I always love trying new products because you never know until you at least try something, just how go it will be and where it is best to use it. I recently had the opportunity to try out some of the Owatrol Coatings products and they easily lived up to what I expected. The products I used were oil products, some even had some light coloring in them and I had some choices of both indoor and outdoor products. The Owatrol Company is based in France and has been in business for many years and during that time have developed a very impressive line up of products, and broadened their distribution to most of Europe, the United Kingdom, into the Scandinavian Countries etc, and are now bringing their products to North America.
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/UbcIaKTrGSQI was introduced to Oil Finishing products quite a number a few years ago, and have been using them ever since, so I did have some idea of what I would be getting into, but still wanted to see how they performed. The first product I tried was something called Teak Olje (pronounced Teak Olyeah) which is an indoor product, primarily at Teak Oil with some special additives to allow the oil to soak into the wood better. Teak can be used on any wood, it doesn't have to be Teak Wood, and it will still provide a rich look and a long-lasting finish and is well suited for indoor furniture. A perfect match for something I have been working on ...
My Coffee Table Project
For those people watching my videos, they will be familiar with the Live Edge - Coffee Table Top that I had been working on. It consisted of some Big Lear Maple, live edge wood that had been glued together that had both figured and spalted wood on the same board. I needed a product that would make both the spalting and figure look even better or "pop" as we say in woodworking.
Before finishing, I decided that the table top needed to be fun through a 24-inch wide commercial belt sander to ensure the top was flat and even. I could hand sand it, but then you run the risk of getting small scooped out areas were you sand a little too hard and these scooped out areas are so easy to spot, especially in a coffee table that is low and people sit in front of for long periods. I anything needs to go through a wide belt sander, a coffee table top does ... and they did an excellent job for me.
After getting the top back home, I trimmed and sanded the ends, then used my belt sander to take the sharp edges off the live edge sides. I also used my cordless drill with a soft wire brush attachment to clean up the live edge sides that still had of the bark strips and stringings attached to ... just to clean it up, but not destroy the look or color.
When that was all done ... time to open and stir the Teak Olje and start coating. I could see right away that I had made the right choice, The oil was popping the grain all over the top. Both the figured grain and the spalted wood were enhanced as was the parts of the wood that was plain. Everything became much richer. I decided to make at least 2 coats and waited about 15 minutes between them. I ended up making about 4 coats because some of the figured grain acted like end grain and drew in much more Teak Oil than other parts. I finally got to a place on the whole top where it would not absorb any more Teak Olje. at this point, I waited another 15 minutes then wiped off the excess with a lint-free cloth.
In 24 hours the top was dry and able to handle (like most oil products, it will still take many more days for the oil to harden, but in the meantime can easily be handled). The look of the wood is quite flat, with a tiny bit of a sheen, which is perfect. I am not a fan of high gloss finishes because you often cannot see the wood grain just because the mirror-like finish is too reflective ... that's just my personal preference, as a woodworker, I always like to see the wood.
My Out Door Red Cedar Chair Chairs
Another product I got to try out was something called Textrol ... an outdoor oil product for wooden decks, fences and outdoor furniture. As it turns out I did not have any outdoor furniture recently made that I could use to try this material out with, but I did remember that somewhere way in the back of the yard we probably still had some old Western Red Cedar Lawn Chairs that have never been refinished and were probably 20 or so years old by now.
Sure enough, after a short search, I found them. Still in pretty good shape, but any finish they once had was long gone an replaced by dirt and grime. I decided to just clean a portion of one of the chairs just so I could compare just how well the Textrol performed. I didn't do anything special, only washed the one rung and the left arm of the chair with a scrub brush and some soapy water, then rinsed it well and left it to dry.
A couple days later when it was dry I tried the Textrol, that you can see in the video, not really knowing how well it would work. I could see even in the first few brush strokes the Textrol was absorbing into the wood and already the wood was looking better. I after waiting for 15 minutes or so, I decided to give it a second coat, which really didn't look much different, but again the wood soaked up the oak quite readily ... then I left it to dry overnight. The next day is when you can really see the results ... and you can check those out in the video. The product did an amazing job of revitalizing that old wood ... to the point, I am not going to refinish the whole chair and it's mate too.
About Oil Coating Products
There's a reason the Owatrol has been a successful company and that's because of its products. In Europe, the use of Oil-Based Products has long been recognized as an excellent way to not only finish outdoor wood but also to preserve it. The nice thing with Oil Based products is when it comes time to refinish them, you don't have to scrape, sand or use harsh chemicals to remove a "film" type finish. All that is required is a good cleaning, and Owatrol even has a biodegradable cleaner, just for that, let the wood dry and you are ready to refinish it. If you have ever had to scrap and sand old varnish off an outdoor deck, you will appreciate knowing that there are alternatives.
*** They provide finishing products for Marine, Wood (interior and exterior) and even for Metal
Owatro USA has a complete line up of products and you can order directly from their website, or you can order a number of their products directly from Amazon ... just search for the word Owatrol for the listing.
If you are wanting to give your outdoor decks, doors, furniture, and patios a long lasting and attractive look, you will want to read about and check into Oil Coating to get an idea, just how easy they are to use
