Oil finish

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Good day,  I need some help on finishing my project.  I hope this is the right place to post this.I am a sculptor and I am making some furniture, steel frame with wood inserts.  I have the frame welded and am ready to finish it.I like the look of the oil finish.  I do not know how to do it.From what I understand, I need to use used motor oil, heat the steel and apply the oil.How hot do I need to get the steel,  I think I need to have it hot enough to make the oil smoke when applied. Do I use steel wool to apply the oil? Any help will be very appreciated!! Thank you for your time!!JeffreyLast edited by 1-bad-57; 03-09-2012 at 03:37 PM.
Reply:Hello Jeffrey, don't know if this quite what you are referring to, but I'll throw it out there for you to consider. There used to be an older gentleman who would sign up for a couple of credits every quarter so that he could work on metal art and sculpture. He would use Linseed Oil to add coloring to many of his works. I believe he would just heat the materials up to a point where when he would brush on the oil it would give it a tint along the lines of a tan to brown sort of finish, he might heat it additionally to alter the colors. I would suggest using some scraps and experiment with your various heats. If you happen to have one of the infrared thermometers, that might help with recording information to help you to have some consistency with the various colorings and tints for future use. Good luck on your projects and certainly post up some pictures for everyone to see. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Originally Posted by 1-bad-57Good day,  I need some help on finishing my project.  I hope this is the right place to post this.I am a sculptor and I am making some furniture, steel frame with wood inserts.  I have the frame welded and am ready to finish it.I like the look of the oil finish.  I do not know how to do it.From what I understand, I need to use used motor oil, heat the steel and apply the oil.How hot do I need to get the steel,  I think I need to have it hot enough to make the oil smoke when applied. Do I use steel wool to apply the oil? Any help will be very appreciated!! Thank you for your time!!Jeffrey
Reply:I have had good luck with boiled linseed oil.  Heat up the piece brush with a natural bristle brush dipped in the boiled linseed oil, then heat more.  The color goes from a nice gold to black fairly quickly.  There are some good writeups in the metal art section on the hobart site.Like aevald said, practice on scrap until you like it.
Reply:Thanks for the help.  One question I have is do I need to get the mill scale off of the steel first, before I use the heat and oil? Does the steel need to be sanded down until it is silver and no longer black.  I think the black is called mill scale.Jeffrey
Reply:I gave a coat hook a blackened antiqued finish by using old motor oil. I heated it to red with an oxygen acetylene torch then coated it with the oil. A paint brush was used to coat the oil on. By the end the brush was ruined but it was garbage anyways. I think I did three heat/coat cycles consecutively and it gave it a nice black finish. I also did it in sections because it was too hard to keep the whole thing hot. Also it makes a big smokey mess so its definitely an outside project. Hope that helps
Reply:Hi Jeffrey, on some of the stuff that our art man did, he would glass bead the parts first, on others I believe he would just get after it. Whatever approach you take I believe it will give it a "signature" look and isn't that what it's all about? Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:I have found the metal doesnt have to be that hot as in red hot, just so the oil doesnt flash right away. I use a propane torch and it gives a good black old tarnished look. I have also used wd40 (no straw) and that produces a similar look.
Reply:ANOTHER QUESTION.I am using 1" SQ. thick wall tubing for my project with the ends either butt welded or caped.  When I apply the heat for the oil finish is that going to build up a lot of heat and pressure in the tubes?  Will I need to or should I drill relief holes to relieve the pressure? I like safety!JeffreyLast edited by 1-bad-57; 03-12-2012 at 10:36 PM.Reason: new title
Reply:Originally Posted by 1-bad-57ANOTHER QUESTION.I am using 1" SQ. thick wall tubing for my project with the ends either butt welded or caped.  When I apply the heat for the oil finish is that going to build up a lot of heat and pressure in the tubes?  Will I need to or should I drill relief holes to relieve the pressure? I like safety!Jeffrey
Reply:I lam going to jump over to your ornamental iron thread.JeffreyLast edited by 1-bad-57; 03-12-2012 at 10:00 PM.
Reply:First, I guess I'd like to know what kind of look you are going for.  If you are looking for a black or dark finish, I believe you want to do the used motor oil type finish. I don't think you will need to remove the mill scale.HOWEVER, if you are going for  the linseed oil finish which can be a mix of bronzes and purples, then you need to shine up your metal by removing the mill scale. This can be quite a nice finish.I like to add japan dryer (can buy at Lowes or maybe Home Depot or a high end paint store) to the linseed oil.  Helps it cure better..Heat the piece a bit, slather on the oil and continue to heat.  Be careful to watch colors.  When you start to  see some bronze colors, back off for a bit to see if you get the color you like.  Continue to heat,but remember that as your proceed, the colors will darken even AFTER you remove heat.  Don't over heat or you'll scorch the piece.  You can  add oil along the way if it appears to dry out during heating.The oil will cure hard in about 24 to 48 hours.Good luckBob
Reply:Thanks Bob for the information.  I am not ready to oil it yet as I am just starting on the wood.  Once I have the wood planed to thickness I can weld in the mounting tabs and then oil finish the steel.Again thank you for your help.Jeffrey
Reply:Does anyone know how much Japan Dryer I need to mix with the linseed oil.Thanks,Jeffrey