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This is my first time using Danish Oil.

I'm putting in a pine ceiling and wanted to finish it with this because I love the look and because, it being a ceiling, I don't have to worry about too much wear and tear.

Problem is: I have about 700 square feet to cover (that is a lot of boards). In order to apply and store them correctly, I need a huge space.

Can I stack these on top of one another after I apply the oil?

I would:

A) Apply oil to several boards. B) Wait for it to penetrate. C) Wipe off excess oil. D) Stack and store so I can move on to the next set of boards.

It's step D that I'm not sure about. Will it damage the finish if I do this?

Any other advice is welcome! Thank you all so much.

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  • Thank you Otto. It was my first post so I'll follow you advice from now on. I appreciate it.
    – Bloodroot
    Mar 8, 2018 at 14:27
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    I'm not going to put this as an answer since I don't know for sure what would happen, but I don't think this is a good idea. I would bet that you get some kind of lines or transfer or incomplete curing of the oil. I'd personally store it vertically and put stickers between the tops so that all of the surface is exposed to air. (If needed the last few inches could be left unfinished for stickering and then cut off later.)
    – SaSSafraS1232
    Mar 8, 2018 at 16:56
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    No worries, it's a learning curve and we're all on it. Question looks great now. As for the finish, though I feel that oil is probably low risk for much adverse effect from stacking, I agree with SaSSafraS. You need air flow for good curing in any case. I especially like the idea of leaving a little bit extra on the ends for stickering. I think those ends could just as well be finished, which would give you data about the effect, if any, stacking contact has on the finish without risking the final project.
    – Otto
    Mar 9, 2018 at 1:05
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    You won't get reliable drying with "Danish oil" stacked up one board against another. Clear space around the surface is really needed, not just desirable. I think you have little choice but to come up with a creative way of storing the finished pieces to dry around the home after each coat, or build a (temporary, or permanent but KD) drying rack. There are numerous pics and plans for drying racks online if you need help with a suitable design but really this sort of thing can be knocked together in double-quick time from scraps if necessary, just fixed together with screws and no glue.
    – Graphus
    Mar 9, 2018 at 14:42
  • Many thanks to you all! I appreciate the advice so much. Some of the boards are 12ft and I have to cut them down to 11ft so on those, I'll use wood blocks on the ends. I'll go ahead and finish them and report back if there is any transfer/damage. I'll also do those first. If it works, them I'll stick with that method. If not, I'll have to build some kind of rack.
    – Bloodroot
    Mar 9, 2018 at 16:36

3 Answers 3

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No, stacking will lead to visible marks. Possible effects include dents (or indented stripes from board edges), extra-matte areas, patterns matching the overlying material. Even you don't notice the effect directly, you will see it in raking light (or worse, you will see when installed as a ceiling above the windows). Thinner coats will help but that leads to more coats. You can have the boards vertical for drying, which helps in the space issue for drying. Depending on the finish, polymerization takes time to become hard and evaporation of solvents also takes time (leading to a slight thinning of the thickness of the finish). Both are easy to impress or mark. If you like, do some small-scale tests. Even when your fingernail can't mark the surface, prolonged contact will mar the finish. Good luck.

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In my experience, prolonged pressure (weeks on end) on a board that has been covered in fresh varnish or oil is likely to stick to whatever it's applied to. If you're short on space, do give it a lot of time to cure, and use stickers between layers of boards to minimize contact area.

Wild guess here. Depending on the shape of your boards (I don't know if you have round moldings, or tongue and groove, etc), you might be able to stack several next to each other standing on their edges, then cover one layer with stickers or transversal pieces, and repeat. I.e. if you left a strip on each edge that you don't varnish, then you could put pressure on that edge.

Another option could be to stack them vertically, like you would a stack a ladder against a wall. With a small piece between two boards so that they are all at the same angle and there is air flow in between. Worst case, only the part of the board that leans against the next will stick.

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Typically you would use a drying rack like the one below in a cabinet shop. The benefit to this is that none of your faces are touching anything, but you still get far more out of your floor space.

ProDryingRack from PaintLine

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