounced to a customer.

If it was "Boiled Linseed Oil", that would only be a very very surprising thing to do to a customer.

the two products are very different, with very different drying times and each poses different coating issues, so you need to be absolutely sure that you know what you're dealing with. With that said, I'd be firm and direct with the supplier asking EXACTLY how he would finish the wheels if they were his, and then ask for the contact info for several of his customers and inquire among them as to their success finishing their wheels

No good answer can be given by anyone until you know what product you're dealing with for sure (and raw linseed oil is so over the top as a poor choice, it is frankly hard for me to believe)

Penetrol is available in the USA. Check it on line.
Allan from down under.

Scott_Conger wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 24, 2022 10:46 am

Did the guy actually say "RAW" linseed oil? . . .

Frankly, raw linseed oil would be preferable as it's unlikely a surfeit of it would remain, making a film incompatible with finish coatings. Boiled oil in excess will wrinkle upon drying, providing an excessively "fat" underlayment which will cause subsequent coatings to fail in the short fall. If either has been applied, and is "green" enough, it can be scoured off the wood with turpentine or mineral spirits and a fine scotchbrite pad. Any remaining residue will cause no problems for "oil base" alkyd primers or finishes. If not, a thoroughly dried application of either can be easily removed with a mild paint remover or even lacquer thinner. Penetrol is an excellent choice for a sealer, and also as an amendment to subsequent alkyd coatings.

B T T ......

Use a PPG product called DP 40LF epoxy primer. Thin with Lacquer thinner about but 1/8 of a cup or so after mixing with hardner. Let completely dry scuff and spray with a high build urethane primer sand and paint. I have painted dozens of set of new wood wheels in the past 25 years many still look as nice as the day they were sprayed years after completing them.

Mark, you recommend 1/8 cup of lacquer thinner to how much primer???? A cup, a pint, a quart or what?

Art Mirtes

I mix a quart at a time. I thin it just a tiny bit so it soaks into the open grain of the wood nicely so the high build primer doesn’t soak in as much. It is compatible with the primer so that is the way I do it.