Minwax Antique Oil Finish, Pint

I have been using Minwax Antique Oil Finish (AOF) since the late 90's or early 2000's after reading an article about it in Fine Woodworking. I have also been building furniture for over 20 years. This is the best straight out of the can finish I know of. I suspect that it is simply a blend of varnish, linseed or tung oil, and mineral spirits, but in any case, the proportions are perfect. It has a higher solids content than any Danish oil mix I've tried and because of that, it builds a finish with multiple applications. Anyone can achieve perfect results with this as it comes down to how much time you're willing to put in vs. the skill level involved with spraying or brushing on a finish.Unfortunately, it is getting harder to find. It used to be in most hardware stores. I've often wondered if the name wasn't off-putting for consumers who think this finish is for antique restoration. It's not!I have no idea what the directions on the can say to do, but here's the best way to apply it!1. Apply a liberal coat of AOF and while wet, sand the wood with the grain using 220 grit sandpaper. You can use a random orbital sander here on big surfaces. This will accomplish two things, it will allow the finish to soak into the wood and the slurry created by sanding will fill the wood pores. Carefully remove any and all slurry or finish left on the wood with a soft cloth, being careful not to pull the finish out of the pores. Sometimes wiping across the grain is best here. Allow the finish to dry for a day or two so that you don't pull out the slurry from the filled pores on subsequent applications.2. Apply second and subsequent coats using a soft cloth, wait until the finish gets slightly tacky, and then wipe off with a clean soft cloth, going with the direction of the grain when you can, but more importantly, making sure you get off all finish from the surface. It may seem wasteful and you'll certainly use up some cotton rags, but it is building a finish. The first coats are soaking in and can take hours before they get slightly tacky (sometimes they soak in so much there's not much to wipe off) while later coats will take minutes before they are tacky enough to be wiped off because it's not soaking into the wood anymore. Sometimes, you'll wait too long to wipe off and the finish will be too tacky to remove. When this happens, reapply the finish and begin wiping off before it becomes overly tacky. For a really spectacular finish, it's not unusual for me to apply 10 or more coats. Drying time between coats varies and I can usually put two coats on per day. It just needs to feel dry to the touch before the next coat.3. After satisfied with your number of coats, the finish should look shiny and and equal to any factory applied finish, but you're not done, because it can be even better! Allow the finish to dry for at least a week, two weeks is better. Use 0000 steel wool to rub out the finish. AOF is soft, unlike polyurethane, so rubbing it out is a breeze. Rub with the direction of the grain with light to moderate pressure. In corners, you'll have to rub across the grain, that's okay, the important thing is that every nook and cranny get rubbed out, otherwise there will be visible differences in the sheen. Rubbing it out will change the sheen level, it will no longer be glossy looking, but will have a satin sheen. It will feel like butter, far superior to the best professionally sprayed lacquer finish.Edit: I think it is important that I mention disposal of the many rags you will go through when applying this finish (as well as other oil-based finishes). They are truly a fire hazard and will self-combust as they are drying. Two options, either leave them unfolded on a non-flammable surface (such as a cast iron table saw) until they get fully dry and crusty, after which, they can be thrown in the trash. The second option is to put them in a sealed container, where there won't be enough fresh air to feed the fire, and throw them out.

We actually used this product on a rough sawn mantel with a live edge top and love the hand rubbed look it gave us in spite of the rough sawn. Expensive but great product. Hope it remains available because I have other plans for it. (Dries quickly to buff, easy to control how much or little shine you desire, easy aplication. Beautiful hand rubbed surface finish!)

This stuff is the answer to all amateur woodworkers prayers. It creates a perfectly smooth, flawless waterproof finish which shows the grain with almost no work at all!!!! It beats oils, polyurethanes and everything else you can imagine, hands down. I used it to refinish a Jarrah desk that I built 20 years ago. I tried a bunch of poly finishes but they all end up with marks, dust, bubbles all the usual challenges you get when doing finishing work in the basement. Eventually I gave up and stripped the whole thing back to bare wood and applied this stuff. One coat takes 5 minutes to apply, it takes no skill at all, I used a paper towel - if you can wipe down a table an McDonalds you can use this stuff. Wait 24 hours an do it again. I did it 4 times to get a nice satin sheen. But you can do more because it gets glossier the more coats you do.It looks amazing. and is almost no work at all. You couldn't screw this up if you tried - unlike every other finish known to man. Just buy it - worth 10 times the price for the amount of work it will save you.

I simply love this product. I have used many wood finishing products in my 65 years and most were Minwax but this is the best I've used so far. I have refinished 2 shotgun walnut stocks and the depth and lustre are just what I hoped for. You can control the amount of shine or lustre you want by the numbers of coats you apply. It is hard to get finishes to dry in my Louisiana humidity but not with this. I apply one coat every 24 hours and it dries without fail. I simply apply using a heavy blue paper mechanics shop towel but into 3" squares. No lint and perfect, just wipe on fast and let it dry. After 4-5 coats, I wet sand using 400 or 600 grit wet dry paper and wipe off. When that is dry, I apply my last wipeon coat and when that dries I am done, with a great finish to admire. There are YouTube videos showing this technique. Very pleased overall and simple with no brushed to clean. But be careful with the disposal of used towel and products, it is a fire hazard so I soak mine in a metal can or bucket of water before disposal.

very hard to find this product, was recommended by a friend. Does a great job with applying an easy oil finish to enrich the color.

My favorite hobby is to refinish furniture and my favorite product is this one. I have now refinished over 80 pieces of furniture and have experimented quite a bit, too. Here is why I like this:(1) Very, very easy to apply. Goes on smooth, is not sticky. I just use a rag to apply it by hand, and then let it dry and do another coat.(2) It actually makes the wood stronger because it soaks into the wood rather than just sitting on it. When it stops soaking into the furniture, you do not need another coat.(3) Dries very quickly.(4) True to color. Relatively clear. This is the best part because a lot of oils out there will actually give your furniture an overtone of orange or yellow. That can be nice but if you have gone to the trouble of selecting a stain that you really like, you're going to want something that doesn't change that color.(5) At first, when you are done, the furniture will be very shiny. No worries. Wait a month, a few months, a year. It will dull more and more, which is good, because it continues to soak into the wood. In a year or two, reapply a coat (can do this in a few minutes) and it will look refreshed. With oil you just maintain the furniture by applying another coat every once in awhile.(6) This product is a "nice" sheen. It does not cheapen furniture with a thick, shiny finish like the bar in a pub. It is a rich looking furniture finish.